flying with your sewing machine

It seems like every time I post about a retreat, I have questions about flying with a sewing machine. I thought it would be a good time to talk about my (limited) experience with this. Last November, when I flew to Colorado, I did take my JUKI with me, since it would be very hard to teach machine quilting without my own machine.

The first thing I did was to call and ask the airline about it. The airline I flew with said they had no regulations against carrying on a sewing machine. Phew! I certainly didn't want to check it! Who knows what it would go through until I could pick it up in baggage claim. I made sure to take out the needle, just in case that would cause any issues. I put my needles in my checked bag.

I called my sewing machine dealer to ask the ideal way to travel with my JUKI.  The man I spoke to told me that they aren't ideal for transporting. (Something I had already realized.) I asked about what kind of case and such, but he didn't have any recommendations.

So, I went on the hunt for a suitcase for my sewing machine that would fit my machine and also meet the size requirements of a carry on bag. I found a regular soft sided suitcase at Target (yay Target!) that fit my needs. My sewing machine fit fine and dandy, but with little room to spare! I put a few small quilts around the machine for padding, since I was transporting them anyway. I also put a quilt over the machine, just to be on the safe side. I have to say, it was NOT easy to lift up the machine into the overhead compartment, but I managed. (It's a good thing I lift weights. Ha!)

On the flight there, security did take my bag, open it and inspect it. On the flight home, they didn't. Overall, it wasn't so bad flying with my sewing machine. I was pretty nervous about it beforehand, but thankfully all went well. Here's hoping I can say the same this year!

I'd be curious to hear if you have had any experience flying with your sewing machine. If so, how did it go?