Singer 8500Q Modern Quilter Review

Discontinued: Singer no longer sells the 8500Q Modern Quilter new in the US, so you will mostly find it secondhand or as leftover retailer stock. This review is for quilters considering one on the used market.

The 8500Q was designed specifically for quilters. Singer paired a long-arm design with an extra-large extension table, and included a knee lifter, an automatic thread trimmer, and 10 presser feet, among them a walking foot, a 1/4-inch foot, and a darning foot for free-motion quilting. Singer does not publish its throat space or maximum speed.

Singer packed this machine with 215 stitches, including plenty of decorative options for quilt embellishment. The automatic needle threader and top drop-in bobbin make setup quick. It is not the fastest or most refined machine in the quilting world, but it delivers honest performance. If you find one in good condition at a used price, it provides a solid foundation for a first quilting machine.

The 8500Q handles piecing well, with consistent enough stitch quality for accurate quarter-inch seams once you dial in the settings. The included walking foot does a respectable job with straight-line quilting, keeping layers from shifting on most quilt sandwiches. Where it shows its price point is with very thick quilts — you may notice some uneven feeding through bulky seam intersections. Free-motion quilting is possible and the included darning foot works, but the machine does not glide as smoothly as higher-end models. You will need to control your speed more carefully, and stitch length may vary until you develop the hand-speed-to-motor-speed coordination. For a first quilting machine, this is more than adequate. You will outgrow it eventually if quilting becomes a serious pursuit, but it gets you started without financial stress.