happystitchermm

I went down to Houston last year and tried all the sit downs. Love the Innova!!!

petpainter

I have the Viking version of the Sweet Sixteen- The Platinum 16...LOVE it too!

eastslopequilter

Both the Tiara and the Pfaff sit down are made by Handiquilter, I believe. I have a Sweet Sixteen and love it and it was much cheaper than the other two when I bought mine 3 years ago. Check Handiquilter out. Sometimes they have sales. That is when I bought mine.

DogHouseMom

Strongly suggest you go to a larger show where most of the large manufacturers are represented and try as many machines as you can. The sit-down long-arm market has grown leaps and bounds in the last 5 years and today most (all?) manufacturers have at least one.

A few pointers

Tables are just as important as the machines. Some tables that come with the machine are smaller than others, some offer add-on's. Most of us have found that we want more table space at least on one side. So consider the size of the table you buy plus the add-on, and weigh against adding your own table to the side. Compare costs.

Try both vertical and horizontal orientation (horizontal - oriented like a domestic sewing machine, vertical oriented with the needle at the front facing you), then consider the space you have and how it will fit. Use both the horizontal and vertical. Some folks have a preference for one or the other.

Try machines with and without a stitch regulator. The stitch regulators on the sit-downs are much different than on a long arm. I tried the SR on the HQ16 and I didn't like it. Others love it!!

The Baby Lock Tiara and the HQ Sweet 16 are the same machine with different branding. So if one is offered by a local dealer that might be the deciding factor as to which one you get.


I have the Juki 2200QVP and I love it!! Some of the things I really like: A handwheel located at the front of the machine within easy reach while sewing for precision placement of the needle (the Juki is one of the only sit down machines that offer this feature), great lighting, 18" long harp and 10" high - wide open harp is easy to fit even a King quilt, On-board bobbin winder with independent motor. Easy maintenance - only one oiling point (in the bobbin case). Solid and fast machine - I run mine at 30% of the speed. I set mine up myself (with the help of my husband), and was quilting in no time.

Leah Day has a good review of the Juki 2200QVP. Here's a link. https://leahday.com/pages/sewing-mac...t-down-longarm

QuiltingVagabond

DogHouseMom has good advice... I got the Hideaway Table with my HQ Sweet 16 and sold my stitch regulator after a couple of uses. The table is bigger than the standard one and will close up if I ever wanted to put my machine away (never have as of now) and the regulator was a nuisance. Save that $1000 for fabric!

Grammahunt

I agree with DogHouseMom and QuiltingVagabond.
I have a HandiQuilter Sweet 16. At the AQS show I, too, tried everything. What sold me on the Sweet 16 is when the BabyLock dealer told me they were made by HandiQuilter to BabyLock's specifications. Who is going to make the best machine but the maker himself? That was my reasoning anyway.
Love, Love, Love my Sweet 16.

hray

It's so good to hear that...I looked at some of the mid-arm quilting machines like the Block Rock-it at an AQS show last year but really hesitated at the idea of the work involved in setting the quilt up on the frame (not mention, where to put the darned frame!!)

Also, I like to do long patterns down sides, sashing, etc. and realized that if the quilt is all rolled up, I couldn't do that without unrolling a lot.

I may have to look at the Sweet 16 again...

mjpEncinitas

I just went through this process. Was at Road to CA (big quilt show). The class I was taking used the Sweet 16. I spent 45 minutes with a dealer and then 6 hours in the quilting techniques for landscape quilts class. That was a great way to figure out if I liked the machine. I did. The dealers were great. When I let them know it was beyond my price reach one of the dealers put me in touch with a woman who was selling a low use 16. He didn't make a commission off of it, although he did do a service on it, before I picked it up. I saved about $2000 off of the price. Got a vetted machine with a few extras on it. I didn't like the stitch regulator when I tried it at the dealers booth. We didn't have that in the class.

I also liked the George. It felt good. It was more expensive than the 16.

I hadn't heard good things about the block rocket and they had young men for salesmen and I bet they had never quilted in their life so I skipped that booth.

If I hadn't been satisfied with what I had I would've looked at Innova.

indymta

Thanks for posting your question. Lots of good information especially for DogHouseMom.

Nillabug

I knew I'd get good guidance here! I'm planning to go to Hershey this year. Does anyone remember if they have many sit down dealers at that show? I only remember long arms since that's what I was looking for the last time I went.

I'm close enough to Lancaster to go to that show in March too, but the last time I was there I just remember it being crowded and I don't remember actual machine dealers, just lots of the extra fru-fru type stuff...