Baby Lock Tiara II Review

On a trip to Port St. Lucie, Florida, I dropped in to visit my friends at the northern location of Laura’s Sewing and Vacuum.

Baby Lock Tiara II

While there, I couldn’t help but notice a Baby Lock Tiara II freehand quilting machine near the entrance. Of course, there was nothing else for me to do but to get permission to review it.

At A Glance

The Baby Lock Tiara II is one of those compact home quilting machines that has a footprint just a little larger than a large sewing and embroidery machine.

Color LCD touch screen

In fact, its footprint might actually be a little smaller than some of them. The one I reviewed was mounted on a beautiful wood grain table made by US based Koala.

I understand from discussion with the sales associate that the Tiara II is also available with a different table, a white one, not made by Koala.

Without having even seen it, I doubt it is as attractive or as solidly built as this one… just my humble opinion.

The Tiara II has a large cone thread stand with a telescoping wand as well as a smaller optional horizontal spool pin.

I must admit, I really don’t see much need for a spool pin this small for a machine that is obviously designed and built for very large quilting jobs.

It does come in handy, however, for certain jobs when you might want to embellish a large quilt with a tiny bit of metallic of specialty tread.

There is also an oversized bobbin mounted beneath the needle and a color LCD touch screen which helps make working on the Tiara II the most pleasant home quilting experience possible.

Although the Tiara II is compact, it has a large workspace that makes working with even a king size quilt in a small space as comfortable and easy as possible.

Optional TruStitch stitch regulator

There is also a separate bobbin winder and the machine I reviewed has an optional TruStitch stitch regulatorwhich assures you of balanced, well-defined stitches each and every time you sit down to work on a quilting project.

Features

• 16” Throat space between the needle and the arm
• Vertical and horizontal spool pins
• ¼” Hopping foot
  • Holds down the fabric while the needle completes the stitch
  • Hopping foot stroke/lift – 5mm
  • Compatible with standard ¼” thick rulers and templates
• Customizable speed control
  • Save your preferred speed settings with three customizable pre-sets
  • Use half-stitch for basting or walking stitch
• Large, adjustable color LCD touch screen shows:
  • Hardware and software information
  • LED lighting options
  • Stitch counters
  • Diagnostics
  • Volume control
  • Calculator
  • Stitch regulator and manual modes when using TruStitch™ Stitch Regulator
• Programmable Needle Positioning: Needle Up/Down
• Needle bar stroke – 35.3mm
  • Uses 134r system, slight ball point needle
  • Change needles easily with large needle thumb screw

Working on the Baby Lock Enlighten

I have enough sense and respect for machines that I have absolutely no knowledge of to seek assistance with reviews of machines I am completely unfamiliar with.

I am grateful to Sandy, the sales associate at Laura’s Sewing and Vacuum for taking the time to allow me to photograph her as she put the Baby Lock Tiara II through its paces while I watched and learned.

Easy to follow threadpath

The threadpath is one that is very easy to follow and learn. No doubt, I could have done that with no instruction or assistance at all.

Watching her set the machine up and go through the necessary steps on the LCD screen to make sure she achieved the results she wanted was not only an interesting and educational experience, I must admit, I believe I could handle it just fine in little or no time at all.

Once she started sewing, it was crystal clear that the freehand motion of the Baby Lock Tiara II is as smooth as silk.

The TruStitch stitch regulator and the fluid motion of the freehand action make the fabric literally glide beneath the needle.

You can adjust the stitch length as well as the speed. When working with very small, delicate stitches or intricate freehand patterns, you have the ability to adjust the speed so that you can sew as slowly as you need to in order to get perfect results.

When working with larger stitches or completely freehand patterns, you can adjust the speed level so that the Tiara II sews as fast as 1500 stitches per minute and zip through your work with ease.

The quality of the stitches produced by the Baby Lock Tiara II, regardless of how long or short the stitches, is excellent.

Excellent stitch quality

I watched Sandy make stitches of varying sizes and they all came out perfectly. The only thing she needed to do to adjust the stitch length or the speed with which she sewed was to change the settings on the LCD screen.

Fabrics

• Natural fibers/cotton-linen-wool
• Fine fabrics/silk-satin-taffeta/velvet
• Knits
• Synthetic fabrics/blends-rayon-polyester
• Leather/suede
• Fur
• Reptile skin
• Canvas/Twill
• Plastic/Rubber
• Extra thick fabrics or multiple layers

Accessories

According to the Baby Lock, the available accessories that are compatible with the Tiara II include:

• Tiara bundle
  • 1/4″ Mini Straight Line Tool
  • 5″ Easy Squeeze Scissors
  • Groz Beckert, size 18 needles
  • Signature Cone and Bobbin Pack : Includes (1) 3,000 yd cone & 1 package of prewound bobbins with 3,000 yds (about 30 bobbins)
  • 3 metal bobbins & polybag
  • Free Motion Gloves – medium/large
  • Storm at Sea in a Day Quilt Patterns
  • Needle Driver and Threader
  • Pathways to Better Quilting – 1st choice for book : Sally Terry
• Quilting bundle
  • Free Motion Gloves – medium/large
  • Sew Slip
  • Braid in a Day Quilt Patterns
  • Klasse 80/12 Quilt Needles or Klasse 90/14 Quilt Needles
  • Klasse 80/12 TopStitch Needles or Klasse 90/14 TopStitch Needles
  • Aerofil #120, 400M, off-white
  • Aerofil #120, 400M, gray khaki
  • Aerofil #120, 400M, gray
  • Aerofil #120, 400M, light gray
  • Aerofil #120, 400M, gray
• TruStitch stitch regulator
• Tru-grip hoop enhance operation of TruStitch stitch regulator
• M class bobbins
• Pattern boards
• Stylus

Maintenance

Tying Off The Loose Ends

No doubt there is a learning curve for anyone who purchases the Baby Lock Tiara II if they have never used a home quilting machine before.

The good news is this is an easy to learn machine. Regardless of what machine you purchase, you will always have to go through a period of getting to know your machine. There is no difference here.

I do not believe anyone who has never used a sewing machine should attempt to start out on the Tiara II or any other quilting machine.

Call me old school, but I am affirm believer that if you are going to do anything with a machine that sews, you should first be very familiar with the operation of a basic sewing machine.

The Baby Lock Tiara II is ideal for anyone who wants to expand their home quilting capabilities, but does not have enough space for a large quilting frame.

If you have already been making quilts on a sewing and quilting machine, this is an excellent option for expanding your repertoire without crowding yourself out of your sewing room altogether. This machine takes up about the same amount of space as a sewing and quilting machine.

The table might require a little more space, but when you consider how much space it takes to have a decent sewing area even with a traditional sewing machine, you know that bring in a home quilting machine like the Baby Lock Tiara II is not going to make a huge difference in the amount of space required.

If a freehand straight stitch only home quilting machine is on your wish list, I not only recommend that you make space for it, I also urge you to visit your nearest Baby Lock dealer and take a long hard look at the Tiara II.