I have Janome machines and they have not been picky about thread. I use a 14 needle most of the time and have had no issues at all. When I look at what a 250 yard spool costs, $4 and then the yardage on a cone is 3,000, that is 12 spools of thread. I will gladly by the 99¢-$2.99 cost for a cone of thread compared to $48 for 12 spools.