Janome quarter inch foot? Dual feed workaround?
 

Hi,

Today I went back to my Pfaff 7550 from my new Janome 6650. It's a dilemma for me because my 7550 feels sluggish after working with the 6650, but I am not a huge fan of the quarter inch foot on the Janome (and I need a quarter inch foot with a seam guide because of eye issues). The 6650 doesn't come with a quarter inch foot, so I bought the clear view foot. The foot wobbles side-to-side until fabric is inserted, making it something of a pain to work with. I don't know if the "O-foot" would have been better, but I thought the clear view foot would be more like my 1/4 inch foot on the Pfaff. Sadly, not true at all.

So, do people with 9mm Janomes have a quarter inch foot that they like? Also, does this class of machine allow an industrial foot?

My other issue is the lack of dual feed on the Janome. I have been using my Pfaff with IDT for 20 years, and I just took it for granted that the top piece doesn't shift when piecing because it rarely/never happens on my Pfaff. On my Janome, my top piece often shifts about a sixteenth of an inch as I'm piecing. I know that many award winning quilters have pieced on machines without dual feed, given that for many years, only the Pfaffs had it, so it's possible to do so without shift. What do you do? I've tried decreasing the presser foot pressure and it seems to make little difference and sometimes makes the situation worse. What's the secret?

I wonder if it's time to decide that I need to see about upgrading to the Janome 6700 with dual feed. I hate to do that, partly because I don't think I'd be as happy with the Janome dual feed as I am with the Pfaff IDT (and I don't want a new Pfaff, as they are not appealing machines for me at all). I'd rather stick to the Costco machine, but I also hate the idea of only using the new machine sometimes. It quilts wonderfully, it's big and bright, has a thread cutter, a relatively large bobbin, isn't sluggish, is fun and pretty. But for piecing, it may not be the right machine. But there's gotta be a way to make it so.

So thoughts on how people get around the lack of top feed for piecing? And again, on the quarter inch foot?

Thanks.

Huh. I didn't realize that the 6650 doesn't have the accufeed.
Maybe you should just return it and buy another machine from your local dealer.

That's a possibility. The other is to just use it for quilting and stick with my Pfaff. I've always gotten that "used car" feeling at my dealership. I wish I had someone I trusted.

A different machine doesn't solve the quarter inch foot problem though. The O-foot may not be any better. I'd love to get input on the feet.

I have a 1/4" foot with the guard on it for my 6500 and I get an accurate seam with it. Maybe try that one?

Watson

if you can afford to upgrade to the 6700 - or to one of the horizon series with accufeed - i encourage you to do so.

as to the non-AF/DF quarter-inch feet, look online for the O2 foot.
you can barely see the physical difference between the O and the O2, but they don't perform equally.
the O2 handles bulky seams much more easily than does the O.

the O2 also has the guide and can be found online for under $15US.

I have the Janome 6700 with the O2 quarter inch foot. It does give a good 1/4 inch seam, but I still have the problem of the top fabric ending up a bit "longer" than the bottom fabric because the top doesn't feed. So I bought the accu-feed quarter inch foot. with it, you have to move the needle over to about 5.5. The problem is, the quarter inch guide does not extend out beyond the foot, so it was difficult for me to keep the fabric aligned exactly next to the guide. I finally bought a low-end Pfaff with IDF and now use it exclusively for piecing. About the only time I use my Janome is to attach my binding.

Teresa, the clear foot works perfectly on my Janome 6600 and 9400.
Well, I had to buy a new foot for the 9400 because it's a 9mm machine.

I believe the 6500 has 7mm maximum stitch width. The 6650 has 9mm max, so the feet are different.

Do you have the clear foot?

My clear foot works. However, the seam guide is heavy enough that it causes the foot to sag down on the right, so every time I put a piece in I have to move it around and find the right spot. Does yours on your 9mm machine sag on the right? Maybe mine is defective?

I've found with the quarter inch foot I'm using that I tend to use the measurements on the needle plates as a guide. I wonder if the combination of that plus your Accu-feed quarter inch foot would work. I wouldn't mind that. The sag I'm experiencing is ridiculous though.

Which Pfaff did you buy? I have low tolerance for anything these days because of some severe personal stress issues so having to dicker with a dealer for a sewing machine and then risking having a lemon or something is maybe not in the cards. I'll probably stick to my Pfaff plus use the Costco machine for quilting. I do love it's oomph. I've been trying to use it today and finding myself trimming things FAR more than I do on my Pfaff. But my Pfaff is really SLOW in comparison....so I don't know.