I have the Sizzix Big Shot and have had it for over 2 years. Without it I would have had to give up patchwork. Arthritis in wrist, elbow and shoulder but no problem turning the handle. I even cut my bias strips for dressmaking with the cutter now. Never before have I had such precise cutting. The dies are expensive and they do eventually have to be replaced but putting a piece of paper bottom and top of the layers of fabric can help for a while. Somebody else has already mentioned that starching the fabric is helpful but I have found that when doing the piecing it is important to make sure that all the fabric cut for the project has either been starched or not because non-starched fabric stretches ever so slightly when cut and the patches becomes slightly bigger the the starched patches which is important especially on triangular patches of course.
Marianne

I received a Go cutter for Christmas. I am enjoying it. I'm having a lot of trouble with pain in my thumbs and cutting a lot of fabric makes them hurt more. With the Go cutter it's easy to turn the crank with no pain.

What Heather and others have said about the HST dies is true. So much easier to cut and sew! And much more accurate. I love being able to cut a bunch of HST so fast.

The dies are expensive, but they make nice gifts!

Have fun! geneva

The only one I have is the GO! cutter. I use it regularly.
Before I bought it, I was concerned that it might be too hard for me to turn the handle, as I have shoulder problems. However, that is not a problem.
The triangle dies with the dog ears already cut off sewing triangles accurately a breeze.
I use the strip dies also. They come in various widths - 1", 1.5", 2.5." I cut a lot of perfectly cut strips fast.
I also use the GO cutter to cut my hexagon pieces. It will cut the fabric hexagon pieces and/or the foundation papers. I started using fusible applique foundations for my hexagons. I love the speed and the accuracy for cutting hexagons.
The price of the dies is the only thing I don't like. However, occasionally Nancy's Notions and JoAnn's puts them on sale.
One tip - I starch my fabrics before I cut them. That helps.

Yes Luann, I think it is definitely called for. I have a GO cutter. I played with it a little, but have not used it for a quilt. My DD borrowed it and used it for a tumbler quilt. She loved it. I may have to try it soon. I think I have a bird die that would make a nice applique on some of my "quilts in waiting". I haven't forgotten them, but just haven't gotten to them yet. I hate calling them UFO's. They aren't really started if I have only made 1 sample block. Right???

Thanks everybody,
So far, no one has commented that they've had any kind of problem with any of them. That's encouraging. You can all laugh at this one though,
Yesterday I ended up checking out a laser cutter. Online of course. Boy would that be the one to get! But, at $5,000 it's a few thousand miles away from my budget ! But it was cool!
Thanks again for the input, my BDay is in March and I'm thinking I'd like to make my decision in time for that. My hubby's BDay is in June, but yesterday while picking up some painting supplies, he came home with this 'needed' tool



I think an accurately cutting device is definitely in my future! LOL

I love my Silhouette Cameo because the design can be resized, reshaped and edited. I also like to design my own shapes though hundreds of designs can be purchased. It is more difficult to cut some fabrics, and more fabric prep is definitely needed than is required for the dedicated die cutters. It has a steeper learning curve than the straight die cutters but there are many helpful You Tube videos which demo the product. I bought the Sizzix Big Shot many years ago specifically to cut hexies and found it works well on fabric though you are limited to the die size and available shapes. It is possible to stack several layers and still get a good cut. I then bought the standard Accu Go die cutter and it is great for accurate cutting of many layers of fabric but again, your shapes are limited to the die in shape and design. But it is the easiest to use with the highest probability of an clean precise cut.

I was blessed to received the AccuQuilt Go (regular size) for a birthday/Christmas gift from my Dad & stepmom this past year. I haven't used it tons, but have played with it and so far love it.

Like you, I thought it silly to use dies to cut straight lines BUT having tried out the HST die, I love it. It cuts them already dogeared so that you can actually line up your triangles and they are already right. For me, that is a huge help, because I am terrible terrible terrible at getting my triangles aligned properly for sewing. And doing the "put 2 squares together, sew 2 lines 1/4" away from the line down the middle" method, I often still wasn't 100% accurate, because the pencil width of the line down the middle, the edge away from the ruler, etc.... -- my squares made from HSTs done that way almost never ended up exactly the same size as each other.

I think using the die, then, for the HSTs, will be loads better (it seems a lot more accurate, with the trials I've done so far). As I've a quilt coming up that is nothing but HSTs, I'm looking forward to trying it out! What I've been told is layer my fabric in the same way I would pair them up to sew, so that when they come off the cutter, they are already paired and ready to sew just like that (rather than cut all one color first, etc...).

I do wish the dies weren't so expensive, but I'm happy with it for now.

Thanks Fi and Joyce,
This isn't going to be a quick decision. I'm hoping to find some members of my local guilds That would be open to do a show and tell about their machines.

I bought the Go! regular size a few years ago because it is made for fabric and that is all I wanted to use it for. I have used stash money and taken advantage of the Accuquilt sales. My best purchases were the 12" block set and the 8" block set. Different times!! I printed the block chart from the site and it is so easy to pick a block for a baby quilt or any new project and get it all cut so quickly and perfectly.

Just having it to cut HSTs is worth the price! Best way to cut & piece them to me (and my friends w/ the Go!).

I have the cutwork option for my Bernina, an Accuquilt Go, and just purchased a Silhouette Cameo. All three have their advantages, but I find the Cutwork tool to be time consuming. The Go is great if you have the dies, but they aren't cheap. I'm still learning the Cameo, but am enjoying the process. I found right away that I needed the upgraded Designer software to do what I wanted, which was to use the SVG cut files that come with some embroidered applique designs I have purchased. Today I scanned the image and made a cut file for an embroidered applique that didn't have the cut fIles included. I think I'll be using the Cameo a lot for the shapes I don't have Go dies for.
Fi

plymouthknits wrote:
On your Big Shot Plus how many layers of good quality quilting cotton do you think you can cut and still have the accuracy we need?

I used to do a lot of papercrafting and have quite a few dies for paper. Duh! I should be able to use them on fabric.

Kathy

Thanks for the info. I have taken many Craftsy classes and all have been great. Quilting, knitting, cooking.

Kathy

I have a Big Shot Plus, a hand crank model (not electric). My daughter has a regular Big Shot ( she loves to do card making). I tried cutting fabric with Sizzix Bigs dies and the accuracy and time-savings is great. I purchased the larger plus size to be able to use larger dies. I'm going to make a pyramid quilt with triangles die cut as my next new project. What you use all depends on what you like to make.