K. Szymaszek Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 I just finished my own quilt. I figured out it took me 129 hours! My feet were screaming and my legs ached. I have a drafting chair with height adjustment but I just couldn't seem to quilt that way. I was wondering if other people tried chairs and didn't like them, then purchased a saddle stool and found it worked for them. I don't want to spend the money, just to find I can't use it. Also I was wondering about how high they adjust to. Any comments will be appreciated. Thanks, K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 A saddle stool can help, but I find I only am comfortable using mine while doing intricate stitching where I must concentrate on one spot for a long time. I have carpet and my stool stays in position well but doesn't roll easily. I don't use mine much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaSteller Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 I sit to quilt almost everything I do. That said, allovers are done by my IQ. If I were still doing pantographs from the back of the machine, I'd be standing for those. I'm not an all-over freehand quilter, so I've never needed to have 'room to move' so to speak. I do like my saddle stool. I can snug right up close and personal with the quilt and do my SID or background fills that I don't do with IQ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 99.9% of the time I stand while quilting, but I do have a saddle stool. I use it only when I'm concentrating on a small area and need my eyes and my nose to be down there close up and intimate with the needle. That said, I love my saddle stool and consider it a great tool in my tool box to choose from! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirleyl Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Only use my saddle stool for individual blocks and frogging. I use it enough to have justified buying it. Shirley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgardog Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 I also use my stool for serging with my Babylock Ovation. I can raise it higher so I am more above the work surface which makes it really nice to see what i am doing. JIM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 K: I have a saddle stool and use it most of the time. I have a Star 205 I think (bought it 3 years ago so I'm not sure whether I remember properly) it the same one that Christina uses. I have a hard floor in my quilting room so it rolls just fine. It adjusts from a low of 16 inches I think, up to 29 inches in height. I originally used an office chair, but it only adjusted up to 17 inches, and was too low. You need the high height. I have a power lift on my table, and before I got the saddle stool, I used it all the time. Now I only raise or lower the table occassionally. The stool really saves on my back. It makes pining on a quilt almost enjoyable. I didn't find the seat to be too comfortable, but I've gotten used to it. It's hot here in the summer, and I found the vinyl seat cover not to my likeing, so I re-appolstered it with sheep skin. I like the way it feels now. I don't know what you found objectionable about the chair. I was confortable enough in mine. The problem with it was simply the height. I paid about $130 delivered for my stool. I really like it. I can quilt for hours sitting on it. I would not be able to stand and quilt like that without my back paying a price the next day. I recommend you buy one. Spending a $130 to discover that it does the job for you, seems a small investment considering what we pay for some other accessories. If you don't like it, you can probably sell it here, and get at least half what you paid, or maybe if you decided immediately you didn't like it, you could return it to the seller for a refund. Hope this has been helpful. Jim BTW, don't discard the packing and box til you know that you're going to keep it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K. Szymaszek Posted January 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Thanks for all the replies. I would just like to sit when doing detail work. I was pebbling stars- felt like a million of them-and each one took 45 minutes. Like I said, my feet were screaming. Lucky to get 3 or 4 done a day. I think I will try the saddle stool. I think the office chair just didn't go high enough and I felt like I was moving to much in it. Thanks for all the info. I can't wait to share the quilt with you all but I have one from Christmas that I must share first. Thanks again. K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethDurand Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 I got my saddle stool through my hairdresser. He has one, and it has saved his feet and back. I've only used mine when doing up close work, or the next time I have to frog something large. I had a cheap ($5.00 at a thrift store) bar stool, and it worked okay, but the lack of height adjustment, and round top got pretty uncomfortable. Being 6' tall, my saddle stool still wasn't quite as tall as I needed, so DH added a wood base under the saddle to make it just a smidge taller. Probably not necessary for people of normal height. Through the beauty supply company, mine was $109, and I picked it up, so no shipping. Keeping the box until you are sure that you want to keep it is a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuiltGuy Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Hi Beth, Does your Saddle stool have a backrest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeannieB Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Look at www.bizchair.com, model st205, seat adjusts from 25 - 35" and tilts if you want it to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmeimann Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Love my saddle stool and use it except when SID long borders or feathering borders. Commercial carpeting (flat) so stool rolls fairly well. Bad knee and foot problems. With the stool I can quilt all day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpsquilter Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Dave I have a saddle stool that I use a lot and the adjustment is great, has a tilt adjustment, a foot bar but no back. I don't know that I have ever seen one with a back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuiltGuy Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Here's one with a back that I have been thinking about... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057CMQZ8/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaSteller Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Hmmm. Had I seen one with a back on it before I bought mine, I probably would have gone with it, because I have a horribly bad back (I had a three-level spinal fusion, L3-S1 a few years back), but now that I have my regular saddle stool I can't imagine it with a back on it. It just seems to sit you up properly so that I can't really imagine leaning back in it at all. I suppose if you get it Dave, and decide you don't like the back, you can always remove it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeannieB Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Dave, do you need a foot bar? Im on the short side and if i get my stool tall enough to sit and work from, i have to have the foot bar or my feet dangle! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethDurand Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 I find that I have to have the foot bar even with my long legs. No back on my saddle stool, but I'm usually bent over the machine table when I'm using the stool anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirleyl Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 That chair only goes 25" tall, the one I have starts at 25". You might want to see if it would've tall enough before you buy it. My machine height is set for standing, so when I sit I need a tall chair. Shirley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuiltGuy Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 Lack of foot bar is a great point as I have REALLY short legs! More thinking is absolutely required now...hmmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbams Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 If you get a stool with a foot bar, make sure you only use it to REST your feet, not as a mounting step. My husband and I were sharing a tall office stool when we were sharing his stand up desk, and the foot rest ended up pushed all the way down on top of the legs, never to rise again. I know I didn't do it, and since he is 6'2", I can't figure out why he needed a step up into that chair. Fortunately, I now have my own regular height desk, and he is in sole possession of both the tall stool (without a working foot rest) and the stand up desk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 My Saddle stool is a fantastic tool for me. Saves the back from excruciating pain, when I do something to set the pain off really bad, but it also lets me quilt without risk of falling, If I stand in line at a grocery, I have to keep walking about 3 feet, or my legs go out from under me. Anyway, it is seldom I don't use it. I use the Side Saddle Computer, but still have to tack the top down. and when needed, down the sides. I have a long body and short legs, and had a few inches taken out of the legs on my table, and it's been fantastic with the stool, which I can also raise too high for comfy quilting. No more falling, no more leg cramps, no more foot cramps and no more shooting pains in the low back. I'm a big fan, the back I can't see getting, as someone mentioned, you aren't sitting back when you sew anyway. When I need a break I get up and move around, or turn back about 3 feet and I'm at my dsm and piecing or binding. If you Really want a back, find out if it's possible to remove. Just in case. Also with the round seats, oh for the achy butt.. the sadle stool works better, though takes a short while to get used to, unless you've driven tractors,, the old style tractors with the contour seat. Always hold onto something secure, solid with one hand and the other hand holding the stool, if it has wheels.. that puppy can buck you off real quick.. and it hurts to fall onto the foot rest or leg.. Rita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyG_Quilts Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 I bought a saddle stool a couple years ago, but don't use it much as I have a carpet and so far don't do a ton of detail work in one spot. Maybe someday... When I bought it there were two hieght options. The shorter one would have worked for my piecing machine and the tall one works for my longarm. I have a desk chair for the piecing machine. My husband is building me a custom sewing desk which will be higher than my current desk so I think I should be able to use the saddle stool for it. I am hoping that my piecing posture will improve enough that I can do more in a day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 I almost always use my saddle stool, even to do pantos. It saves my back and my legs. I would be lost without it. I do have the hydraulic lift as well so I can make adjustments to height if something starts aching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fastquilts Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 I have the saddle seat too and love it. I had not used it much but had foot surgery in Oct. and could not put any weight on it for 8 weeks and I used my seat to quilt and it was awesome. I have a hard floor so it rolls easily and it really is very comfortable to sit on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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