Janome HD1000 Heavy-Duty Sewing Machine with 14 Stitches

I just wanted a simple mechanical machine, no fancy stitches or anything, and this one looked to fit all of my requirements. Its very sturdy, and arrived in working order. (from Mr. Vac and Mrs. Sew, via Amazon) I have two other machines, basic Brothers that I've had for 5-10 years, they are good little machines but they get a bit cranky when it comes to heavier or thicker fabrics. I love how quiet it is, my other two machines are both a lot louder, no one in the house could hear me sewing from the other rooms on this machine :) Its very heavy and solid, no bouncing around while it sews. It was not too hard to thread, the instructions are very clear and easy to follow, and it wound a nice even bobbin. The manual is large and easy to read and flip through for help. The bobbin is the old school front load kind, with the metal casing and little latch, my old Brother has the same system (it looks exactly the same actually) so it was familiar to me. The thread cutter is a nice touch, I haven't used it much yet, its a hidden blade up on the upper part of the machine, near the needle threader, pull your project up, hook the thread into it and tug to cut the thread. The light is bright enough, it could be a bit brighter, but I can always get one of those stick on lights if I need more illumination. It has a drop feed mode, the lever to drop the feed dogs is easy to use, and you can raise the presser foot extra high for thicker fabrics. I only have two minor complaints- -the on/off switch is located behind the foot controller/power plug, its a bit awkward and fumble-y to reach it. -for bobbin winding, the stop motion isn't automatic like on my other machines when you slide the bobbin spindle over. You have to go to the handwheel and turn the 'stop motion' wheel before you start winding to disengage the needle. (and tighten it back to sew again when you're finished winding!!) Those are small complaints, and I'm sure I will become accustomed to them after a bit more use. Otherwise I love this machine and am very pleased with the purchase! So far I've only sewed cotton and batting, but I plan to use it on some glitter vinyl, laminated cotton, and heavier fabrics when I get a chance. it arrived with a hard case that slips over the top (the machine's handle pokes through to form the case handle, there are no latches or anything to hold it to the machine, and it won't fit over a spool of thread on the spindle) 4 clear plastic bobbins, a tube of oil, 4 feet, a seam ripper, two screwdrivers, and two red felt disks, the foot controller and plug, and a hem guide. I'm kind of excited to test out the rolled hem foot, I've never used one before :) EDIT/UPDATE: after about 7 months of use, something in the handwheel broke and it will no longer wind bobbins. I have one of those bobbin winder machine thingies that I prefer to use, so I haven't bothered to get it repaired or send it back in. I must have twisted it too far or the wrong way when trying to engage the stop motion and something in there snapped. so, be very careful when messing with the stop motion part of the handwheel :P BUT it is a total workhorse, I use it every day to sew, mostly through layers of cotton, twill, batting, and elastic. Easy to clean, open up, and oil, and very user friendly as far as maintenance goes. I still LOVE this machine :) (the placement of the on/off switch still bugs me though, such an awkward spot)

I was torn between this Janome HD1000 and the Singer Heavy Duty. Even though I'm a sewing novice, I personally dislike the new wave of plastic bodied machines. I was using a beautiful robin's egg blue Singer from the '60s or '70s--older than I am!--and it was great until perplexing tension issues began to crop up. I didn't want a slick computerized machine taking its place, so the Singer Heavy Duty immediately caught my eye, due to its 'traditional' looking body as well as exciting features such as a drop-in bobbin and 20 plus stitches, one step buttonhole, etc. However, the lackluster reviews, complaints of a very short lifespan, and overall disintegration of the Singer brand's quality left me wary. The metal body of the Janome is amazing. Sure, it may be heavier, but the overall durability seems greater than any plastic. The bobbin is front loading, which was frightening at first (no 'jam free' guarantee) but it hasn't been a problem at all. The metal casing that holds the bobbin seems very sturdy and made to last. Though the flashiness of a thousand different stitches is alluring, I realistically use only... Two or so for my garment sewing. I haven't touched any other stitches yet, so 14 is more than enough for me. Those who are doing projects that show off stitchwork might want more variety, but again, I think the Janome's offerings are more than adequate for most people. As I said, I'm relatively new to sewing machines (I used to hand sew everything!), but I was able to use the Janome soon after it was unpacked. I had to look up how to load the bobbin, and the inner hand wheel was initially stubborn (I used one of those grippy rubber jar-openers to help--very useful!), and everything flew from there. The automatic needle threader is an amazing luxury; at first, I thought it might not really be necessary, but I absolutely am in love with it. And oddly enough, I received a hard case even though I thought this Janome came with a soft cover (but no complaints here!) I first felt guilty about being unfaithful to my older Singer, but this Janome is quickly becoming an indispensible new friend. EDIT: It's a little over a year later (9/12) and this machine is humming away beautifully. I still use the metal Bernina bobbins, and they work very well. I did have some frustrating issues with getting the bobbin thread picked up, as it seemed to get caught and jam, but I realized that this was due to my own inexperience and stupidity! As I'm sure is common knowledge for everyone else, I only needed to make sure I was bringing the needle all the way back up to its highest position before attempting to pull up the bobbin thread. I only mention this embarrassing incident in case others may have had the same problem, as I had the initial reaction of blaming the machine rather than myself. Anyway, I've sewn quilting-quality cotton to oilcloth and several layers (seriously, like 4-5) of heavy cotton duck (to make a heavy-duty saddle bag for my bike.. it went quite well, considering I pulled the plan from thin air--I'm so proud, haha) and the Janome worked right through them. I occasionally had some difficulty with the layers and layers of folded cotton duck, but that's where the extra high presser foot really came in handy! A sewing machine isn't essential in my life, as I'm a casual, hobby sewer, but I love my Janome like I would an extra arm (and who doesn't need an extra arm sometimes?), though without the self-consciousness an additional appendage would bring.

This sewing machine met all my needs and I has has already exceeded my expectations. It was a replacement for my 33 year old Kenmore and I am very pleased with my purchase. I have tried it out on multiple layers of heavy denim, which it sewed through with no trouble at all, I have also done button holes on layers of denim also and found it went through the 3 layers of heavy denim like a knife through butter. I am also very pleased with the low level of noise while running, it is a joy to sew now. I have Meniere's disease so noise level was very important to me as was the type of light it had, it has the incandescent bulb which is a huge plus for me as I can not handle led lighting at all. It is a heavy machine and is doing exactly what I needed it to do. I do also have a newer computerized Kenmore for sewing lighter fabrics and fancier stitching but still needed a work horse and this will do the job quite well. I am very pleased with my choice of this Janome. Shipping was fast and it arrived in perfect condition.

I bought this machine in 2011. I sew flannel quilts, denim bags, plush creatures of decor weight fabric, Leather bags ~ you name it and this machine can handle it. Bring on the thick layers of denim, this Glorious Beast can take it (I use a Janome walking foot and a little plastic tool called a " Jeanamajig" to hem jeans). This machine is CAST METAL and is SOLID. It does not jump around when you sew like my cheap plastic-body sewing machines (I'm talking to you, Brother: never again!) I have had it for 14 years and never had it serviced. It maintains perfect tension (amazing!) and lets me know when it needs to be cleaned and oiled by being noisy(it is a relatively quiet machine but starts to sound like a machine gun when it needs cleaning and oiling). It takes less than 10 minutes from start to finish to service it; remove a few screws and the old needle, remove any lint or thread (using a cotton Q-tip) and add fresh machine oil (also with a Q-Tip) as per the instructions in the manual. Then it is all ready again to make more delightful cozy items for family and friends. I would not hesitate to buy this machine again. My neighbor also bought the very same model at about the same time and sews even more than I. Both of us love our Janome HD1000's! This does not have any of the gimmicky nonsense like fancy stitches, just the ones you need for making new items and hemming or repairing old ones. If you sew anything thick (like quits!) the Janome Walking Foot (sold seperately) is well worth the price and takes the swearing out of quilting. I freemotion quilt and use a darning foot for that task with excellent results (the most reliable thread I have found is the German thread made in Greece called Gutterman). To be a Happy Sewist, invest just a bit in this machine and it will reward you with years of frustration-free sewing, no regrets. This is so well built I will be passing it down to my daughters who also sew (but they can't have it just yet!)

I am sewer of many years and I wanted a basic heavy duty machine that had all the basic stitches asI did not need a fancy computerized stitching for fancy embroidery etc. After looking through many positive reviews online, I selected the Janome HD1000. It looked like the perfect machine for my needs and the Amazon price was very reasonable. Since I was an experienced sewer I thought that with the aid of a good manual and You-tube I would be capable of setting up a new machine without difficulty. The machine arrived quickly (Prime member) and I consequently spent a week of frustration trying to see why the machine was not working properly. I followed the manual and in the trouble shooting section, it said that a thread might be caught in the shuttle race and described what to do. It was difficult to open and replace the shuttle case which holds the bobbin case and bobbin. I tried that numerous times and the machine seemed to work for a bit and then it would seize. I couldn’t turn the wheel manually and I could feel great resistance. I stopped and tried to clean the shuttle area again. It would work for a few stitches and it would again seize or would break the needle. I looked at the Janome.com website and couldn’t find a phone number to call about the problem. After much searching on the web, I finally found the Janome Customer Service Center which is 1-800-631-0184. I spoke to someone about the problem and I asked her if I could bring it to the local Janome dealer to diagnosis the problem. She said that I could not and I would have to send it back to Amazon. I have decided to send it back to Amazon for a refund and possibly buy a sewing machine locally although it might cost quite a bit more. After this experience, I looked at the negative reviews of the machine. There were a number of people who had problems with the shuttle case. It is a vertical shuttle case and not a drop-in bobbin case. Perhaps that makes it more prone to misalignment. Perhaps one in a hundred machines have problems like this but if you have the one in a hundred machine that has problems, it doesn’t work properly 100% of the time.