What do I like and don't like about my Pfaff?
Hi lovely makers! I am back to share a fresh review of my Pfaff Quilt Ambition 630 that I bought back in 2020. I filmed a vlog at the time, but I wanted to also write a blog post with pictures, a bit more information and how I feel about the machine now, in 2024 :) Let's do this!
My previous machines
Before I got my Pfaff, I was a Janome type of girl :) I learned to sew with a Janome and as they were widely available in the UK where I was living at the time, that's the first machine I bought. It was a mechanical 2032 Janome (it seems not to be available anymore) and I have to say that the buttonholes I made with this machine were better than those I sewed with my second one!
My Mum is now the proud owner of this Janome that she uses mainly to do easy quilt projects and for mending.
My second machine was another Janome, the very popular at the time DKS30. I have to be honest and admit that I was totally influenced by seeing other sewists and owners of sewing pattern companies using it. I remember that I was in Brighton at the time visiting a friend for the day when I tried it at a lovely fabric shop and even placed an order with them for the machine.
My main complaint about my first computerized machine? The buttonholes that it produced where basically horrendous (at least I never managed to make them right) and after some time trying with more demanding projects like coats and dealing with several layers of fabric on a quilt, I felt that it could not handle the bulk properly.
I sold this second Janome before getting my Pfaff to a lovely person in the UK.
Now, let's talk about the Pfaff Quilt Ambition 630!
Why did I change brands? Again, (insert eye-roll here) I was influenced by others using Pfaffs around me, although this time I really wanted to do a more extensive research (phew!).
As I was starting to really get into quilting, I thought it would be nice to get a machine that could serve me for both garment and quiltmaking (not that you are not able to make a quilt with a regular sewing machine), but I was intrigued and attracted by the fact that a machine could come with some more specific and technical traits that could help with the quilting process.
In the end, I decided that the Quilt Ambition 630 would be a good choice for me based on many reviews I read and vlogs I watched online and of some specific characteristics that I knew I would enjoy.
Now, let's get into the pros and cons.
What I like of my Pfaff Quilt Ambition 630
- The Integrated Dual Transportation or IDT System, which is a sort of in-built walking foot, is one of the main features of this line of Pfaffs. I don't only use it for quilts but for any sort of sewing project. You can see below how it looks.
- When I remember the noise my walking foot made on my previous machine, how the screw got loose after using it for a bit and how I had to keep screwing it back in.... I am very grateful for the IDT System. Having said this, sometimes I do think that with the walking foot I could "feel" more how it grabbed the fabric and different layers while sewing than with my new machine. Maybe is the absence of the hammering noise? ;)
- You can change the needle position by 0.2mm increments which is very helpful. I use it a lot when sewing zippers. I also love being able to leave my needle down just by pressing a button. This is great when you pivot on a corner or when you want to check your stitches without losing your seam allowance.
- In general, this Pfaff is quite user friendly when you first start getting to know it. The touch-screen is fairly intuitive and the instructions manual comes in handy when dealing with possible issues.
- My Quilt Ambition came with an extension table that I can attach to make the quilting part more comfortable.
- The speed control dial has always been a favourite feature of mine, but the automatic thread cutter usually takes the first position :)
- The longer arm length creates a greater space to the right of the needle to be able to quilt bigger quilts or to sew projects like coats or trousers with more ease.
- The actual sewing itself and the quality of the stitches I think is great.
- The machine comes with more 201 stitch options although probably you will end up using only a few. I still need to test many of them!
- Last, and quite importantly, if you are a dressmaker, the buttonhole option has always worked out well for me and that's a big pro!
What I don't enjoy as much
- Sometimes when sewing, it makes a bit of a clunky, jumpy noise. It is something that other people have mentioned as well and that I have linked to a bobbin being too full or with almost no thread. Winding the bobbin if it's almost empty or taking it out when full and cleaning a bit of the fluff, usually does the trick.
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Changing your presser foot is no joke in the sense of the strength and the noise it makes every time you do it. Now I am use to it but at the beginning I was scared of breaking the machine!
- The fact that the reverse or back-stitch button and the start and stop button (so there's no need to use the pedal) are so close together and facing down a bit has led me to press the incorrect button more than once.
- Talking about the reverse-stitch button... I think this is the setting I like the least. When you keep it pressed, it is supossed to just stitch back as long as you keep it pressed. When you press it just once, it goes backwards until you press it again and then it stops.
My problem is that it never stops right at the place where you want it to stop (it is always a couple of stitches too far) and then, when you want to start sewing forward again, it ALWAYS! does a couple of extra stitches back which very much annoys me! When you are sewing some very precise seams or sewing your binding to a quilt, those two extra stitches do make a difference.
- To finish, I want to talk about another part of my Pfaff that stopped working properly aftter just a few months and that is the needle threading helper (I don't want to call it automatic, because it isn't really, right?). I found it quite flimsy and the little inner hook that catches your thread to then lead it through the eye of the needle moved very slightly at some point and for no reason, so now it is almost impossible for me to use it without having to move the needle a tinsy bit foward with my finger.
I have tried a few times to place the little hook back to where it is supossed to be but it is very difficult. It is not a major problem, but it annoys me as this machine is very expensive and this shouldn't have happened. Take a look at the pics to know what I am talking about.
Final thoughts
Now, to summarise, I am happy with the machine and I do hope that it will last me for many more years. I find it sturdier and much stronger than my previous machines and I cross my fingers for no future problems regarding the computerised parts.
It also handles layers well, even if sometimes the presser foot doesn't hold all the fabrics as strongly as it should, so your project moves ever so slightly causing you to miss your seam allowance. When this happens, I go extra slowly or I change my needle position.
And that is it! What's your opinion about Pfaffs? Do you own one? Are you happy with it? Leave a comment below!
Thanks for reading and happy quilting,
Ana
xxx
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