I'm considering buying a mini sewing machine for pp in my motorhome. Has anyone used these and if so how do you like them. The on I'm looking at is a Janome Mini on ebay.

Thoughts?

Thank you for all info!

i have a janome gem sewing machine and i love it, nice light weight, runs good.

I bought a 3/4 size Janome machine for my grandaughter and it sews great. She wanted the Hello Kitty version but it comes in a plain version too. Janome makes a 3/4 and 1/2 size. The half size is considered a toy but it does sew. Also Kenmore has a small portable that is an excellent buy.

Me too. I think it would be a good choice. It's great for taking to classes and guilds.

I have the Janome Jem Platinum 760 and absolutely love it! I'm not familiar with the Janome Mini, will have to go on eBay and look at it.

Things to think about: What do you want to be able to do with the machine? What features do you have on your "usual" machine that you can't live without?

Two weeks ago I bought a Janome AQS2009 to take to classes, on weekend trips to fishing camps (DH fishes, I sew), etc. According to the dealer, she takes hers with her on plane trips in a cloth bag and puts it under the seat in front of her. I plan to do the same :).

Love it-has a nice bright light (does the mini have a light?), push button as well as foot control, and needle up/down, which is great for piecing. Has about 20 decorative stitches (less than the Platinum 720), but you can adjust the size of the zigzag (which I don't believe you can do with a Jem) and change the needle position. It's pretty compact and only weighs 12 pounds.

The price of the mini is certainly appealing! Good luck with your choice!

You can change the length and width of a zig zag stitch on the Jem (I had to test before posting this LOL!), and the Platinum has 60 stitches.

Good advice to know what kinds of things you can't live without. I borrowed a friend's machine recently that didn't have a needle threader and learned that I cannot live without a needle threader because I can't see the eye of a needle any more with my "over 40 eyes". :( :lol:

Oops! Got mixed up...it's the Jem that has the preset/non adjustable zigzag, not the Platinum. Sorry!

I worked in a quilt shop/sewing machine store for 9 years, and they sold Janome & Singer. The small Janome Gems were great, and we did sell them to a lot of ladies traveling in RV's.

A neighbor of mine, who is now a dear friend, was a full time RVer and had several Singer featherweights, but used her Janome Gem for everything. We had no warranty problems with them, and had very little repair work from the Janomes, except for routine servicing.

Naturally, I'm a Janome advocate (even though I no longer work there) and have 3 Janome machines, and both my sisters and nieces all have Janomes, along with four quilting buddies. NOT ONE of us has had any trouble or repairs with them.

Think of all your traveling too...there are Janome dealers all over the country for accessories, etc. GO FOR IT!

I have a Janome Petite that i got for my granddaughter. It sews great,although its a little slower speed than I am accustomed to. It does a better zig zag than my newer bigger machines. No bells and whistles,not even a light,but I love the little thing. I put one of those little stick on lights on it.

There are at least 3 kinds of Jem machines (maybe 4). The Silver, which is a basic machine, the Gold and the Platnium, which is the fanciest of the Jem's.

I have a Jem Platinum, which does have an adjustable zig zag. I don't know if the Gold or Silver have adjustable zig zags or not.

My DGD had the Janome Sew Mini. It was great for her. Not to fast and easy to handle. She asked for a bigger machine for Christmas this year and loves her full size Janome. (She is only 6 and has been eying the long arm in the quilting shop we go too. Sigh!!!)

i bought the jem platinum for my 5th wheel and classes..i love it. weighs 12 pounds..so east to carry and came with a hard case cover.

I think it is interesting that whenever people ask for information about sewing machines, almost everyone replies that they love whatever machine they have. Since they usually aren't specific about what particular features are leading to their satisfaction, I assume that in general whatever machine we each have seems to meet our individual needs, which is great, although I don't know what it means for those of you who have dozens of machines :). So my conclusion is that we've all done a great job of thinking about and deciding what we want in a machine, researching the choices, testing them, and then settling on the one that best matches our desires and pocketbook.

I'm new to Janomes; only got my AQS a couple of weeks ago, and I find it confusing when people talk about "Jems" because, as Quilter7X pointed out, there are several varieties of Jems (is the Gold Plus new?), and they each have different features and prices. I would just caution anyone thinking of buying one of these little cuties to carefully compare each model to make sure you're getting the feature(s) you really want in a small machine.

After reading your post MM, I looked on Janome's website. Seems there is a Jem Gold, a Gold 2 and a Gold 3 as well as several other Jem models. They have a section for retired machines also and some of the Jems are there.

You make a good point that everyone who posts about their machines loves them and I can see where not using competitor's machines while using their loved machines can be a bad thing. How would you know what you're missing out on if you don't use something from the competition? This exact scenario happened to me recently. I've been a die-hard Janome fan for about 12 years now and used a Bernina to do some FMQ at a class where machines were provided. I could not believe how wonderful the Bernina was for FMQ and now I'm looking to buy one for FMQ!

Once you get used to your machine, you have a comfort level with features of that brand and some people stay loyal to that brand for familiarity (I did!). I love the needle threader, the knee lift lever and the fact that I can see the bobbin under the clear cover. The Jem doesn't have a knee lift lever (wish it did). I like that the snap-on presser feet are interchangeable between my two Janome machines. That won't be the case when I get a Bernina.

Nice to have you here on the board!

here is where you can compare any model..the Jem Platinum, which is what i have, is retired i think. the real difference between them, is the platinum is electronic..which i wanted, simply because my Janome 6600 is too..the feet are interchangable also.

http://janome.com/index.cfm/Machines...uilting/Jem760

the magnolia is around 18 pounds.

hello kitty,is the smallest one..i have never sewed with either of them though.

Any machine your thinking of buying should be test drove if possible.

I would not waste your money on the Janome sew-mini. I picked this one up for my daughter and it it really set up for very young, new sewers. You cannot change the feet, change the needle position or anything. I bought it for $40 and ended up unloading it for $20. I just picked up a Janome 2018 at a quilt show for $67 and it pieces very nicely. The Jems are good too.

I have had a Gem Gold for about eight years. I bought it to take to classes because it is lightweight. I like it just fine for that. I wouldn't be pleased if it was my only machine.

Not sure what you mean by the mini. If it is the $60 machine, my local Janome shop told me it is nothing but a cute toy and would be better off getting the next step up.

This made me laugh so hard, I showed it to my husband.(We have granddaughters this age I am encouraging to sew.)

He said, "Maybe we ought to be careful, or we'll create something we can't afford."

yes, nice for taking it with you

I recently bought a Janome Silver from Kens Sewing Center; so far, sew good (spelling intentional). ;)

The Silver is retired; same features as the basic Gold model. This is a mechanical machine rather than computerized; I think the Platinum is computerized.

As it isn't my "main machine," I didn't need a lot of features, fancy stitches, etc. What I was looking for was a machine that was easily transported (my Bernina, which I love, is 25 lbs. and is inserted in a table) and pieced well. I definitely feel I got what I needed with the Silver Gem.

I have a Janome Jem Gold. Nice compact machine.

Pros: Very light weight...only 12 lbs, which was a plus for portability purposes (especially when you have tons of other quilting gadgets you need to carry at the same time!). This machine doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but has a variety of stitches for basic sewing and quilting, and it also came with a "quilters kit" a variety of feet: walking, darning, 1/4" quilt and a few others as well as a soft cover. Its a nice little machine for piecing and small/medium size projects.

Cons: The internal light is not that strong, so an extra lighting source is needed. The foot pedal for me is a bit narrow and sometimes slips on carpeting, but if you put a non-skid gripper mat underneath or have it on a non slip surface it is fine. The power cord is not that long, so having it close to a power source is needed.

Good luck in your search!