Janome 1600P Help Needed
 

I've free motioned quilted with this machine on a Grace frame for two years now with little problems....until recently. Now it's being tempermental and making me bang my head against the wall. Stitches are smaller than usual and then suddenly it skips a large amount of stitches. I've ripped out over 20 times. To those that also free motion on this machine can I ask what your settings are?
My stitch length is 0
tension is a 5 (always worked before)
foot pressure is 0
needle HLx5 (new) and inserted correctly
Connecting Threads Ivory (new spool)
Bobbin is a metal L
Only my husband and I here, so no one to mess with my settings, because the cat and dog can't reach the machine.
Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
Does something look "off" to you?

I don’t have that machine but Leah Day is now a Janome dealer and has some videos in this machine. She also answers comments on YouTube.

When things aren't working "as usual", I go back and double check on the usual. Good luck on figuring it out, one of my most recent issues ended up as needing an actual trip to the shop and a repair, the diagnostics just hadn't decided on that in the beginning.

Is there anything different about the fabric combination? Finer weave like batiks? Heavier??

You changed the needle but even fresh needles can have flaws. Have you tried different points? Mostly I use universal but sometimes a microtex sharp for those batiks or a topstitch needle for something a bit heavier than normal.

Lately I'm finding more and more problems related to bobbins, which can be anything from the bobbin itself, to the thread wind, to needing a case cleaning.

Ladies....I have even contacted Leah Day and was told that the bobbin wasn't in correctly or it was the needle not inserted correctly. Have redone these multiple times and they ARE correct. Extended spool holder is all the way up too. Guessing that I might have to take the machine in to the shop and probably won't get it back until New Years!

This machine uses DB-X needles. I have my tension at 2, but probably my bobbin tension is lower too.
You need the DB needles, they have a round shaft. My 1600 will skip stitches too with a flat side shaft needle.

Good luck!

Don't know if this applies or not.....but I had a mid arm machine on a 10 foot frame made by Grace. The bars were made of aluminum and were made of 5 foot lengths connected in the middle. Over time, I got a sag on those bars so the distance between the quilt and the needle changed over time and I was getting problems with my stitching and tension because of the sag. Just check and see if the bar is level. I don't know what the fix is. I just upgraded to a new machine and frame. I did not have much space to quilt anyway with the short neck machine I was using.

I just looked at the 1600P and it looks a bit like my Viking Megaquilter 1200 which I do believe was a Janome in Viking clothing. Another thought, do you have a stitch regulator with it. The stitch regulator could be having problems too....

Wasn't it the Janome 1600P DB that took only round needles, not the Janome 1600P?

What SIZE needle are you using? I found on my Brother 1500 (essentially the same machine) when sewing, I could use a 12 or 14, but when I was quilting I had to use a 16 or 18, or I would get skipped stitches.

Can it be thread 'fuzz' in the tension disks, can you try cleaning it? Happened w/my ELNA 9100 (made by Janome)--discovered by repair person (for $65). My bad for not being more thorough!