Silly Question
 

This is so silly but after googling and reading my manual I can't answer this question.


What is the serpentine stitch and do I have one? I have a janome dc5100 and I have three stitches that are varying width and length of squiggles. Does that mean those are serpentine stitches or are the just decorative frou frou stitches?

Thank for answering my silliness. :)

It's not a silly question! Inquiring minds want to know! :)

My Bernina 1230 has a serpentine stitch, so I would imagine your janome dc5100 has one too. I Googled images of your machine and came up with this one for stitch selection: http://www.gallsewingvac.com/Images/...100lidW550.jpg
It looks like stitch #52 is similar to what I have on my Bernina. I can adjust stitch length and width to get the look I want at any given time. The other two stitches on your machine may be similar, but I can't tell for sure from the photo. Stitching each one out at default settings, then playing with stitch length and width, should give you a good idea of your options.

This website shows some variations of the serpentine stitch: http://snarkyquilter.wordpress.com/2...k-you-jacquie/ but she says her Janome doesn't have as nice a one as her friend's Babylock. (I have no idea how the Babylock serpentine stitch compares. The samples on this page look very similar to what I get with my Bernina.)

Imagin a straight stitch but laid down in snake or worm wriggle I use it for quilting lots more forgiving than a straight stitch

So true Prism99. No silly questions here. 52 and 53 are the serpentine stitches. Janome, Brother, BabyLock are all made by the same company. I could be wrong but I don't see how or why the serpentine stitches would vary between these machines. I consider serpentine stitch a decorative stitch for sure. It's great for quilting and the different looks available by lengthening or shortening the length and width are amazing. Happy Snaking you all.

I have a serpentine desk! Not the stitch though.

Not a silly question. I too wondered how to do serpentine on my bernina's.
Thanks for asking?

Some machines don't have one. 2170 doesn't. I put one together in the stitch editor.

It looks like a stitched... S . I use this stitch a lot when quilting .. very forgiving.

Janome 6600 doesnt have one

Well I tried it out. All three squiggle lines and I can not change the length beyond 2.5. It is pretty just not what I expected.

Serpentine stitch looks like a zigzag but instead of having pointed edges it has rounded ones.

I know the Janome 7700 does not have a serpentine stitch, however the 8200 and 8900 does. I'm not sure about your dc5100. I know you can program the stitch into the 7700 so you probably can program it into the 5100 if you do not have it. I got the directions off the internet and will look for them again if you are interested.

On my Janome I do the serpentine stitch and it looks fine. I use these settings:
Mode 2. Stitch No. 26. Width 7.0 and Length 2.5

Let me know if you try it.