Janome Continental M7
 

Just wondering if anyone has seen/tried this new machine....and what does it cost? Would love to have that much throat space!

I had not seen this machine until reading this thread. It looks amazing. I like that the screen is above the work area instead of the side. My only frustration with my Skyline 7 is that occasionally when bunching a quilt, the quilt touches the screen and can change the stitch. It’s not all the time so it’s a minor nuisance but... I don’t need a new machine, anyway. I’ve had my Skyline less than a year. I love it compared to my old smaller Brother machine.

$8000 is the MSRP, or at least that's what folks are reporting on Janome's FB page. Have not yet seen what the street price is.

There was a photo posted somewhere on the group that had a closeup of the stitches, and they were not very good. I'll try to find the thread.

if you look at Janome's site and scroll down to see the photo of the stitches, you'll see what I mean. The site claims they are the "heirloom" stitches, but they look pretty darned wonky to me.

look at the black menu bar on the right of the touch screen.
you will see a little icon shaped like a key.
i believe this is the settings lock icon.
while it's active, your settings can't be changed until you unlock it.

Thank you, PatriceJ! I will try that next time. I’ve used it to lock it when away from the machine so my daughter doesn’t touch it but I didn’t know if I could sew while it was locked. I suppose I should have looked in my manual. 😄

I hadn't looked closely enough to notice the quality, or lack of quality of the stitches. The harp space just knocked me out. Thought the name sounds a little pretentious. Anyway, at $8,000 I think I'll stick with my Janome and my old Kenmore a bit longer!

I tried the M7 at the Sewing Expo a few weeks ago. For the money, I is not worth it for me, particularly if the stitches are wonky. I did not check the stitches closely....other ladies wanted a try. I did check the stitch sample on Janome's site and all of their "heirloom" stitches were wonky. It has some new features and looks to have a huge throat space....but my Janome 8900 and Janome 15000 have a little over 11".....so 2 inches and an automatic throat plate exchange are not worth paying $8000 or a little less. If you measure your throat space....I have a S7 too, is it worth $8,000 for 5.5" more to the right of your needle? Will that 5.5" make that much difference in quilting your quilts? If throat space was a problem for me, I would look for a mid arm machine. Just my thoughts. Janome makes great machines that last a very long time with no issues. Stitch quality is more important to me than the throat space. I think they missed the mark on this one.

One thing about the new high end do all machines of any brand; the updates for it are usually around $700 or more per update. There are great deals to be had on trade ins for the newest machine. It pays to stay one step under the newest. There will always be a newest.

My local shop is selling it for $5999.99. The stitches should be the same as the earlier versions. I don't think a longer bed should effect stitch quality.

if i understand correctly, the ones shown on the website were specially programmed to look as though they'd been done by hand, which would be less perfect than those rendered by a machine.

the difference between a 9" space and the size of the M7 would make a huge difference.
just not huge enough for me to rush to buy one.
for that money i could get a machine with a wide throat which also does embroidery.

fruitloop Hi, Not all upgrades to high end, top of the line machines is $700 or more. Just wanted to say that since this is a discussion about the newest Janome M7, I wanted to let you know that I bought the Janome 15000 in 2014, they had an update in 2017 that included ruler foot capabilities and a ruler foot, several other feet including a specialized 1/4 inch foot and plate, an update to the Horizon Link digitizing software, and a couple of other things, I forget what all was included in the update but the cost to me was an optional 150.00. I chose to get the upgrade because it kept my machine up to date and it was well worth the cost of 150.00. Can't speak about other brands as I have only had Janomes since I started back sewing in 2005 after I retired.

Babylock/Brother updates are free. Easy to check on the website, download to usb, and update the machine.

Babylock/Brother upgrades are through the dealers and do cost accordingly.

Just a difference in definitions between updates & upgrades for these.

yes, I just purchased this machine recently for $4,000. I love it! I had a Janome MP6600 prior to this purchase. I have been looking at this model for about a year, but the $8,000 price tag scared me away. I was vacationing in Ft. Myers, FL and went to a distributor. The rest is history as I now own this awesome machine!

i know what i said in an earlier post, but it's time to confess ....

if i had the money i would buy this machine in a heartbeat.
especially since my dealer always charges less than MSRP.

I have been drooling over this machine since It came out...

Rob

My review of the M7 Continental
 

I bought this machine a couple of days prior to Thanksgiving. I had literally sold my home and was moving. I didn't really begin to use it until January (Move + Holidays, etc.)

I'm working on three quilts concurrently, and I sew an hour or two daily after work, and in this nasty Pacific NW winter weather, my Saturday & Sunday is usually dedicated to quilting. (Yeah, I'm single, and my kids are grown lol) This machine was a graduation for me. I've sewn for years, but hadn't touched a machine until a couple of years ago, a friend suggested I learn to quilt as a mechanism for dealing w/stress. I'd bought a little 189.00 Brother Laura Ashley machine on Amazon, made a queen sized quilt, and was hooked. I knew I needed more throat space if I was going to continue quilting.


After building a spreadsheet, and listing all the needs/wants, I looked at every machine out there. Elna, Bernina, Pfaff, Brother, Viking... I spent time in the sewing shops testing all of them. I spent hours on the mfg websites reading details, read forums, googled pros/cons of each brand. By the end of 2 months of research, the Continental was clearly the winner.


Stitches are like silk. I see many complain about "wonky stitches" - those are the stitches, and purposely designed this way to emulate hand stitching. I don't find the heirloom stitches to be "wonky", but that's just me. All other stitches flow like butter.


I paid 5999.99 for my machine. I received several Kim Einman(sp?) rulers, her BOM pattern and one of her jelly rolls, along with a rolling bag in addition to the machine. This "bonus" package was not a big deal (IMHO). I'm not one to ever turn down more quilt rulers... LOL The BOM wasn't anything awe -inspiring, and the jelly roll pack came in handy for another quilt, so I did ok there. :) I'm just saying this "Bonus" package wasn't something that would be a deal breaker. The design of the rolling bag is poor b/c of the handle placement. THe bag itself is fine, but that handle placement was just plain . Imagine a rectangle, and the pull handle is on the narrow end - which means it'd be easy to topple the cart because this is a LARGE machine.Furthermore, there's I'm hauling this machine back/forth to the shop for "lessons". LOL I am risking my investment like that.

After I moved, I found a local sewing shop, and he sells the same package (machine/pkg) for 5k - too bad I didn't know about this vendor! LOL (If you're interested and in North Seattle area - lemme know, I will provide the name. Wonderful folks)

• The machine is quiet. Like "I can sew in the LR and not bother others who are watching TV kind of quiet. Quiet like "doesn't wake someone sleeping in the chair 8' away" quiet.
  
• The bobbin winder is dreamy and fast.
  
• I love the alert that tells me my bobbin is low!
  
• There's not enough internet bandwidth to handle my unending praise, awe, and compliments about the acres of workspace! OMWORD - there's ..!
  
• The lighting in the work area is absolutely incredible!
  
• I can wind a bobbin w/o un-threading my machine.
  
• She can sew at crazy high speeds, but I keep it in the middle setting for quilting/piecing. High speed is awesome for garment sewing.
  
• The needle plates are fabulous! No more tips of HST tips being punched down into the bobbin area. The plates pop up for easy switching.
  
• The needle threader works - every time, and ohhh does it work !
  
• I like the placement of the LCD screen, it's right in front of me and easy to see and a simple easy to read layout..
  
• The quilting stitches available are pretty darn cool - I can put my 1/4" foot on, select quilting stitches and then select the preset for a 1/4" seam and I am 100% on target for a 1/4" seam.
  
• This machine is SOLID and Larrrrrrrge.
  
• Quilting on this has been amazing - that throat is divine.
  
• Nice spiral bound user manual
  
• of extra feet included (yay!)
  
• Built in thread arm (this is very nice - spools/cones sit upright)
  

Because I plan to move cross country by year's end, I wasn't going to invest in an expensive cabinet - but I needed something large enough because, it's a pretty good sized machine. I went to Home Depot, and purchased a HUSKY brand height-adjustable work bench. The bench/table is 47" wide, has two nice ball bearing track drawers (the nice ones like in a fancy rolling tool box). The base is white, the top is a thick butcher block - AND - has a hand crank that will raise the table from 29" to 43". The caster rollers (incl.) are great, so I can move the table if needed, and do so easily - even on carpet. If I used the optional stationary feet (also included) I believe that would change the table height to a range of 26-40". Assembled myself in about 30 minutes, looks nice and neat in my sewing area (i.e. not like it's a garage piece in the house) and it's VERY solid.


If you decide to take the jump, just know you're NOT going to have to pay 8k. Careful shopping, and you can find the machine for 5k. It's very easy to use - the spiral bound manual is pretty darn comprehensive.

I am in Australia and I just purchased this machine this week. I now have it set up on a bench in my sewing room but I am waiting to purchase the purpose table for it which will be released in Australia in April. I paid $6699.00 Aus dollars for it and I believe the table is going to be $1,500.00 Aus dollars. I know this is an expensive machine but with the brushless motor it is said to outlast the life of any other machine three times longer, so I figure it will outlast me. I haven't used this machine yet except for stitching a few of the stitches and I have downloaded the Acu Spark App. I will be seriously trying it out on the weekend. It looks so much bigger in my sewing room than what it did in the store!!

it isn't the motors that wear out on modern machines, the computer parts get outdated, not supported, the motherboard dies and can't be replaced. Beautiful motor, dead machine.

I love Janome machines, am a dedicated Janome girl ;)

Is this machine easy to use? I am tossing up between this and a Bernina, but I am worried the Bernina would be difficult to learn.

I have numerous Janome machines, love them all. I checked out the Continental M7 at the Sewing Expo when it came out....pretty machine. After reviewing what it had to offer versus my 15000, 8900QC, and my Skyline7.....the only extra for me, was the extra 2 inches of bed space. Not worth it. Now that I hear about the stitch quality, I'm glad I didn't purchase at the show. It is a big machine.

Deb, wondering what distributor in Ft Myers gave you such a good price. Could you please share the name? Thanks, Marjie

I don’t care much for the hand-stitched group either, but they can be easily ignored if they are not your thing. There are a couple hundred others to choose from. I don’t really choose a machine based on deco stitches, as there are always a wide variety included to please a wide audience of sewers with different interests and projects.

I would love this baby. Congrats to the lucky new owners. Lots of impressive features there, acres of room, and a strong motor. Very nice.

I'm thinking about getting a new machine, and the Janome is on my top three list. Yesterday I downloaded the manual and read it, and to be honest there are a lo of features that are the same as what's on my Bernina, but on the Janome they seem to be better explained and simpler to carry out. I like the idea of having two different machines to take advantage of more features and different stitches.

Prices of popular Janome sewing only machines
 

I called my Janome dealer and the price for the M7 is $5K. Yes, its not cheap at $5K but a lot less than MSRP of $8K. Is it worth $5K?? For 13.5 inches of harp, maybe. For all those into doing your own quilting, the big harp might worth the $$$.. For comparison sake, the latest Horizon model (9450) goes for $3.5K and the previous Horizon model (8200, special edition) is selling new for $1.9K (which can be bought anywhere online, even Amazon). Not sure about the Horizon 8900 but its probably very close to just over $2K. .

NinaB - Thank you for a solid review. I am a Janome girl through and through and have thought about upgrading to this machine as I now have the 9400. You did a great job on your review and I really appreciate your time and input! Great idea on the Home Depot work table. Thank you!

my dealer put it on sale for a deal too good to pass up.
i was kicking myself all the way home for buying yet another expensive machine.

have been using it every day.
no more kicking or buyer's remorse.

i am in sewing dreamland. :)

I...am...so...jealous :) Congratulations. There isn't a Janome dealer near me, or I would be checking for sale prices on this machine--not that I have a place to put it, but still.... Have fun with it.

Rob

I ordered one last Friday and picked it up on the 4th. I spent all day yesterday sewing a new mindless strip quilt and so far I love it. It took me a while to figure out how to get a 1/4" seam allowance, but the stitch quality is great.

I am visiting the Seattle are in a couple of weeks. Can you give me the name and location of your dealer?
Thx,
Ana

Can you share the name of the place where you got the Continental in Ft. Myers please? I can't find any distributors near there. Thanks!