Accuquilt GO! 55100S Fabric Cutter Starter Set

What can I say that has not already been said? This is a LIFESAVER for my back and has made quilting even MORE fun than it was before. Perfect cuts make quilting a breeze for beginners or experienced people. It's great to get the cutting done so fast and get right to the creating and sewing with no worrying about incorrect cuts or uneven pieces.I bought the 8.5" rag quilt die and love it- it is reviewed on that page. Suffice to say there is no way on gods green earth my back would have stood for cutting out 100 of these squares AND cutting the fringe at the end. I am attaching a photo from that die.This machine is VERY easy to use, requires hardly any effort. It is portable, yes but it is pretty heavy in my opinion- I wouldn't be toting it all over the place without a rolling bag and would have to live on the 1st floor. It folds up flat and stores away easily when it's not in use so you aren't using up a bunch of valuable table space.I see me doing many more quilts than I thought before and I plan to donate a bunch to our local hospice.

The Accuquilt Go has far surpassed my original expectations. Each cut is accurate and it works on all kinds of fabric including denim, wool, felt, and some battings. Although extra dies can be somewhat expensive (definately buy them at Amazon to save money), the wide assortment of dies is really great and allows your imagination to run wild. No more measuring, snipping, or cutting mistakes. No more passing up patterns because of too many little shapes to cut. There is something for almost every quilting need including a variety of fun applique shapes. The Go also has a built-in handle with a magnetic latch and is very easy to take to a quilting class (everyone there thought it was great) or over to a friend's house. I can carry many dies with me in my old briefcase. So far, only the strip cutters are too large for the briefcase.If you're torn between the Accuquilt Go and the Accuquilt Baby because of the Baby's lower price, consider this. The Go includes dies for a 4" finished square, a 2" finished square, and a 2" finished half-square triangle. The Baby comes with no dies. Not all dies that will work with the Go will work with the Baby, but all dies that work with the Baby will work with the Go. That means a wider selection for increased creativity. The Go is definately the way to "go".I suffer from painful arthritis all over and the Go has solved many problems for me. My hands no longer cramp up from using scissors or a rotary cutter (which can be dangerous). My wrists don't have the carpal tunnel ache I got using scissors. Instead of standing and suffering for hours at my cutting table, a short time with the Accuquilt and my pieces are perfectly cut and ready to to sew. Using the Accuquilt Go I can now cut pieces for an entire quilt in an hour or two, something that used to take me days.For anyone that hates the time-consuming cutting process or has limited or painful hand, wrist, or elbow movement, the Accuquilt system is for you. Just place your fabric on the die, put on the cutting mat and turn the handle. The only issue I have now is trying to decide what project to do next. Ok, I'm a guy who turned to quilting for a hobby. This is one useful tool for which I am not ashamed to say, "I love it!"

I decided to try my hand at quilting late last year and immediately fell in love with it! I love choosing the fabrics, matching them together, trying out new designs and arrangements, and I even love working with my sewing machine.What I did not love was CUTTING the fabrics! I would spend hours leaning over the table, lining up the ruler, trying to make straight cuts with a rotary cutter, trying to fix that wonky cut I just made, replacing the rotary blade because it was skipping tiny sections of the fabric that I'd have to go back over with scissors... I would delay starting a new quilt just because the thought of all the cutting kind of bummed me out. Not to mention the hand, arm and BACK pain that went along with it.While looking on Amazon for some new quilting notions, I ran across the AccuQuilt Fabric Cutter. After reading about it, I was super excited! I won't lie, the price slowed me down a little, but after considering:The time I spent cutting fabrics for each quiltThe amount of wasted fabric I had from the slip of the ruler or cutterThe resulting pain from leaning over the table while cutting the fabricThe increase in productivity I could have by cutting down my cutting time..I decided, let's give it a shot! And good Lord, I am so glad I did. I have cut so much fabric with the AccuQuilt GO! I now spend a few hours on the weekend cutting fabric with this, and I have enough material to keep me quilting all week long. The wasted fabric produced by this cutter is minimal. The accuracy of the cuts has made my quilts come out looking so much better.So with this kit, I received:The AccuQuilt GO Fabric CutterThe "value die"- this cuts a 4.5" square, a 2.5" square, and a 2" half square (triangle)A 6"x12" cutting matA die pick (used for cleaning bits of string and fabric out of the dies)A pattern bookThe cutter is basically ready to go right out of the box. You just place it on a table, pull both sides down to open it up and BAM, you're ready to go. So you get your cutting die, lay some fabric on it, place the cutting mat over that, and run the die through the cutter. The handle used to roll the die through the cutter is very easy to turn. Once the die comes out on the other side, lift up the cutting mat and you'll have perfectly cut pieces of fabric.As far as how many layers of fabric you can cut at once, I've cut:Up to 6 layers of flannel8 layers of cotton fabric2 layers of fleeceThese may not be the amounts recommended by the manufacturer, but I've had no problems with it so far. I will say this though, the more layers you try to cut at once, the harder it is to turn the handle on the fabric cutter. If you get overly ambitious and try to cut too many layers, you can cause the bar on the cutter to bend, then your cutter is pretty much kaput. Be nice to your machine!There are also tons of different dies you can buy to use with this machine as well. I've purchased the 6" square, the 2.5" strip cutter (perfect for binding strips!), a 8" rag square (love love love this one!), and a few others. I intend to collect them all, hehe.Also worth mentioning, the cutting mats do tend to wear out fairly quickly. To get the most mileage out of them, make sure you rotate the mat a different way each time you make a cut. I just turn mine clockwise each time. After a few cuts, I turn the mat over, and use the opposite side for a while.I use my 8" rag square die a lot. That die wears out only the outer edges of the 10"x10" cutting mat. Once it's too worn to be used with the rag square, I use the center of it for cutting smaller squares, like the 6" squares.A quick tip for cleaning the dies:The die pick included with the cutter does a decent job, but man, it's slow. I found a video on YouTube with a lady that recommends using a pair of needlenose pliers to clean the dies. It's works fantastically! Here is a link if you'd like to see how it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN1gBtea_DcAs a matter of fact, there are tons of videos on YouTube showing how this cutter works along with some great project ideas.In regards to SAFETY... the dies are made up of a piece of wood with blades that form the shape you want to cut out attached to it, and foam covering the blades. The blades are very, very sharp! The newer dies have a two tone color system on the foam that shows the outline of the blades. The older dies do not. It's highly recommended that you get a sharpie and outline the ones that don't have it outlined already. Always be super careful when using and cleaning the dies.Overall, I absolutely love the AccuQuilt GO Fabric Cutter. It has made quilting so much more enjoyable for me.