built-in thread cutter

Polly, the answer is yes. My friend has a Babylock with an automatic thread clipper, top and bottom. It's grand. Only problem is, the open space for wrangling a quilt for quilting is really small. Smaller than on my machine even. And mine is nothing to write home about.

Sunny

as I understand it it's as in your 2nd paragraph, cuts both threads right at the quilt, I've not examined the results in detail to figure out whether or not the tieing off is a problem and causes a bump, the kind of machines it's a feature on are already top of the range, I suspect it isn't a problem.

Anne

Hmmmmm. I saw that Mickie was longing for a Bernina with a longer harp And a built-in thread cutter. There might be a way to get me to welcome a new SM - that sounds so good. Polly

My sweet Janome 6600 has the automatic thread cutter. When I reach the end of a row of stitching I have the option of backstitching, using the locking stitch with a press of a button and it will then sew 5 stitches spaced in teensy tiny steps (NOT piled on top of each other) or I can just stop sewing. Then I press a button and both top and bottom threads are cut automatically- like magic! (If I am in needle down mode, it will snip the threads and leave the needle up- when I start sewing again I'm right back in needle down mode- very handy!) It leaves a tail of both threads about 1/4 in. long on the bottom/bobbin side when it cuts them. Then the next stitching starts off with another tiny 1/4 in. tail on both top and bottom threads. If I'm mq'ing then I go back and snip those tiny tails on the bottom side. Otherwise they are so short that I don't even bother with them. I LOVE that nifty option on my sm!

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies >> Please explain to me what is meant by 'built-in thread cutter'. There

What she said - I love this feature! It makes free motion quilting so much easier because you press the button and move on to the next spot - no more reaching under the quilt for the bobbin thread.

Iris

Guess I should have called that an "automatic" thread cutter which at the push of a button cuts both top and bottom threads and pulls the top thread to the underside of the quilt. The auto thread cutter in my Janome MC6500 also prepares the threads for starting the next sewing stitches so the threads sort of pile up on the underside to lock the beginning stitches, and never does the needle un-thread itself! The presserfoot remains in the down position throughout. As spoiled as I am with this feature, however, a friend of mine says the cutting action takes too long for her and she is much faster with her scissors. Mickie

And the Pfaff I used in the class in Houston left a fairly long (about

1") tail when it cut the threads. I have seen some which did a very good job of clipping the threads, but it does seem to take longer than using my snips to do it. Note: when I am really working at it, and want to clip the bobbin thread in the "middle" of fabric, I gently tug on the top thread to pull the bobbin up a bit and clip both at the same time, from the top. Eliminates the bobbin "tail".

Have Fun, Pati, > Guess I should have called that an "automatic" thread cutter which

Thank you all for reporting in; I was very curious about what the SM thread cutters could do. I'm right persnickety about loose threads and do what Pati C does - I pull the bobbin to the thread to the top. If the SM cutter is going to leave a thread that I would have to come back and hunt for and clip closer, I'm not sure that's a great gain. It is truly not a big deal on real quilts but when I can bear the blizzard of Minkee, they at least need to be tied some. An SM cutter sounded pretty good for that. Polly

"Pati C." And the Pfaff I used in the class in Houston left a fairly long (about

Very similar "lock stitch, clip" to what my Viking Designer1 does....BEWARE: this feature will spoil you!

Val

I have the Janome 6600 and I love the thred cutter! Even better, I like the way the thread is always ready to sew without pulling the thread out of the needle.

Ugh, 1/4 inch tails all over the quilt would annoy the heck out of me. And the tails would be too short for me to hold up straight and clip. I'd rather have a nice long thread tail. Debra in VA See my quilts at

I have the Janome 6500 (one model older than Leslie's) and the tails are more like 3/8" long. I've never had a problem grabbing and clipping. That said, I was interested to hear about the technique someone mentioned - pull on the top thread to bring up the bottom one just enough to clip it. I have been sewing for more years than some of you have been alive and I never thought of that! You can always learn something. I'm going to try that too. But I'd never give up the automatic thread cutter for most things.

Iris

The tails left underneath from cutting on my Janome 6500 are a tad longer than 3/8" - quite long enough to hold up and cliip. I use the automatic thread cutter in normal sewing too, in fact, more there than when quilting. Sometimes when ending a line of quilting in the middle of the quilt, I lift the presser foot, gently tug on the needle thread to pull a loop of the bobbin thread to the top of the quilt, then pull that loop further out and then cut both the bobbin and needle threads long enough for tying and tucking later.

Sometimes, as in quilting in a circle, I tie the beginning and ending threads together and then thread the ends into a needle and pull them into the batting, popping the knot in there too, to make an invisible start/stop in a line of quilting. This method also works when you run out of or break a thread in the the middle of a line of quilting (and who hasn't BTDT? ) Mickie

Howdy!

... huh? Raising my hand.

R/Sandy--god! I love handquilting! 8->