nanna-up-north

I've been machine quilting a lap quilt for my great niece. I have difficulty moving the quilt at the same speed to get a nice even stitch length. I know there are long arm machines that have stitch regulators.... the ones that stitch the same stitch length no matter how fast or slow you move the machine. I know that Viking had a machine that said it had a stitch regulator but when I checked that one out.... it didn't really stitch the same length stitches like a long arm.

So I'm curious, do any of you know of a machine that does real stitch regulation?

cizzors

I was just wondering about this yesterday. I'm sure I am one of those people that will never get the hang of FMQ!

Tinabodina

Bernina 440QE - Love it!

nanna-up-north

Is it a true stitch regulator.... can you sew fast and slow and get the same stitch length? I'm excited now... may have to look into a new machine.

Candace

Yes, this is what the Bernina Stitch Regulator is known for.

Kas

Well, don't get too excited. I have the Bernina 640 with the BSR (Bernina stitch regulator) and the starts and stops are pretty sloppy, IMHO. Once you get it going, no problem. If you are having major problems with FMQ, then it is probably something you would like. But take a quilt sandwich of your own and test drive first. I never use mine. It drove me crazy.

Skittl1321

The Bernina Stitch Regulator comes with the 440QE, but it is also available for other machines. I only got the 430, and it was offered as an add on for my machine (for less than the 440 cost).

I actually decided not to go with it, and just going from my low end Kenmore to my 430 has made my FMQ so much nicer. I never have problems with my bottom stitches anymore, though my stitches still aren't always perfectly even. I figure I need practice more than I need regulation! (It is a pretty expensive foot...)

I did play with it for awhile in the store, and thought the BSR did a really nice job- I just couldn't justify the cost.

BKrenning

Bernina has something they call a BSR (Bernina Stitch Regulator) as an option for some of their high end machines. Viking/Husqvarna had a gizmo they called a fabric mover.

Those are the only 2 I know of that were actually produced in mass quantities. At one time, there was a company testing a gizmo that mounted on the sewing machine and you ran your thread through it. It would then try to control how much thread was allowed out to control stitch length. I don't know what happened to that company or even remember the name of the gizmo.

Stitch regulators are a fairly new gizmo. On a frame, they work by regulating the speed of the machine compared to the speed at which you are moving the carriage the machine sits on.

The only way I know of to regulate a sit-down machine is to regulate your own speed. Let off the foot pedal when going around curves or coming up on a point--just like driving a car for me anyway--I like to take curves as fast as I can without using the brakes. I actually ran my domestic machine on a frame by taping the foot pedal to the handles of the carriage and regulated my own speed. I got pretty good at it too but it took practice, practice, practice. That is why longarmers are still in business. It just takes more practice and trial & error (lots of trial & error) to learn how to do it. Also, the older longarms don't have stitch regulators either so they learned how to be their own regulators. Where there's a will, there's a way!

02Lcdam

I have the Bernina 630 with the BSR. It takes some practice but I did learn to use it in Mode 1 where I can use the foot pedal to start and stop, more like regular sewing. I love my Bernina - it is the machine of my dreams!

Hinterland

I have a Bernina 430, and bought the BSR as an add-on. It works okay, but in the end I find my stitches without it almost as good. Even if you don't think your skills are good now, as you do more you get better.

Janet