I found a treasure in my closet :)
 

My Janome 6600 has been behaving badly, chewing up fabric worse than ever. I pulled out the Kenmore 385.19153 that I put away as soon as I got the 6600. Now that I have a table with insert the little Kenmore works out well.
It purrs like a kitten!! It's awsome in comparison to the big beast. So, question # 1 (and I know the answer is no)
can you set the needle to stop in the down position ? ;)
I have had the 6600 serviced about every year. Do these things wear out?

Take the 6600 to your dealer for a service -- they will be able to tell you if it is worth fixing, prior to the service.

Did you try using a leader to prevent it from chewing up your patch? You might just have some lint caught in the feeddogs. Just a suggestion, since I am not familiar with your janome

For my 6600, thin fabrics require a leader to start at the very edge...pulling the top and bottom threads out and holding them taut when starting to stitch will also help

I have been doing that. It is getting progressively worse though. I am starting to suspect some mal alignment of the feed dogs. I am taking it in for service, just looking to find a good place. The dealer's service was sub par the past couple of times that I took it in ( had to take it back to get it reworked :( )

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Did you check your manual?

I hope someone comes up with the answer to your question about setting needle down on your other machine. I have a really good "school machine" which is awesome for quilting (I do only SITD and crosshatchine). But I have to do the needle down manually when I stop and reposition.

My Janome 6500 (has been serviced numerous times) does exactly the same thing. It has been terrible to munch up fabric, veers off seam lines if it hits a seam intersection and the feed dogs have always been set too low and at a sloping down angle at the back. As a result, I have hated this machine and wouldn't recommend a Janome to anyone. I know there are many users out there who love this machine but my Juki just sews so much better and was only half the price. I hope you have better luck getting this issue resolved than I have had.

Oh thanks for the reply. I have had decent luck with the machine so far, just not with the dealer. I am getting it serviced and then I am selling it, just because I have my heart set on a Juki :)..
The Kenmore will be my non straight stitch machine.

which Juki do you have? I am looking at the 2010q for the speed control.

my Janome MC 4800 has a needle down button. and the feed dogs do need a good cleaning every once in awhile. lint galore if not!