I just purchased a Janome 7700 at the Quilt Fest yesterday. I immediately sat down to sew. It is an exceptional machine, and Boy does it sew well! UNLESS you are sewing more than two or four layers at a time. I LOVE to do OBW's, and in fact had one started, so that is what I have been sewing on since I got the machine yesterday. But this machine will NOT sew over the seams when joining the hex strip sets. I even went ahead and engaged the Accufeed, but even that doesn't do the trick, plus the Accufeed foot doesn't have a 1/4 inch foot. I never had this problem with my older cheap Janome. Since I love to do OBW's, I'm not inclined to have to fiddle and fuss over every single seam every time.

So, any suggestions, or am I going to be taking it back to the dealer for a refund this week?

Is it that it is too thick you think? Have you tried a diffrent needle?

They just issued newly designed 1/4" feet to those of us who registered our new machines. They were mailed to us, so you might want to check into it with Janome or your dealer.

kwhite, If you're up, call me.

I saw that when I went searching for an answer, but it doesn't seem as if that is going to solve the basic problem, which is that it won't sew over thick seams. For the price I paid, that is unacceptable, so I guess that the machine will be going back to the dealer later this week.

Gai, there has been lots of discussion about this on the 6600/7700 forum. See this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWUTuGv4zzs
The first comment says the quarter inch foot is being replaced FOC to all purchasers, and the new one has a groove at the front to ride over thick layers

Katrine, thanks for the video. I'm hoping that replacing the foot will help, but I'm NOT going to mess with having to put a "Thing-a-ma-jig" in place over EVERY seam, especially when doing an OBW. That would be a real pain in the cul.

I just received the new foot last week and it makes a world of difference- amazing what such a small change in design can do- the new one is stamped O2- I hope this works out for you, it is a wonderful machine!

Thanks Chiara & Katrine. This gives me hope that all I need is a new foot. Whew. I'm now much more hopeful!!

You guys are the best!!

I received my new O2 foot last week. I haven't used it yet. I also had problems with the 1/4" foot that came with the Horizon. I took the 1/4" foot off my Elna, placed it on the Horizon, and no more problems going over thicker seams. It just has something to do with the design of the original foot. The guide on the original foot is too loose, and that may cause the problems. Have no fear! Just keep using the machine, it only gets better with time. Mine has!

janome does make an Accufeed 1/4" foot. it's a lifesaver when it's time to sew on the binding. however, the standard 1/4" foot is all you need for piecing.

my favorite Accufeed foot is the open toe foot. save your pennies to get one if it isn't included with your Horizon.

once you get your redesigned standard foot, i'm sure you'll be doing your happy dance all over town. :-)

Thanks Patrice. The machine did come with the open-toe Accufeed foot, but I was trying everything I could think of last night (at 2 am). I'm taking Terri and Machel to the airport this morning, and I work tonight & Tuesday, but Wednesday afternoon I'll be at the Janome dealer as soon as it opens to get the redesigned foot.

And you're right about the throat on this machine. It's so big I'm inclined to name her Linda. :mrgreen: :shock: :lol: :lol: :lol:

And if you only knew how many comments I've read about "Where's Patrice's face?" LMBO

I'm sure the new foot will sort it Gai - lucky girl with that machine!

Patrice - I agree! I have all the Accufeed feet, and find I use the open toe more than any of the others. I love it for attaching binding, and now prefer it to the SID Accufeed for ditching.

PatriceJ is in hiding. ROFL. I have her pictures too but won't post them.
Hey GAI GAI, give Tlmhi and Machel a hug for me, they were too fun to hang with. Talk to you soon. You should still be doing your wahoooooooooooing and happy dance over your machine. You are so lucky. Talk to you soon. HUGS

Yeah, she made me promise too, and since she's my new best friend, I need to keep my word! :mrgreen: :-P :-P :lol: :lol: After all, I owe her big time!!

And that video is too, too funny!!!! ROFLMBO!!!

I would return it for a refund, seriously. The reason I say this is because I have the exact same problem with my Janome 6600P - the 7700's precursor - and have never found a way to remedy it. It aggravates me because the "P" stands for "Professional" and, in my opinion, a professional machine should have a strong enough motor/feed dogs to go right over seams without a hitch; my Janome 4800 (much smaller machine) sews over anything, and it was half the price of the 6600P!

Trish, according to several here, the problem is actually in the FOOT, not with the motor. Read some of the previous posts for more details and check out the video. I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt, and wait to see if the new foot fixes the problem. If it does, I am a happy camper. The machine really is great except for that. The Youtube video shows it sewing over really thick fabric, and evidently it is the FOOT causing the problem. Since they have redesigned the foot and it is available free, I'll wait a bit.

I have a Janome 6600 and have a problem with Gutterman thread - it is not taut enough - the uptake lever - located above the needle - the lever that moves up and down as you sew - drops the Gutterman thread as there is slack in the thread. The only way I solved this problem was getting a thread caddy and setting it to the right of the machine. I set the spool of thread on the thread caddy (a banana holder works for this also) and thread the machine from the caddy. It helps to keep the thread taut.

I've contacted Janome customer service to see if I can get one of the new feet for my machine, as I'm hoping that will also fix the problem with it. I haven't heard anything as of yet, but plan to give them a day or two before calling them again.

Did you get the new O2 foot with it? If not, register the machine and Janome will send it. The 1/4" foot was redesigned to accommodate thick seems. I personally haven't had that problem with mine.

I don't have the 7700, but have had this problem with my 6600P since I bought it. I'm not sure why they didn't come out with this "fix" for those of us with the 6600P, but I know the O2 foot will also work on the 6600 and have contacted them asking for one.

I have been concerned with this when I owned the 6600. I traded up to the 7700 and the same thing happened. The Accufeed does have a 1/4" foot. You buy it separately, however you can't use the single stitch hole because the needle position is at 5.5 on the Accufeed 1/4 foot.

I just received my new 7700 regular 1/4" foot. They changed the design of the bottom of the foot.

I think the Accufeed system is part of the problem because of the different style of feed dog to accommodate the Accufeed feet. It just causes all kinds of other issues when not using the Accufeed feet.