Roundup

The best sewing machines with a large throat

Ranked by opening area, which is width multiplied by height. That ordering is the opposite of the one you get from the number on the box.

By Scooter M., enthusiastPublished September 1, 2026How we pick

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The shortlist

Ranked, with the numbers

Ranked on published manufacturer specifications, normalized to the same units, with the arithmetic on what each step up actually buys. Tap any row for the full write-up, including who should skip it.

#	Machine	Best for	Score	Price
01	Juki TL-2010QFree-motion quilting a full-size quilt on a domestic machine	Largest throat opening	9.1	Check price on Amazon
02	Brother PQ1600SPiecing and quilting long straight runs at speed	Widest throat	8.8	Check price on Amazon
03	Juki TL-2000QiThe Juki arm size at the lowest price	Best value opening	8.7	Check price on Amazon
04	Brother PQ1500SLThe PQ throat at whatever it is discounted to	Best on discount	8.4	Check price on Amazon
05	Janome Memory Craft 6700 ProfessionalOne machine for piecing, garment sewing and quilting	Widest that also zigzags	8.5	Check price on Amazon

Scores are ours and editorial. They are never published as review or rating markup, because we have not tested these machines - here is what we did instead.

The short answer

The Juki TL-2010Q, at 51 square inches - and it is the narrowest machine in this top four.

Juki publishes 215 x 150 mm, which is 8.5 in wide by 6 in high. Multiply them: 51 square inches, the largest actual opening of any domestic machine on this site.

The Janome MC6700P is advertised at 10.04 inches and comes fifth, because Janome also publishes the height at 120 mm (4.72 in) and 10.04 x 4.72 is 47.4.

The ranking, and the ranking you would have got

Machines ordered by opening area, with their advertised-width ordering alongside
Rank by opening	Machine	W x H	Opening	Rank by width
1	Juki TL-2010Q	8.5 x 6.0 in	51.0 sq in	4th
2	Brother PQ1600S	8.7 x 5.7 in	49.6 sq in	2nd
3	Juki TL-2000Qi	8.5 x 6.0 in	51.0 sq in	4th
4	Brother PQ1500SL	8.6 x 5.7 in	49.0 sq in	3rd
5	Janome MC6700P	10.04 x 4.72 in	47.4 sq in	1st

The two Jukis are dimensionally identical; the TL-2010Q ranks above the TL-2000Qi on the automatic thread trimmer rather than on the opening.

Why area is the right measure, and inches of width is not

Half the quilt is rolled and pushed through the throat. That roll is a cylinder. A cylinder passing through a rectangular opening is limited by the smaller dimension of the opening, not the larger one.

Width you can work around - slide the roll further right. Height you cannot, because batting stops compressing.

So 8.5 x 6.0 in (51.0 sq in) genuinely beats 10.04 x 4.72 in (47.4 sq in), and it beats it by more than the 8% area difference suggests, because the binding dimension is 27% larger.

What every machine here gives up

Four of the five are straight-stitch only: one stitch, no zigzag, no buttonhole, no decorative work. That is what buys the opening and the 1,500 stitches per minute.

The Janome MC6700P is the exception with 200 stitches at 1,200 spm, and it is on this page for exactly that reason: if this is replacing your only machine, the smallest opening here is still a large opening, and you do not end up owning two machines.

Skip this

Skip all of these if your quilts are throw-sized

A typical general-purpose domestic machine publishes around 4 to 4.7 inches of throat height, which handles a throw comfortably. If that is what you make, the money is better spent on a large supporting table, a walking foot and a free-motion foot.

Work through whether your current machine already does this before upgrading. The honest answer is sometimes yes.

Where the ceiling actually is

Around 51 square inches, on any domestic machine, on any budget. Nothing in this category publishes more, and the next tier up is not a bigger domestic machine - it is a frame, where the quilt is stretched flat and never rolled at all.

An authorized dealer lists the Handi Quilter Amara 20 at 20 inches of throat. That is a different category with a different price and a room-sized footprint, covered on the longarm cost page.

The write-ups

Every pick, in full

01 / Largest throat opening

Juki

9.1 / 10

Semi-professional straight-stitch tier

Juki TL-2010Q

8.5 in wide by 6 in high of arm space, straight stitch only, at 1,500 stitches per minute. Six inches of usable height is the number to notice: it is the most vertical room of any domestic machine in this comparison, and height is what a rolled quilt actually consumes.

Check price on Amazon

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Published specifications for the Juki TL-2010Q, with the source of each
Specification	Published value	Where it is published
Arm size (throat)	215 mm wide x 150 mm high (8.5 in x 6 in)Published as "215(W) x 150(H)mm / 8.5"(W) x 6"(H)"	Juki household TL-2010Q specification table
Maximum sewing speed	1,500 stitches per minute (minimum 55)	Juki household TL-2010Q specification table
Stitch length	0 mm to 6 mm	Juki household TL-2010Q specification table
Machine dimensions	452 mm x 350 mm x 219 mm	Juki household TL-2010Q specification table
Weight	11.5 kg (25.4 lb)	Juki household TL-2010Q specification table
Needle system	HA x 1 (130/705H) / HL x 5, sizes 9 to 18	Juki household TL-2010Q specification table

The arithmetic

8.5 x 6 in is 51 sq in of throat opening. A 10 x 4.7 in machine is 47 sq in: wider, but smaller.

Throat width gets quoted and throat height does not, which is how a 10 in machine ends up sounding roomier than an 8.5 in one. 8.5 x 6 = 51 sq in. 10.04 x 4.72 = 47.4 sq in. The Juki has 8% more opening despite being 15% narrower, because a rolled quilt is a cylinder and a cylinder needs height.

What it does well

6 in of usable height, more vertical room than any other domestic machine here
1,500 spm, matched only by the Brother PQ machines
Juki publishes the arm size in both mm and inches, and labels which figure is width
Aluminum die-cast body at 11.5 kg keeps it stable at full speed

What it does not

Straight stitch only: no zigzag, no buttonhole, no decorative stitches
8.5 in of width is narrower than several domestics that are worse machines for quilting

Skip this one if

You need decorative stitches or a buttonhole. This machine does one stitch, in one direction, extremely well, and nothing else at all.

How it scores, by criterion

Room to work9.0

What it upgrades from9.5

Value for the tier9.0

Headroom before the next upgrade8.0

Spec transparency10.0

02 / Widest throat

Brother

8.8 / 10

Semi-professional straight-stitch tier

Brother PQ1600S

The widest domestic throat here at 8.7 in, with a published 11.1 x 23.3 in extension table and 1,500 spm. It trades 0.3 in of height for 0.2 in of width against the Juki, and adds a pin feed system the Juki has no equivalent for.

Check price on Amazon

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Published specifications for the Brother PQ1600S, with the source of each
Specification	Published value	Where it is published
Needle-to-arm space	8.7 in wide x 5.7 in highPublished as "5.7" x 8.7" needle-to-arm space" - Brother lists this one height-first, the reverse of its SE and NQ pages	Brother PQ1600S product page
Extension table	11.1 in x 23.3 in	Brother PQ1600S product page
Maximum sewing speed	1,500 stitches per minute	Brother PQ1600S product page
Feed system	Four color-coded levels of feed dog adjustment, plus a pin feed mechanism that swaps the feed dogs for a single pin	Brother PQ1600S product page
Knee lifter	Included	Brother PQ1600S product page

What it does well

8.7 in is the widest domestic throat in this comparison
The extension table dimensions are actually published, which is rare
Pin feed handles delicate fabric without feed dog marks
1,500 spm with a knee lifter included

What it does not

5.7 in of height against the Juki's 6 in: 3% less opening despite being wider
Straight stitch only
Brother publishes this figure height-first and its embroidery figures width-first, with no label saying which is which

Skip this one if

You want one machine to do everything. Like the Jukis, this is straight stitch only.

How it scores, by criterion

Room to work8.5

What it upgrades from9.0

Value for the tier9.0

Headroom before the next upgrade8.0

Spec transparency7.0

03 / Best value opening

Juki

8.7 / 10

Semi-professional straight-stitch tier

Juki TL-2000Qi

The same 215 x 150 mm arm and the same 1,500 spm as the TL-2010Q, without the automatic thread trimmer. If budget is the constraint, the sewing is identical.

Check price on Amazon

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Published specifications for the Juki TL-2000Qi, with the source of each
Specification	Published value	Where it is published
Arm size (throat)	215 mm wide x 150 mm high (8.5 in x 6 in)Published as "215(W) x 150(H)mm / 8.5"(W) x 6"(H)"	Juki household TL-2000Qi specification table
Maximum sewing speed	1,500 stitches per minute (minimum 55)	Juki household TL-2000Qi specification table
Auxiliary table	590 mm x 335 mm (23 in wide x 13 in deep)	Juki household TL-2000Qi specification table
Stitch length	0 mm to 6 mm	Juki household TL-2000Qi specification table
Weight	11.5 kg (25.4 lb)	Juki household TL-2000Qi specification table

What it does well

Identical 51 sq in throat opening to the TL-2010Q
The 23 x 13 in auxiliary table is included, and its dimensions are published
Cheapest route to 6 in of usable throat height

What it does not

No automatic thread trimmer
Straight stitch only

Skip this one if

You free-motion quilt for hours at a time. The thread trimmer on the 2010Q is the difference between finishing a line and reaching for scissors, several hundred times a quilt.

How it scores, by criterion

Room to work9.0

What it upgrades from9.0

Value for the tier9.5

Headroom before the next upgrade8.0

Spec transparency10.0

04 / Best on discount

Brother

8.4 / 10

Semi-professional straight-stitch tier

Brother PQ1500SL

The PQ1600S's predecessor: 0.1 in narrower on paper and otherwise the same proposition at 1,500 spm with a knee lifter. Buy on price alone.

Check price on Amazon

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Published specifications for the Brother PQ1500SL, with the source of each
Specification	Published value	Where it is published
Work space (needle to arm)	8.6 in wide x 5.7 in highPublished as "5.7" x 8.6"" work space area	Brother PQ1500SL product page
Maximum sewing speed	1,500 stitches per minute	Brother PQ1500SL product page
Knee lifter	Included	Brother PQ1500SL product page
Extension table	Included; Brother does not publish its dimensions for this model	Brother PQ1500SL product page

What it does well

49 sq in of throat opening for typically less than the PQ1600S
1,500 spm and a knee lifter

What it does not

0.1 in narrower than the PQ1600S and otherwise identical on paper
Table size not published
Straight stitch only

Skip this one if

The PQ1600S is close in price. The newer machine is the same money for slightly more room and a published table size.

How it scores, by criterion

Room to work8.5

What it upgrades from8.5

Value for the tier9.0

Headroom before the next upgrade8.0

Spec transparency6.5

05 / Widest that also zigzags

Janome

8.5 / 10

Upper domestic tier

Janome Memory Craft 6700 Professional

10 inches to the right of the needle and 200 built-in stitches: the widest machine here that still does everything a domestic machine does. The catch is 120 mm of height, the lowest opening in this comparison.

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Published specifications for the Janome Memory Craft 6700 Professional, with the source of each
Specification	Published value	Where it is published
Work space	255 mm x 120 mm (10.04 in wide x 4.72 in high)Published as "255 x 120 (mm)"; the same page also states "10 inches (255mm) to the right of the needle"	Janome Global MC6700 Professional product page
Maximum sewing speed	1,200 stitches per minute	Janome Global MC6700 Professional product page
Built-in stitches	200	Janome Global MC6700 Professional product page
Machine dimensions	516 mm x 300 mm x 220 mm	Janome Global MC6700 Professional product page
Weight	11 kg (24.3 lb)	Janome Global MC6700 Professional product page

What it does well

10.04 in of width, the widest domestic here
200 stitches, so it is a real general-purpose machine as well as a quilting one
Janome publishes the workspace as an explicit width by height pair in millimeters

What it does not

120 mm (4.72 in) of height is the lowest opening in this comparison
1,200 spm against 1,500 on the straight-stitch machines

Skip this one if

Your bottleneck is a king-size quilt rolled under the arm. Extra width does not help if the roll will not clear 4.7 in of height.

How it scores, by criterion

Room to work8.0

What it upgrades from9.0

Value for the tier8.0

Headroom before the next upgrade7.5

Spec transparency9.5

How this was ranked

Machines we claim to have tested: none. Everyone in this category says they tested twenty. We have not tested any, and we say so. What we did instead: built the candidate set from what Amazon actually stocks, read the published specification off each manufacturer’s own page, normalized every measurement into the same units and the same order, did the arithmetic on what each step up buys, and left every figure the maker does not publish visibly blank rather than filling it in. Every number on this page links to where it was published, so you can check the work in about five minutes.

Sponsored placements: 0
Free machines accepted: 0
Specs linked to a maker page: All

The full method, including what we refuse to claim

Questions people actually ask

Frequently asked

What is the best quilting sewing machine with a large throat?

The Juki TL-2010Q, at a published 215 x 150 mm (8.5 x 6 in) - 51 square inches of opening, the largest of any domestic machine here, at 1,500 stitches per minute.

Which machine has the largest throat?

By advertised width, the Janome MC6700P at 10.04 in. By actual opening, the Juki TL series at 51 square inches - the Janome’s published height of 4.72 in gives it 47.4. Both numbers come from the manufacturers.

Are there sewing machines with 12 inches of throat space?

Not among the domestic machines on this site. The widest here publishes 10.04 inches. Twelve inches and beyond is frame-machine territory - we cover that honestly here.

Is a wider throat always better?

No. Opening is width multiplied by height, and a rolled quilt is limited by the smaller dimension. The 10.04-inch machine on this page has the smallest opening of the five because its height is 4.72 inches.

Do I need a large-throat machine for a queen quilt?

It helps a great deal. Around 6 inches of throat height - which Juki publishes - makes a queen workable on a domestic machine. Around 4 inches makes it a fight. The banded arithmetic is on the how much page.

Sources

Every specification on this page was read from one of these pages on 1 September 2026.