Brother PQ1500SL Review

Discontinued: Brother no longer sells the PQ1500SL (it was last listed at $739.99). Its successor is the Brother PQ1600S. This review remains for quilters who own one or are considering one secondhand.

The PQ1500SL is a single-purpose powerhouse: it does one thing — straight stitching — and it does it exceptionally well. With a maximum speed of 1,500 stitches per minute and a pin feed system that grips fabric from below, this machine sews with the kind of precision and consistency that makes dedicated quilters swoon. The pin feed mechanism is particularly noteworthy — it prevents fabric slippage even with slippery fabrics like batiks and silks.

With 8.6 x 5.7 inches of workspace, an automatic thread cutter, an automatic needle threader, a knee lifter, and seven included feet (among them a walking foot and a 1/4-inch foot), the PQ1500SL was designed for quilters who wanted a dedicated quilting machine rather than a do-everything compromise.

This is the machine serious quilters use when they separate their piecing/quilting machine from their utility machine. The PQ1500SL pieces with razor-sharp precision — quarter-inch seams are dead-on consistent, and the pin feed means your fabric never drifts. Chain-piecing at full speed is smooth and exhilarating. For free-motion quilting, the combination of high speed control and the dropped feed dogs gives you incredible responsiveness. Stippling, feathers, pebbles — the machine follows your hands faithfully. Where this machine truly separates itself is during marathon quilting sessions. You can stitch for hours and the stitch quality on the last seam is identical to the first. The knee lifter and thread cutter mean you rarely break rhythm. The trade-off, of course, is that it only does straight stitch. No zigzag, no decorative stitches, no buttonholes. You need a second machine for those tasks.