I have been busily revising the Nylon Shopper pattern! It is in the testing phase and will soon be available in digital format on my Etsy store. I am very excited to have several testers willing to sew my pattern and provide feedback! I have created a short survey for tester feedback. Please use this link to fill out and submit surveys. Thank you and happy sewing to all my testers!
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Thursday, March 12, 2015
Friday, May 9, 2014
Platinum 16 Longarm Quilter Review
Since I had a hard time finding reviews on the Platinum 16 longarm machine sold by Husquvarna Viking, I thought I would share my journey in using and purchasing mine.
My journey to purchasing a Platinum 16 started a long time ago when I didn't feel comfortable quilting a large quilt on my home machine. I decided to take my quilt to a local quilt shop for quilting. They did an amazing job...but the price was not so amazing...lol! That made me want to learn how to quilt larger quilts; which led me to learn more about longarm quilting machines. A little research later, it was evident the longarm machines with the ten foot quilting frame was out of my budget. I could only window shop and admire them from a distance...lol! A few years ago, I saw a sitdown version that saved on space and my budget! Now I really had to start saving my pennies for a Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen. I did lots of searching the internet and reading reviews on the machine. When I felt comfortable it was a good machine, I visited a Handi Quilter dealer that I knew. They were very generous and offered to let me quilt one of my quilts on their floor model. I took them up on thier offer and started off with a smaller lap size quilt. I was hooked...I kept taking larger and larger quilts back to the store to see how large a quilt I could manage, since they advertize a king size quilt can be done on this machine. The largest quilt I did was a queen size. I was content with those test runs and decided to start saving for a sitdown machine. Those of you that are doing research, know these machines are quite an investment and can imagine how long it took me to save my pennies! By the time I was ready to purchase a machine, the Platinum 16 had been introduced six months prior. There wasn't much information out there on that machine, except for youtube videos on how it worked. Since the machine looked a lot like a Sweet Sixteen with TruStitch (only copywrighted to Handi Quilter) and I knew they make machines for other companies with a different label, I visited a Viking dealer to get more information. Just as I had suspected, they told me that "yes, the Platinum 16 was made by Handi Quilter for Viking". Of course, they offered to let me "test drive" the machine! I was loving this...and brought another quilt to the store to test it out. It sewed very nicely, just as the Sweet Sixteen did. There are a few cosmetic differences between the machines. The electronic control box on the front of the machine is rectangular on the Platium 16 versus square on the Sweet Sixteen. I noticed that the "fix" function on the Platinum 16 screen is the "up/down" needle function on the Sweet Sixteen. Same function, just labeled differently. For the most part, I didn't identify any other different functions within the control box. The thread stand is located on the top of the Platinum 16 versus the side of the Sweet Sixteen. Not a big deal...but still different. I'm not sure if this makes a difference or not, I will continue to sew with it and will update my review in the future.
I like both machines equally, as they are essentially the same machine, the difference was in the price! The Viking dealer threw in the True Stitch and was more flexible with the price on a brand new machine. The dealer could have been more flexible with the Sweet Sixteen floor model only after they had it on the floor for a year. I don't find anything wrong with buying a floor model machine. That is how I could afford some of my other machines. I was able to buy a new Platinum 16 for the used floor model priced Sweet Sixteen. Otherwise, to get a brand new Sweet Sixteen I would have made my payment to Handi Quilter for the set full price plus additionally purchase the true stitch.
I do LOVE the "True Stitch" stitch regulator. I noticed that the closer the control is to the machine, the better the true stitch worked. The Platinum 16 control box on the front, when in regulated mode, will start and stop the machine without the use of the foot pedal by pressing the play button. I was very impressed with this feature of regulated stitching. I'm sure with practice, I would be able to keep my stitches more consistant. But for now, I will continue to use the stitch regulator "True Stitch", since it was thrown into the deal. Although not necessary, I find it usefull.
I hope I was able to answer some questions about the Platinum 16. Feel free to ask any questions I didn't cover or you would like some clairification on the post...I will take some pictures and post them soon...Happy Sewing/Quilting!
My journey to purchasing a Platinum 16 started a long time ago when I didn't feel comfortable quilting a large quilt on my home machine. I decided to take my quilt to a local quilt shop for quilting. They did an amazing job...but the price was not so amazing...lol! That made me want to learn how to quilt larger quilts; which led me to learn more about longarm quilting machines. A little research later, it was evident the longarm machines with the ten foot quilting frame was out of my budget. I could only window shop and admire them from a distance...lol! A few years ago, I saw a sitdown version that saved on space and my budget! Now I really had to start saving my pennies for a Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen. I did lots of searching the internet and reading reviews on the machine. When I felt comfortable it was a good machine, I visited a Handi Quilter dealer that I knew. They were very generous and offered to let me quilt one of my quilts on their floor model. I took them up on thier offer and started off with a smaller lap size quilt. I was hooked...I kept taking larger and larger quilts back to the store to see how large a quilt I could manage, since they advertize a king size quilt can be done on this machine. The largest quilt I did was a queen size. I was content with those test runs and decided to start saving for a sitdown machine. Those of you that are doing research, know these machines are quite an investment and can imagine how long it took me to save my pennies! By the time I was ready to purchase a machine, the Platinum 16 had been introduced six months prior. There wasn't much information out there on that machine, except for youtube videos on how it worked. Since the machine looked a lot like a Sweet Sixteen with TruStitch (only copywrighted to Handi Quilter) and I knew they make machines for other companies with a different label, I visited a Viking dealer to get more information. Just as I had suspected, they told me that "yes, the Platinum 16 was made by Handi Quilter for Viking". Of course, they offered to let me "test drive" the machine! I was loving this...and brought another quilt to the store to test it out. It sewed very nicely, just as the Sweet Sixteen did. There are a few cosmetic differences between the machines. The electronic control box on the front of the machine is rectangular on the Platium 16 versus square on the Sweet Sixteen. I noticed that the "fix" function on the Platinum 16 screen is the "up/down" needle function on the Sweet Sixteen. Same function, just labeled differently. For the most part, I didn't identify any other different functions within the control box. The thread stand is located on the top of the Platinum 16 versus the side of the Sweet Sixteen. Not a big deal...but still different. I'm not sure if this makes a difference or not, I will continue to sew with it and will update my review in the future.
I like both machines equally, as they are essentially the same machine, the difference was in the price! The Viking dealer threw in the True Stitch and was more flexible with the price on a brand new machine. The dealer could have been more flexible with the Sweet Sixteen floor model only after they had it on the floor for a year. I don't find anything wrong with buying a floor model machine. That is how I could afford some of my other machines. I was able to buy a new Platinum 16 for the used floor model priced Sweet Sixteen. Otherwise, to get a brand new Sweet Sixteen I would have made my payment to Handi Quilter for the set full price plus additionally purchase the true stitch.
I do LOVE the "True Stitch" stitch regulator. I noticed that the closer the control is to the machine, the better the true stitch worked. The Platinum 16 control box on the front, when in regulated mode, will start and stop the machine without the use of the foot pedal by pressing the play button. I was very impressed with this feature of regulated stitching. I'm sure with practice, I would be able to keep my stitches more consistant. But for now, I will continue to use the stitch regulator "True Stitch", since it was thrown into the deal. Although not necessary, I find it usefull.
I hope I was able to answer some questions about the Platinum 16. Feel free to ask any questions I didn't cover or you would like some clairification on the post...I will take some pictures and post them soon...Happy Sewing/Quilting!
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