Pfaff Ambition 610 Sewing Machine

Original IDT, and why quilters ask for it by name

Ordinary feeding moves the bottom layer and hopes the top one keeps up. IDT brings a second set of feed teeth down from above so both layers travel together at the same rate.

Piecing lands where you pinned it, plaids and stripes meet at the seam, and a quilt sandwich comes out the far side the size it went in. It is engineered into the machine, and it swings in and out of the way when you want it.

110 stitches, printed where you can see them

The stitch chart sits under the lid, numbered one to 110 and grouped the way you actually think: utility, quilt, needle art, satin, decorative and sewing techniques. You read the number off the chart and key it in.

Stitches go up to 7mm wide and 5mm long, and the LCD keeps the number, the width and the length where you can read them along with PFAFF's own recommendation for the stitch you picked.

Room for the quilt to sit in

There are 7.9 inches (200mm) to the right of the needle, which is the difference between rolling a lap quilt through and holding it out of the way with your elbow.

Twenty-nine needle positions matter more than the number suggests. Topstitching an edge, sewing a scant quarter inch, running a line beside a zipper: you move the needle rather than shifting the fabric, and the seam ends up where you meant it.

The controls under your right hand

The feed dogs drop from that small slider on the back of the free arm, which is where your hand already is when you are setting up to free-motion quilt.

Start and stop runs the machine without the foot pedal, which is what you want for a long seam or free-motion work. The speed slider holds whatever pace you set, needle up and down decides where the needle rests for pivoting, and immediate tie-off locks a seam without reversing over it.

Angela Huffman, host of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting PBS show and founder and owner of Quilted Joy.

This is a good first PFAFF and a good second machine. It has the feed system the expensive ones are famous for, enough room for a lap quilt, and it still lifts into the car for a retreat.

Quilted Joy is a family-owned authorized PFAFF dealer in Louisville, Kentucky, and the home of the Quilt Fairies. Our technicians are factory certified for PFAFF and your machine is serviced in our own shop. Your Pixie Playdate owner classes are free with no limit on how many you take, and every PFAFF we sell is eligible for the Quilt Fairy Godmother Program, refurbished machines included.