My new machine is a Janome 6600. Terri suggested that I ask the board about fmq on this machine. I was kind of upset my husband paid so much for this machine and someone said that it does not have a stitch regulator on it ( that is on a Bernia, I think ). Does anyone have this machine and can you learn to fmq with it . I would love to learn to do the thread painting or fmq. Is the Janome 6600 a good machine for this are has my hubby spent a fortune for a machine that I am not going to be able to do this with. ( It was a fortune for us I know there are machines that cost alot more but I will probably never OWN one. thanks Teresa

Here is a link to the review page for Janome on the patternreview.com website. It looks like there are many reviews for Janome models listed as either 6600P or Memory Craft 6600.

http://sewing.patternreview.com/SewingMachine/Janome

I hope this helps you.

Thankyou

You can fmq on a Janome; I know, because I have one.
There is a bobbin case you should buy for fmq. It is made especially for this model to do fmq and will stop knots or tangles.
I'm not as good as the man who demonstrated the machine when I bought it, but if you're willing to put in time and practice, you can make beautiful things. There are also attachments to fmq (probably in the previous link that I didn't follow).

You can certainly fmq on this machine! (You can fmq on almost any domestic sewing machine, even the ones that won't drop the feed dogs. In that case, you can cover the feed dogs.) It is a great machine. I almost bought one, but I already have a great Bernina 1230 and could not justify the additional expense. The Janome has a larger area under the arm, which makes fmq easier for large quilts, has a much larger flatbed, and it has the automatic thread cutter I covet. The only thing it doesn't have is a free arm for sewing cuffs and pant legs.

I'm pretty sure a Bernina with the stitch regulator would cost a *lot* more than the Janome 6600.

A lot of quilters on this forum have the Janome 6600 and really like it, so I think your dh did well (except for not consulting you first!).

I have a 6600. I like it. I have done FMQing. It takes practice. I don't really know what you mean by a stitch regulator.

your husband made an excellent choice.

i agree that a stitch regulator would be a fabulous accessory if available. i must also confess it wouldn't do me a bit of good. my fmq is already consistent. consistently stinko! :XD:

with or without a regulator, fmq takes a lot of practice to master. and once you master it, you won't need a regulator. ;-)

I bought a 6600P specifically to be able to do fmq and I haven't been disappointed. It takes practice as it will with any machine. The optional bobbin case with the blue dot is specially for fmq and takes care of any tension problems - although I sometimes use the supplied bobbin with no problem - depends on which threads I'm using. The large bed makes manoeuvring a large quilt easy. I have the table for this model which improves ease of use even more.
The accufeed system is excellent - never a pucker or trouble with quilting layers.
I'm a fan!

Your DH made a great choice. I love to FMQ on my 6600. The answers above are all what I would have said. I tried out both brands before deciding on the Janome.

I love my 6600! And yes, you can FMQ..

There is a user group on yahoo for Janome 6500 and 6600.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Janome6500/

I think more people there have the 6600 then the 6500. Ther is a lot of useful information there.

I have the 6500. I have been very happy with it.

Thanks to everyone for the information. I also went to the website and joined the group for 6500 and 6600. Thanks again and I am sure i will get lots of help from this source and of course the most valuable will be all of you my quilting friends... Teresa

I have had the 6600P for a month and have been FMQ a lot! Yesterday I bought the new FM foot for it and it is wonderful. I have heard that you can use the Start/Stop button instead of the pedal and set the speed you want instead of having the stitch regulator. Have not tried it yet, though. The bobbin case with the blue dot is optional if you get the new FM foot. My sales lady said you don't need both, just play with your tension settings.
Have fun with your machine...
judee

Good point Judee, I had forgotten to mention the speed control. For fmq I usually have mine just under half with my foot full down and find that comfortable and easy to control. I haven't done any fmq with the Start/Stop button yet - think I'm too worried to move a hand off the fabric!

I have only used the foot pedal a couple times. i have used the start/stop button since i bought it. i wish i had taken out the knee lift, never used that yet either..they say it is awesoem when your string piecing..i will try it one day.

Hi I have the 6500 and I really love it. I have it on my quilt frame with a Quilter cruise control . But before I got it on my frame I used it a lot. But it is a bit of a over kill machine to have on a frame but it came as a pkg. deal.
Kathy

The 6600p is what I want.....
need a job and car first....
used it at MQX last year, niceee machine:)

My 6600 has never let me down and I have quilted on it, sewn art quilts on it, free motion quilted; just drop the feed dogs. It is endless what you can do. Give it a month and then let us know what you think. Just read your manual and go for it. GG

I saw in one of the blogs- she made applications and sewed on it using fqm with the regular fqm foot but without droping the feed dog. I quilted yesterday a bag using this method - it worked wonderful. I think you can try it for thread painting. Hope it work for you too.

I found the link- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD8vC...ature=channel. She is sewing on bernina, I used my jannome 6600

SORRY- it's in here -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irki7...eature=channel

I just finished my little camping baby quilt on my 6600. i should've tightened the tension a little bit, but otherwise i love it. i'm going to check into the other bobbin. sounds intriguing.

You absolutely can FMQ on the 6600!

I have a slightly less fancy, slightly smaller Janome (the QDC 4100) and I FMQ with it all the time. The special bobbin case does help as well.

You'll be fine! Start small and simple and work your way up to large and complicated.

I just bought a 6600 and I can't wait to start using it!!

I just did some FMQ on my new Janome 6600. It looks like a monkey did it but that's due to my needing a lot of practice. The machine worked like a dream.

as others have said, give it a month, commit to @ least every other day use, you'll love that husband of yours even more! the accufeed feet are worth every penny. i use the stop/start button exclusively, but i'm going to get that knee lift out today and play with it.

I have a Janome too and do fmq all the time. Like any machine it takes practice but once you get the hang of it, the machine is great. I also do thread painting on it.

FMG is wonderful with the Janome 6600. LOVE the machine, good choice hubby!

With some practice, you'll be able to quilt just as well as if you had a stitch regulator. Make up some quilt 'sandwiches'(like about 12" sq.) with left over fabric or some you've hung on to and don't really like anymore. Take a few minutes every day to practice FMQ and you'll be more confident in no time!

what does FMQ mean?

I don't have the 6600 but do have the Janome 423S. It is my first machine and I picked it out about 2 years ago. I have been making all my quilts on it ever since. I taught myself, thorough hours of practice to do FMQ and I do FMQ on this machine and did thread painiting using this machine on the Christmas Quilt I made this year. So if I can do it on the less expensive model Janome I see no reason why you can't do it on your 6600 Janome.

you will praise your sweetheart for his purchase. I have had my Janome for almost a year. took classes on fmq and have done very well with them. you can teach yourself, but there is a lot to be said for a good instructor, also the fun of the class. I have done up a big pile of quilts and have also done regular sewing. it does not come with the stitch regulator, but with practice you will not miss it. for the cost, it is the best you should purchase the bobbin insert for fmq though as it will make the process much easier. happy quilting. bev

Allbrands.com has the FMQ bobbin case for a good price, plus free S&H. I got one but haven't tried it yet.

Free Motion Quilting

I feel like an idiot.

Well, you shouldn't! we use alot of abbreviations in quilting! and just think of someone new you may of helped by asking.and they were afraid to ask themselves!

Somewhere there is a list posted of them here.

Free motion quilting

I bought my 6600P a year ago in Paducah. I love it. I am not wonderful doing FMQ, but I am making progress. It just takes lots of practice. There is a Yahoo Group for the 6500P and 6600P. Go to Yahoo Groups and join. There is a terrific amount of information about both machines. In order to FMQ, I had to change the bobbin tension, and the directions are in the files for that group. Good Luck and enjoy your new machine. Marylou

I have a Janome 6600. First of all your husband did and excellent job of finding you a machine. Many husbands would just buy one of those cheap machines. I fmq all the time on mine and I also thread paint. It takes practice. Your machine is well equiped to handle it. Just practice on fat quarters with batting. You'll love this machine. Don't practice on your quilts it's too stressful. Have fun

My husband really wanted me to have this machine when i was looking for one to take to the house on the lake that we had just purchased. before i accepted it i made sure to ask if this would kill any future upgrades in the embroidery machine department( i have a 13 yr. old 9000) the store owner thought that was pretty funny. I do have an issue that i wonder if anyone else has. I have the 1/4 accufeed foot and when i sewed a seam it was more than a 1/4 inch-even after moving the needle over. Has anyone else tried this?