I have an older Janome and I have always had trouble with FMQ. I will keep trying until I can afford another machine and it will be another Janome. I love them.

I had so much trouble with my Janome machine that I bought a Bernina.

Too right they do! They've known about it for years - I've had my 4800 for 6 or 7 years - yet even the newer models sometimes have the same problem. They really shouldn't be selling their machines as being suitable for quilting if they're not. I don't think that having to have the tension on 9 and being very restricted in the threads I can use (Janome UK told me to use embroidery thread) is good enough on a "quilter's edition" machine. And then to sell a special bobbin case that just sends the problem to the opposite extreme... :thumbdown:

Have you tried to release your tension on the pressure foot a bit? I find that when I am having problems like that I am hanging on too tight to the quilt and pressure on the pressure foot is too tight. Don't know if that will work but you might try it.

Now mine is OK with the walking foot: I've just done some stitch in the ditch which worked well once I had a topstitch needle and the tension low. It's FMQ with the darning foot that's hopeless.

Thanks so very much for starting this thread. I have a Janome and thought it was something I was doing. I have a couple of ideas now to make things better. Thx.

That was my original intention, and I may still do it. I had 2nd thoughts once I started to look at machines for quilting because the 440 doesn't have a wide throat, and because I've read very mixed views of the stitch regulator. I certainly don't have the budget to go for any higher spec Bernina. So I went back to investigating other machines, including the Janome 6600, which most people seem, on the whole, very happy with. However, the continuing failure of Janome to be able to resolve this FMQ problem (which is what I most need a new machine for) is putting me off again. If the blue dot case had solved it on the 4800, I'd be out buying the 6600, but I really can't take the risk of condemning myself to more years of struggle and frustration: whatever I buy next will have to be the last machine I buy for a very long time.

Please do let me know how you get on! I'm going on holiday this weekend so it may be a week or two before I can get back to trying all the suggestions, but I'll certainly be having another go at sorting this.
And I'm very reassured to hear that it's not just me who has these problems.

[quote=LyndaK]My Janome 11000, 1600P and 3160 QDC all freemotion well for me, with and without the blue bobbin case. I don't go really fast with my machines when I FMQ. I noted when I tried to really speed, especially with my 11000, I had issues with bobbin tension.
quote]

Do you both run the machine and move the quilt slowly?

I also have a Janome and have had problems FMQ when I first got it about 6 years ago. As suggested, I also use the same color thread in the bobbin as in the top. While struggling to get the tension problem solved, I found that my thread was snapping frequently. What I did, and it seemed to solve both my tension and thread snapping problems is that I don't put my thread through the last threading station. You know that tight hook just before you put the thread through the eye of the needle. It really helped me.

Interesting. I tried a Brother QC1000 when I was last moaning at the dealer about the Janome, and I certainly managed to do some quite respectable FMQ on it. Really the only reason I haven't looked more closely at Brother machines yet is that there doesn't seem to be the same info - forums etc - available about them to give me an impression of their ease of use, reliablity etc.

You lucky Lady Di! I read such good things about the 6600 - but some of them still seem to have this Janome FMQ tension issue. If they didn't, I'd have bought one by now.
What do you set your tension at when you use your 6600?

Val - what's your tension set on when you're using the blue dot case?

quote=k3n]I deleted my earlier post but I just have to say that while I'm sorry some of you have issues, I have a 6600 on which I FMQ both with the supplied red dot case and hopping FMQ foot and the blue dot case and adjustable foot with NEVER a problem!!! I use my machine up to 8 hours a day and it has never let me down. So I am guessing that you few are unfortunate enough to have been supplied with faulty machines OR it is operator error or you are using sub standard supplies. I am a bit fed up with reading that this is an inherent Janome fault, I and many others use their machines with no problems at all.[/quote] :cry:[/quote]

k3n - I know lots of Janome users are very happy, which is why I haven't yet given up on thoughts of a 6600. I WANT to like it! But I'm afraid there's no denying that at least a proportion of Janome machines DO have tension issues that are not operator error - as I said previously, I've tried several other machines in order to make sure it's not me who's at fault. And it's interesting that others have responded to this thread with similar comments. Even my dealer now admits there's an issue. If there isn't a problem, why did Janome bring out the blue dot case? As far as I'm aware, no other manufacturer has felt the need to do this.
I really envy those of you who have Janome machines that work as they should, and I'm doing everything I can to make mine be one of them - it's a superb machine for piecing, obviously basically a beautiful piece of engineering, and I'm very reluctant to abandon Janome, which is why I'm persevering in trying to find a way forward. Please understand that the cost of a 6600 would be a major outlay for me - as was the 4800. When I bought that, I didn't expect to have to buy another one so soon. I HAVE to have a machine that I can trust to do what it claims to do, and mine never has.
Perhaps you could tell me where you set the tension on your 6600 when doing FMQ with either the red or blue cases?

My Janome Gem was making loops on the bottom and a lady at the LQS noticed a very small burr on the plate where the needle goes down. Probably from when I broke a needle a few weeks prior. It worked fine until the feed dog was lowered. I do also agree that the tension is very sensitive in general.

I have never answered before but I just finished FMQ a baby quilt this morning on my 6000 which I love. I used the red bobbin case, tension is 5 1/2 quilting needle,no feed dogs and 2 different threads in the machine. It is great I would definately find a dealer or reliable repair person to help you.

Great site Carol thank you for sharing! :thumbup:

I have 2 Janomes and FMQ on them all the time. No problems. I have had to change the bobbin tension. I like to use Bottom Line in the bobbin. That is very fine, so, of course I had to tweek the bobbin tension. I'm not afraid of doing that. The old, "Don't EVER change the bobbin tension", was from the SMG who didn't want to have to deal with it. Not only that, but back then, we only had one kind of thread, usually Coat and Clark. Think of all the different thread out there now. Yes, we do have to help our machines know the difference sometimes. If you use to completely opposite colors in top and bottom - I don't think that there is a machine out there that can stitch and not have the bottom show through to the top.
Just keep trying different things and don't give up on your Janomes. I love mine.

I turn the pressure control down to 6 and have the tension 5-7, depending on what thread I'm using. I set the speed to half way which seems to eliminate thread breaks. It means you can put your pedal to the floor and still move the fabric at a good speed.
Why don't you ring Stockport? Ask to speak to Mrs Maureen Brown and tell her I (Valerie Cave) told you to ask for her! She's not in the office every day, now so she may have to ring you back at another time. She's fantastic - tell her I said so!

Are you sure your uneven stitches weren't caused by 'drag'? This has happened to me on a quilt but it was my own fault because I was letting the quilt sit on my lap as I was stitching and the weight of it was causing it not to feed through smoothly. Even a walking foot can't cope with that!

Well, here goes. I have another quilt to FMQ. I have cleaned my machine.I have my blue dot bobbin case installed. I have the correct thread and needle. I have practiced on a square of identical fabrics as the quilt.I have basted and pinned.And i am following all the ideas from this thread on the forum. I will let you know later how I fared...or you may just remember that the screams in the galaxy that you hear tonight are from Gimli, Manitoba, Canada, and my frustration levels have reached the upper limit!!!

Thanks Val. I've spoken to Maureen in the past, and she's always taken the time to try to help - her suggestions were mainly about which threads to use.

Do let us know how you get on - haven't heard any screams yet :-)

I do FMQ all the time on both my Janome 6260 and my Janome Horizon 7700 and have never used the "blue dot" bobbin case. I thought it was just for decorator threads that were too thick to feed through a normal bobbin??
Have the tension spring on the bobbin case checked - it may have gotten a thread caught in it and either plugged it or bent it to a point where there is no tension in it anymore no matter how much you tighten down the screw.
If it were me, I'd start with a complete new set of thread - same on top and bottom and loosen both top and bottom tension right off. Then slowly tighten the bottom until it holds the thread to the bottom but not to the point of eyelashes. Then tighten up the top until the stitch is balanced in the fabric. Make sure that when you're threading the top you have the pressor foot up so the tension discs are open, AND do the same when ever you change the top tension.
Good luck.

About one third done, with just a few burps! Will continue tomorrow..and update! Goodnight all...I'll probably be dreaming about it tonight!!! ;-)

I was thinking about getting a Janome 6500 or 6600 for a long while and joined the yahoo group. There seemed to be a lot of people with tension issues FMQ. I couldn't understand for the life of me why one brand of machine would recommend a different bobbin case to FMQ-everyone else's machines do fine without. At that point I decided to get Brother QC1000-great FMQ from day 1, no tension issues.

What is the top tension u used with your 6260? I noticed that only a tension of 1 works for me when using the walking foot. I had highlighted my tension problems to my dealer when I brought my Janome for servicing last mth. When I FMQ at home, it puckers badly, irregardless of the tension I use and whether I'm using similar or different top and bobbin threads. As mentioned earlier, the dealer tried it using their darning foot and it works well! Even with an invisible thread at the top and cotton thread in bobbin, which is a disaster for me at home. She mentioned that the speed will affect the tension and suggested that I do not go too slow. When all else fails, she asked that I check that the darning foot is not faulty ie the bottom of the foot should be smooth and not uneven. I've not had a chance to try out my FMQ at home yet but will prolly try again this weekend.

Wow, I can't believe this topic is on. I was going to start one. I have a Janome 6600P. Don't have the blue dot and have been FMQ on it without much problem except when I try to mix thread types. It seems to be very sensitive that way. My new problem is I was making pocketbooks that you put batting on the back of the front fabric and FMQ it before putting it tog. Well without a bit of back on the batting it would not quilt for beans.When i went on my sample piece with 3 layers sandwiched it worked fine. Has anyone else had this problem.

Forgot to mention, I took a FMQ class and the teacher said she keeps her feeddogs up all the time. Haven't tried that yet though.

Janome I have the 6600 and have had the same problem. !. the machine must be free of lint etc so clean reg.
2 There is a little tension spring that the cotton come in contact with as it goes to the take up lever mine had slipped out once I put it back it was ok. Had the machine to dealer twice and they couldnt find the problem . Rang a man I dealt with 30 years ago and he sorted it out. Also try another cotton Machines are funny dont like some cottons My friend Janome wont sew with their cotton Carmen

Do you void the warranty if you keep the feed dogs up?

Switch your bobbin thread would be the first thing to try.
If this is a new purchase go back you may have a defective item that should be taken care of. Since we deal in vintage amchines we quite often get calls of ension off etc. 9.5 percent of the time they have missed one of the threading guids or discs time and tme again and have set themselves up for trouble. We take great sympathy for them as we work on machines many times that have no manual and are just a hair different that another machine. Consut the manual,go on line and look up sewing machine trouble shooting or call the company.

I have a Janome Horizon, and have settled into the following setup for FMQ: blue bobbin case, tension at 3, feed dog tension at 5. I do best with Gutterman Dekor (polyester) thread in the top, and Bottom Line thread in the bobbin. I just recently did some work with metallic thread, which can be problematic, and it worked quite well ... better with a metallic needle

I had a lot of problems when I first got the machine last summer, but most were, I think, user issues.

Cotton threads don't work well for me.

Is it possible to adjust the feed dog tension? Or is it only specific to the Horizon? I don't think I'm able to adjust my 6260.

Yes my Janome acts up occationally. With FMQ try rethreading it or make sure you set things up right according to the instructions. The right needle and thread will also help. Then my machine works well. Today I didn't have everything right and boy did I have problems for a while. It seems to be all in the set up. For got to say that I have a 6600 Janome. Yes at times it gets sinsitive, but I love it. It took me a while to get use to it. I was use to a Sears that was 20 some years old. Eveything has it little quirks, even me. :-D

That Brother machine really interests me - it does an amazing amount for the price. I wish I could find more comments on it - there doesn't seem to be a Yahoo group.

I too have had a number of problems with my Janome 6600p, although usually (and I mean usually, not always) have not had issues with the tension.

I've had better luck using Guterman's poly thread than Mettlar's cotton -- but really couldn't believe that any machine would prefer poly to cotton (and I prefer the look of cotton for topstitching). Was amazed that others are saying the same thing...thought for sure it was just me (operator error).

I suspect some of my problems might be due to timing but I've had the machine serviced once, to the tune of $100 (and the machine is just over a year old) and dread spending that amount again. My most common problems are thread shredding and skipping stitches. I've cleaned the machine over and over, changed the bobbin case (red/blue), the bobbin, the needle plate, the needle, and the feet.

BTW I have two FMQ feet (the clear one that comes with the machine and a metal circle one that is sold separately) and learned that when using the circle one, which has a spring/height adjustment, you DO have to adjust the height for it to work properly. The clear one does not have any adjustment.

[quote=vivientans it possible to adjust the feed dog tension? Or is it only specific to the Horizon? I don't think I'm able to adjust my 6260.[/quote]


Sorry, I don't know about the 6260. I know my other, older, machine which is a kenmore (but made by Janome) did not have any way to adjust the tension on the feet, and it always bugged me. I might have used the wrong term, by the way, when I said "feed dog tension". I'm talking about the adjustment that affects how strongly the feet are pushed down onto the fabric.

It's called the foot pressure dial. I lower mine slightly when doing FMQ.

Well...it'd done...I FMQ'd my queen size quilt, using the blue dot bobbin case, and all your advice as well, and I am happy to say "goodbye to eyelashes on the backside of the quilt. After all my frustration during the past year, I am so thankful and relieved...how many of you were waiting for the screams???? Thankyou. Thankyou.Thankyou for letting me vent about the problem, offering advice, and being so patient with all of us who have tension issues on our Janomes. As soon as i get the binding on, I will post a pic.:)