About The Sewing Machine Regulator

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A sewing machine regulator uses sensors to detect fabric movements and adjust needle speed to compensate. The end result is a quilted piece with consent stitches.

While some enjoy using stitch regulators, others prefer to learn free motion without using any technology. They master this skill by learning how to sync their foot peddle speed with fabric movement. Either way, the overwhelming majority of quilters want to get as consistent of a stitch as possible.

Brand Specific Stitch Regulators

Brand specific regulators only work with machines from a specific brand. While the overwhelming majority of branded regulators are an external attachment, there are a few sewing machines with a regulator built right into the machine. In some ways, brand specific regulators have an advantage over aftermarket ones. In order to understand why, I must further explain how a stitch regulator works.

How a stitch regulator works

For a regulator to work properly, its sensor must pick up on fabric speed and communicate this information back to the sewing machine. Once your sewing machine receives this data, it adjust needle speed to match. A brand specific stitch regulator has an advantage because it is designed to communicate with your specific machine.

Bernina BSR (Bernina Stitch Regulator)

Bernina was the first to include stitch regulation on home sewing machines. In addition, they offer the widest variety of machines with this feature. Since Bernina has the widest selection of compatible machines, its BSR system is the most well-known and popular amongst quilters. The overwhelming majority of compatible Bernina’s have BSR as an attachment. On Bernina 990, however, there is not need for a BSR attachment because it is built right into the sewing machine itself.

Janome ASR (Accurate Stitch Regulator)

Another popular brand of stitch regulator is the Janome Accurate Stitch. At the time of writing this article, the ASR system is only compatible with:

Continental M8 Professional
Horizon Memory Craft 9380QC

Aftermarket stitch regulators

Accustitch

Accustitch is a third party stitch regulator compatible with machines from many different brands. It is important to understand how this system is set up. This way you can decide wheather or not it is one you’d like to purchase.

Accustitch comes with a control panel that sticks onto the back of your sewing machine. Along with the control panel, you get a special foot peddle with an adapter. Accustitch foot peddle plugs into your sewing machine, while its adapter attaches to both peddle and control panel.

This system leaves you with quite a few cables to manage. So it is important to have proper cable management for the back of your machine. In addition, Accustitch comes with a special needle plate with a sensor for detecting fabric speed. Compatible machines include:

Brother 1300
Brother 1500
Babylock QCP
Babylock Accomplish
Babylock Jane
Elna EF1
HandiQuilter HQ Stitch 510

Janome 1600
Janome HD9
JUKI TL98-E
JUKI TL98 Q
JUKI TL98 QE
JUKI TL-2000Qi

JUKI TL-2010Q
JUKI QVP2200 Mini
JUKI Haruka TL-18QVP
JUKI TL-2020PE
Pfaff GrandQuilter
Singer S16
Viking Mega Quilter

Grace Company

Before I even talk about the Sure Stitch option, I have to provide information about Grace Company itself. Grace Company sells long arm machines. But currently, they have one home sewing machine called Grace Rebel. The Rebel has stitch regulation built in. Aside from offering one home sewing machine, Grace company offers quilting frames for converting standard home sewing machines into long arms.

Sure Stitch System from Grace Company

In order to use Sure Stitch, you must have a compatible sewing machine on a Grace Company quilting frame. The need for a Grace Company quilting frame makes Sure Stitch more expensive than other third party options. Since Sure Stitch requires more than just a sewing machine, assembly takes more steps. The assembly process includes:

Putting together your Grace company quilting frame
Installing the lower encoder to the quilting frame
Adding an upper encoder to the quilting frame
Clipping a digital display to front of quilting frame
Sticking a control box to the back of your sewing machine
Attaching a screen cable, foot peddle, encoder, and power cords

As you can see, the installation process is labor intensive and includes multiple components. While the installation process can be considered a downside, the positive is this system allows users to get a long arm experience without owning an actual long arm sewing machine. Sure Stitch is compatible with:

Baby Lock	QCP, Jane, Jazz II, Allegro
Brother	1500S, 1500SL, 1500D, 2500D, 4500D, VP2, VQ2400, VQ3000, VM6200D, XV8500D, NV6000D, NV6700D, NV6700, NV6750D, VM5100, BQ2450, BQ3050
Elna	7100, 7200, 7300
Janome	QCP, 1600P, HD9, M7 Continental, MC6500P, MC6600P, MC6700P, MC7700QCP, Horizon 7200, Horizon 7700QCP, Horizon 8200QCP, Horizon 8900QCP, 9400
Juki	Dx40000, XTL98Q, TL98QE, TL2000QI, TL2010Q, TL2200 Mini
Pfaff	Grand Quilter 9″, Creative Icon, Creative 2.0 / 3.0 / 4.0 / 4.2, Creative Performance, Creative Sensation, Creative Sensation Pro, Creative Sensation Pro2, Creative Vision, Expression 2.0 / 3.0 / 3.2 / 3.5 / 4.0 / 4.2, Expression 710 / 720, Performance Icon, Performance 5.0 / 5.2
Viking / Husqvarna	Mega Quilter, Saphire 830 / 835 / 850 / 870 / 875 / 930 / 960 / 965, Tribute 140C, Brilliance 75Q, Designer Brilliance 80, Designer Epic, Designer Diamond, Designer Diamond Deluxe, Designer Diamond Royale, Designer Ruby Deluxe, Designer Ruby Royale, Designer Topaz 20 / 30 / 50, Eden Rose 250C, Epic 980Q

Overall Thoughts

Stitch regulators are good for those who would like even stitches without learning free motion from scratch. When you already have a sewing machine, it is well worth it to see if your current model is compatible with a third party systems. Otherwise, it is best to purchase a Janome or Bernina with stitch regulator compatibility.

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