Twenty years ago picking a brand new sewing machine was a piece of cake. You journeyed down to your local department store and picked up a brand name model from what little assortment they had on the floor. Times have changed. Several new products are computerized and there are now more makes to pick from. Quality and the number of functions included have gone up and the machines have stayed very affordable. With the art of quilting and embroidering growing in popularity in recent years, sewing has grown as a popular pastime and hobby for lots of folks. From all of the machines now available on the market, which model is an excellent choice for your first sewing machine? With a price hovering at around $150, you would be hard pressed to find a sewing machine better than the Brother CS6000i Free-Arm Sewing Machine. It’s bundled with handy functions and it’s garnered positive reviews from users.

The CS6000i from Brother is a 60 stitch computerized sewing machine with a number of stitch functions. The machine boasts an LCD display for computerized stitch selection. The integrated stitches include utility stitches for mending and garment construction, decorative stitches, heirloom stitches and quilting stitches. This machine has a one step automated buttonholer with 7 variations of auto-size buttonholes built-in. The cs6000i also has built-in super-wide 7mm zigzag and decorative stitches. The CS6000i is convenient to thread with the automatic needle threader and the one-step quick set drop-in bobbin.

Provided with the cs6000i are extras for zipper insertion, darning, twin needle stitching, quilting, as well as an oversized accessory table to increase your sewing area for sizeable tasks and quilting. The quilting feet include a walking foot for precise stitching of slippery garments or many layers as well as a quilt guide for precise evenly spaced quilt lines. The CS6000i also has a drop feed so you can design free-form or traditional quilt designs. The machine can be operated without having a foot control using the built-in one-touch start/stop and reverse functions. You can also select your most comfy sewing speed with the electronic speed control. Add-ons are provided for quilting, zipper insertion, darning, twin needle stitching, buttonholes and button sewing. The Brother cs6000i is light-weight and transportable and includes a hard cover to safeguard your machine when it’s not in use.

Quilts include the crib sizes, twin, and full, double fit, queen, and king. The standard crib fit is around 45-inches time’s 60. Twin fits are 72 x 90, full and the double are 81 x 96, queen fits are 90 x 108, and the king fits are around 120 x 120.

To choose your materials you must consider batting quilt fibers. When you choose your batting make sure that you open up the cotton material and let it set a couple of days prior to you start crafting. The batting will loosen up and inflate. You want to space your batting close to avert bunching also when crafting your quilt. Some materials require pre-washes before you can use the fabric.  Read your labels.

You have options in choosing quilt battings, including the traditional, which is often made of cotton and the polyesters. The blends of polyester and cotton will shrink sometimes. To stitch the cotton you will need to create intervals of larger stitches, yet if you combine polyester with your cotton, you can minimize the stitches.

The line of battings, consist of cotton batting, polyester, silk, wool, etc as well. If you prefer the polyester, you can design a non-shrinking quilt with intervals of larger stitches. In addition, you can create intervals of wider expansions, which you can build your quilt at a speedier pace.  Polyester is the choice of battings, since crafters can design a speedy, machine washable, and non-shrinking quilt.  The quilter can create a thinner quilt instead of thicker, since polyester is a batting made of “high loft.”  My preference is silk, but, if you are creating a customary style quilt, the silk might not be appropriate. You can still make a quilt of silk, but you will pay top-dollar and spend a length of undesired time to finish your project. In fact, most crafters do not suggest silk for creating quilts.

Wool batting has migrating fibers, but you can sew through the material with ease. You will want to space closely when needling. The wool over time will loose its fibers however. Wool will also fuzz. You can use lightweight materials, or cloths to avoid fuzziness, as well as to prevent fiber loss. Wool is not appropriate for machine wash; rather you should take your quilt to a pro cleaner, or wash it by hand and allow it to air dry.

Now choose your style:
If you want the antique or customary quilt, you will need to use the “low loft” material. The quilts include the Fairfield, which is 100% bleached cotton, the poly-filled cottons, which is 80 % cotton; the “Mountain Mist/Blue Ribbon Stearns” are 100% cotton as well. You can also choose the 100% polyester, Morning Glory, or the Glory BEE I, which is also 100% polyester. Many other styles and varieties are available.

Once you decide which fibers, or fabrics you want to craft your quilt you can then consider your backing. You can buy yards of backing. The backing today makes it easy to fill in the length and width of your quilt. Ultimately, if you choose backings that come up short or longer you can stitch a couple of pieces together to even your quilt. Still, you want to make sure that the backings work in harmony with your fabrics, or fibers. Ultimately, if you want to spend time making a quilt you can select blocks and patches. The pieces of fabric were frequently used by grandmas, or women of traditional days. The quilts are often sturdier than the modern quilts, yet you can still craft a strong quilt today.