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#1
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Review: Janome 6500
Thanks to a number of recommendations I found here, I recently tried out and later purchased the Janome 6500 "quilter" machine. This is in addition to a Bernina 931, a Bernina serger, a Babylock serger and a White that I never use any more. The machine operates wonderfully and smoothly and I cannot say enough good things about it. It is very sturdy (heavy!)--- heavier than my Bernina 931 in fact. The longer arm and roomier bed is indeed nice for quilting though I have not tried it yet for other things. It has a wide range of adjustable decorative stitches which I lacked on my Bernina. Initially, I had thought of getting a new Bernina but I could not find enough differences between the new and the old one to justify the cost. The Janome has a wonderful memory capacity and the ability to combine and memorize various stitches. You are all probably used to having that but this is my first machine with a chip in it. It is very nice and I hope that the "electronics" are stable. It has an auto-threader that I am thinking of disengaging, mainly because, unless my eyes get a lot worse, it is a lot faster manually. You can lift the presser foot with a knee bar, just like on the Bernina. The auto thread cutters are fabulous... I just love this feature! It is also nice to be able to wind bobbins without unthreading the machine--- though machine threading is very easy, just like on the Bernina. It also sews very fast and has a variable speed adjustment which is very handy for free-motion machine quilting. It also holds large 3000-5000 yard spools of thread without a separate thingy. And, it sews a 7 mm wide stitch which is just great! And you can set it to stop needle down or up. Needle down is wonderful when stitching a lot of curves. (On the Bernina, I have to keep hitting the foot pedal with my heel) I paid $1100 for it (it had been used in a class for 3 days) and that is far less than a new Bernina--- the cost of which I just could not justify since that my 931 still works perfectly. So we'll see how well it holds up. Like any machine, I recommend giving it a test drive and paying specific attention to all the things you really need in a machine. Like cars, one size does not fit all. Phae .. |
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#2
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Nice review of a nice machine. I made the switch from the Pfaff brand when
I had too many problems with one of their latest electronic models and my dealer suggested I switch(!?!). He moved me to the Janome and I haven't had one problem and it cost much less than the Pfaff and does far more. Accessories are reasonably priced too. Love that it holds more bobbin thread than the Pfaff too and doesn't do the bird's nest that the Pfaff seemed to be prone to on starting a stitch. I wish it had a free arm though - only downside, but the thread cutter makes up for it and it seems to have great penetrating power for thicker fabrics. Enjoy and use the heck outta it! Mack |
#3
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I was so pleased to see this post today, as tomorrow I hope to be
getting one, too! I tried one at Malvern last week and it did the very slow start (if required) that is vital for me. People ask why? Well, when you make miniatures, quite often the seams are only half an inch long! Without a slow start you've whizzed off the end of the seam without being aware of it!! However, I really wanted it for the larger space under the arm. Otherwise I don't think I would have changed machines. But doing my last largish quilt nearly drove me to distraction. I will be trading in my current Viking, and will also be selling my Featherweight! So I am reducing my numbers instead of increasing. I found I didn't want/need to use more than one after all. I'm sure there will be many features I won't use - I'm such an old stick in the mud! I will be interested to use the knee lift (which, thanks to Sandy Foster I know lifts the presser foot!! - for ages I'd see this mentioned on the NG and didn't have the 'nerve' to ask what it was lifting, as everyone else seemed to know. Then one day Sandy mentioned the details in a post. Light dawned g) .. In article , Phaedrine writes Thanks to a number of recommendations I found here, I recently tried out and later purchased the Janome 6500 "quilter" machine. This is in addition to a Bernina 931, a Bernina serger, a Babylock serger and a White that I never use any more. The machine operates wonderfully and smoothly and I cannot say enough good things about it. It is very sturdy (heavy!)--- heavier than my Bernina 931 in fact. The longer arm and roomier bed is indeed nice for quilting though I have not tried it yet for other things. It has a wide range of adjustable decorative stitches which I lacked on my Bernina. Initially, I had thought of getting a new Bernina but I could not find enough differences between the new and the old one to justify the cost. snipped . -- Best Regards pat on the hill |
#4
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Well I am glad my timing was good for once. I also required a slow,
steady start. Be sure to put the pedal on a hard, flat surface. Initially, I had mine on a plush carpet but that did not work with this particular pedal because it does not have a flat bottom. So the bar on the bottom of the pedal would start sinking into the rug before it triggered the startup mechanism and then i would get a jerky start. A thick piece of cardboard solved that. Another thing I forgot to mention about this machine is its precision. After using a Bernina for so many years, it was not easy finding a machine with as much precision, though sewing machines have improved greatly over the last 20 or so years. The Janome is very precise and you can increase/decrease stitch lengths and widths in very small increments. Have fun with your new machine; I know you will enjoy it. In article , Patti wrote: I was so pleased to see this post today, as tomorrow I hope to be getting one, too! I tried one at Malvern last week and it did the very slow start (if required) that is vital for me. People ask why? Well, when you make miniatures, quite often the seams are only half an inch long! Without a slow start you've whizzed off the end of the seam without being aware of it!! However, I really wanted it for the larger space under the arm. Otherwise I don't think I would have changed machines. But doing my last largish quilt nearly drove me to distraction. I will be trading in my current Viking, and will also be selling my Featherweight! So I am reducing my numbers instead of increasing. I found I didn't want/need to use more than one after all. I'm sure there will be many features I won't use - I'm such an old stick in the mud! I will be interested to use the knee lift (which, thanks to Sandy Foster I know lifts the presser foot!! - for ages I'd see this mentioned on the NG and didn't have the 'nerve' to ask what it was lifting, as everyone else seemed to know. Then one day Sandy mentioned the details in a post. Light dawned g) . In article , Phaedrine writes Thanks to a number of recommendations I found here, I recently tried out and later purchased the Janome 6500 "quilter" machine. This is in addition to a Bernina 931, a Bernina serger, a Babylock serger and a White that I never use any more. The machine operates wonderfully and smoothly and I cannot say enough good things about it. It is very sturdy (heavy!)--- heavier than my Bernina 931 in fact. The longer arm and roomier bed is indeed nice for quilting though I have not tried it yet for other things. It has a wide range of adjustable decorative stitches which I lacked on my Bernina. Initially, I had thought of getting a new Bernina but I could not find enough differences between the new and the old one to justify the cost. snipped . |
#5
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In article ,
"M. MacDonald" wrote: Nice review of a nice machine. I made the switch from the Pfaff brand when I had too many problems with one of their latest electronic models and my dealer suggested I switch(!?!). He moved me to the Janome and I haven't had one problem and it cost much less than the Pfaff and does far more. Accessories are reasonably priced too. Love that it holds more bobbin thread than the Pfaff too and doesn't do the bird's nest that the Pfaff seemed to be prone to on starting a stitch. I wish it had a free arm though - only downside, but the thread cutter makes up for it and it seems to have great penetrating power for thicker fabrics. Enjoy and use the heck outta it! Mack Thanks! I am glad I still have the free-arm on my other machine. This particular Janome was made to have a large bed instead of a free-arm. Happy sewing. |
#6
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In article ,
Patti wrote: I will be interested to use the knee lift (which, thanks to Sandy Foster I know lifts the presser foot!! - for ages I'd see this mentioned on the NG and didn't have the 'nerve' to ask what it was lifting, as everyone else seemed to know. Then one day Sandy mentioned the details in a post. Light dawned g) Awwww, shucks, Pat! But I do love that knee lift -- I use it with my right knee and operate the speed with my left. Works like a charm for me. -- Sandy in Henderson, near Las Vegas my ISP is earthlink.net -- put sfoster1(at) in front http://home.earthlink.net/~sfoster1 |
#7
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Thanks very much for this tip, Phae. I would have been *so*
disappointed, because we have a fairly long pile carpet. .. In article , Phaedrine writes Well I am glad my timing was good for once. I also required a slow, steady start. Be sure to put the pedal on a hard, flat surface. Initially, I had mine on a plush carpet but that did not work with this particular pedal because it does not have a flat bottom. So the bar on the bottom of the pedal would start sinking into the rug before it triggered the startup mechanism and then i would get a jerky start. A thick piece of cardboard solved that. Another thing I forgot to mention about this machine is its precision. After using a Bernina for so many years, it was not easy finding a machine with as much precision, though sewing machines have improved greatly over the last 20 or so years. The Janome is very precise and you can increase/decrease stitch lengths and widths in very small increments. Have fun with your new machine; I know you will enjoy it. -- Best Regards pat on the hill |
#8
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I am not familiar with the model you purchased but I have owned a
Janome 9000 for several years and am very happy with it. I had previously owned three Vikings. The last two had been computerized models. I wore out both of them. I realize that I sew alot but for the price I thought they should have lasted longer. I was especially disappointed that if I wanted to do embroidery after quilting for several days I would have to have the machine adjusted to achieve nice embroidery stitches. I only have my Janome cleaned and adjusted once a year and it is fine to switch from heavy quilting to fine embroidery. The price is much more reasonable. If anyone is looking for a new machine I would suggest they look at the Janome. The only drawback is that in our area the Janome machines are sold through vaccumm cleaner sales stores. They can only give you the standard sales pitch and demonstration for the machine. I would love to take a class sometime from a real quilter who works on a Janome. I am sure there are tricks that the local dealer doesn't know. The 9000 has a way to sew diamond shapes (i.e. tumbling block pattern) where the needle starts and stops 1/4" fromt the end. I had to show the local sales person why you would want to use the feature. Susan On Wed, 19 May 2004 11:52:07 -0500, Phaedrine wrote: Thanks to a number of recommendations I found here, I recently tried out and later purchased the Janome 6500 "quilter" machine. This is in addition to a Bernina 931, a Bernina serger, a Babylock serger and a White that I never use any more. The machine operates wonderfully and smoothly and I cannot say enough good things about it. It is very sturdy (heavy!)--- heavier than my Bernina 931 in fact. The longer arm and roomier bed is indeed nice for quilting though I have not tried it yet for other things. It has a wide range of adjustable decorative stitches which I lacked on my Bernina. Initially, I had thought of getting a new Bernina but I could not find enough differences between the new and the old one to justify the cost. The Janome has a wonderful memory capacity and the ability to combine and memorize various stitches. You are all probably used to having that but this is my first machine with a chip in it. It is very nice and I hope that the "electronics" are stable. It has an auto-threader that I am thinking of disengaging, mainly because, unless my eyes get a lot worse, it is a lot faster manually. You can lift the presser foot with a knee bar, just like on the Bernina. The auto thread cutters are fabulous... I just love this feature! It is also nice to be able to wind bobbins without unthreading the machine--- though machine threading is very easy, just like on the Bernina. It also sews very fast and has a variable speed adjustment which is very handy for free-motion machine quilting. It also holds large 3000-5000 yard spools of thread without a separate thingy. And, it sews a 7 mm wide stitch which is just great! And you can set it to stop needle down or up. Needle down is wonderful when stitching a lot of curves. (On the Bernina, I have to keep hitting the foot pedal with my heel) I paid $1100 for it (it had been used in a class for 3 days) and that is far less than a new Bernina--- the cost of which I just could not justify since that my 931 still works perfectly. So we'll see how well it holds up. Like any machine, I recommend giving it a test drive and paying specific attention to all the things you really need in a machine. Like cars, one size does not fit all. Phae . |
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