Janome 6600 mystery
 

I got my Janome 6600 in February so have a good deal of experience on it, but feel I'm still in the learning stages. When I sew straight stitches it's doing fine, but just a few days ago it started chewing on fabric when I set it for decorative stitches - the blanket stitch and zigzag are what I have tried. The feed dogs move the fabrid ahead for a few stitches then it sits and chews the fabric until I stop it. The thread is then wrapped around the stitch plate and I have to use my ripper to get under there and cut through the stitches. I've done all the usual - new needle, off then on, cleaned out bobbin casing, basically the things I do anytime there's a problem. I've put the dogs up and down just in case they were somehow stuck. I had a deadline and ended up finishing two quilts on my little Brother machine. My husband is going to call the repair shop on Monday and see if he can get any quick help. If it goes into the shop they say to expect a 4 week wait for repair.

Anyone have something like this happen to this machine? It went from working to not working in the blink of an eye!

sorry to hear you are having problems - hope someone is able to help you out quickly. I don't have this machine so have no answers.

This is something I've experienced with my Pfaff, not so much with my Janome. (In fact my Pfaff and I have not 'gelled', but that's another story :().

I read somewhere that machines 'eating' fabric is a common problem with wider stitch widths. If I have to use my decorative stitch plate instead of my straight stitch plate, I start off each new section with a 'leader' - a small piece of fabric to be cut off later - and this has largely solved the problem. I also noticed a difference when I changed to a new needle - it did it less often.

When I was using the decorative stitch I was sewing down binding - so starting in the middle of a side. The leader idea won't work there. I put in a new needle for each project so ... don't think that's it, but it's certainly easy enough to check on that one and try another new one.

Do you bring the bobbin thread up and hold both threads when you start stitching?
Also, use leaders/enders like Knitette said. I do both when I'm piecing.

For sewing binding, just bring the bobbin thread up like I mentioned above.
Hope this will solve your problem.

I have a 7700 and my machine was terrible when I was sewing on some loosely woven fabric - similar to what you described. For my project I was able to iron on a lightweight fusible interfacing and then finish.

What type of fabric are you using?

I use a small piece of fabric to sew from when doing any sewing. I agree some times my bernina and janome chew up.

the results of my first foray into decorative stitching with my 6600P were ... shall we say ... less than impressive.
i finally swallowed my pride and hauled out the manual. LOL

page 88 shows how to use the Feed Balancing Dial.
fiddling with the settings makes a huge difference when working with the deco stitches.

check page 25 for info about adjusting the foot pressure.

if you are using one of the dual feed feet, also take a gander at page 36, which talks about using that dial to make adjustments.

other things to check:
1. are you using the correct size needle?
2. are you using the best foot for that particular stitch/set?
3. are you using a thread that works well for deco stitches?

i always test on scraps. sew some together so you can test and practice stitching over and across seams.
when you find the best combination of settings, needle, thread, etc for a stitch/set make sure to write it all down. if you turn off the machine in the middle of your project, you'll be able to get started again without all the fuss and bother of repeating your experiments. :)

Good run down from PatriceJ on the possibilities ... thanks PJ, you saved me a lot of typing, and made a lot more sense than I would have! :)

A further suggestion ... when making all the adjustments as she has mentioned ... make only one change at a time. Otherwise you will not know what made the difference!

And very much so ... write down the final winning combo, then next time, you can start there for your initial checks on the test strips.

Remember, the different fabric/batting/thread combos from one time to another can alter your settings/results. Likewise, when doing your tests, make sure you are replicating the quilt itself for those fabric/batting/threads.

This is pretty obvious, but..... I got my 6600 to leave at the vacation home on the lake. I got it in September and that year we didnt go there in the winter. I must've changed the needle plate to the straight stitch one and forgot that it came with 2 plates. I was trying to do a zigzag or decorative stitch and it would stitch a couple and then stop and stitch in place. I called the shop and she even asked me about the plate. I ended up driving 30 miles to take it in and sure enough she sat down, looked at it and said you have the wrong plate on here! I was so embarrassed! I felt stupid. Then I had to find the plate- it doesn't fit into the accesory box- ended up being in between folds of fabric. Changed the plate and low and behold- it was fine. I hope that your problem is an inexpensive fix. It's really a great machine and I truly love it.

If you were trying to zigzag with the straight stitch plate ... were you not breaking needles?

The one other thing to check is your bobbin. If the thread isn't coming off the bobbin correctly it'll make a huge mess and not sew correctly. If it's not thru the little slot area it's not under tension.

This thread certainly explains why my Janome 6600 doesn't match the instruction book that came with it. I only have one plate (the book doesn't even mention two, AND it the pictures don't look like my machine! yes I bought it new). The nearest repair shop is a long ways away and the repair man has shown DH and me how to care for/clean. But when it was new I found myself calling him every month or two. He would always say 1) try a new needle; check the size; 2) check the bobbin area; 3) rethread (DON'T just check it, rethread!); 4) calm down... go get a glass of wine; 5) if none of this works, call me in the morning... Love that man! There is obviously more than one Janome 6600!

Had that problem with my 7700 and had to take it to the repair person cant remember what was wrong but had to replace something

I think that I was trying to do a decorative stitch- i don't remember exactly- it's been a few years. All I know is that once I put the other plate on, It was fine. I rarely change the plate anymore.

I had a similar problem when I got my Janome. It turns out that the bobbin wasn 't clicked in place correctly. See if that could be your problem.