Originally Posted by
carolaiken
My neighbor gave me a Janome Sewist 509 that had belonged to his mom. There was a note in the box that said "decorative stitches don't work". I am going to play with it tomorrow and see what I can do. Any suggestions will be very welcome. A Juki, a Featherweight, a Bernette and this one makes four!
There could be other issues as well (tension comes to mind). I'd have it serviced, they usually guarantee their work for a period of time, and they run it through stitches to make sure it is working properly. Since it was given to you, probably worth having it serviced.
I know one Janome I had a few years ago, I never could figure out how to get into it.