Brother PQ1500SL High Speed Quilting and Sewing Machine

I have had this machine a few months and have made 8 quilts. One a king size behemoth. This machine is amazing. I have two other brothers, one is 25 years old. I really wanted something with a longer neck so I could quilt easier. I am so happy with my purchase. I love my brother machines. Free motion quilting is a breeze on this machine.

Third time's a charm. The PQ1500SL is the third Brother sewing machine that I've owned, the first 2 being sewing/quilting machines. I've been shopping for a heavier duty machine that's quiet and doesn't sound like a huge truck coming down road. This machine is quiet and steady, producing beautiful stitches. I've only had it for 3 days but already feel happy and comfortable with all it has to offer. I've spent weeks shopping, reading reviews, and watching videos of this machine so I feel I've had it for quite a while. So I concentrated on the things that kept coming up that seemed to be a bit of an issue with people like the automatic threader and the thread cutter. None of these are deal breakers so I concentrated on those items of concern for the past few days. I have to say that the threader can be tricky at first but it didn't take me long to get used to it. It isn't quite as easy as my SQ9285 though. The thread cutter does cut the thread a little short but leaves at least 2 1/2" of the upper thread sticking out. I found if you pull your fabric out slowly after cutting, the thread doesn't spring back under the presser foot. I waste so much thread on my other machine that doesn't have this feature. Loading the bobbin is pretty quick and easy...just follow the instructions and you won't have a problem. Winding a new bobbin is fast and easy. The other feature I particularly like is the knee lift. It makes changing direction so easy. The extended table is a solid feature that I love. I haven't tried all the presser feet that come with it but will get to use those as time goes by. This machine sews like a beast but is a beauty to look at with clean features. I can finally stop shopping and get down to sewing again.

I've been amazed at how fast it sews. I enjoy the adjustable feed dog positions and the quality. The needle threader isn't the best and the metal screw inside the tension dial broke off of my for no reason. Other than that, it's a dream to quilt and see with.

I was brought this machine after my(a professional seamstress) passed away. I had the machine, knee bar, a bobbin. I had no power source, manual or experience. Bobbi Ann (Brother Nouvelle PQ1500 shares moms name) has been the best machine. I downloaded the manual, bought foot pedal and power source and away we went. Very easy to learn and teach others on. I've had her now for 12 + years. She is still my everyday machine. I do piecing quilts, FMQ, mending , sews like butter through the thickness of denim or anything else. I keep her cleaned and serviced myself because she's that easy. It took a minute to get used to the speed. Like going from driving a chevette to a corvette . Recommend the additional space of the extension table. The automatic thread cutter will spoil you. I never mastered threader. Very durable machine.

New to quilting, and after accumulating many quilt tops which I could not afford to have quilted by a long armer, I began to quilt on my Brother cs6000i. By the time I finished my first quilt (a king size) on it, I knew I needed to make a change, and had started a list of what would make things better: a larger harp space, large table area, a thread cutter, an auto needlle threader, good lighting and compatible with the Brother Dream Frame, which I dream about owning sometime in the future. Most important, it had to fit my budget constraints. My 1500SL has it all, even a knee lift! She was up, ready, and running right out of the box!. No tension issues, threading issues or breaking threads. Yes, the thread cutter cuts short, but it does not interfere with sewing. If you need to see long thread tails, use tweezers to pull bobbin thread up. I have no complaints. If I had a suggestion, it would be to install an idiot light to indicate that the bobbin thread was about to run out. Larger bobbins would be good too! Other than that, this was the best decision I ever made!