Janome HD1000 Heavy-Duty Sewing Machine with 14 Stitches

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.

I bought this machine about a year ago and had not taken it out of the box because I was using my basic Kenmore and basically was too lazy to switch over. Then I was not sewing as much, life got busy and kind of forgot I had it in my sewing closet. This past Christmas (2013) my daughter (on a whim and because it was a good deal) bought me a Singer Heritage machine, computerized and beautiful. I began sewing on it - was much better than the Kenmore but almost felt too lightweight. However, I loved the automated tension adjustment and ease of stitching. But then needed to make a buttonhole. That particular option would not work and much to my complete and utter disappointment, there is NO recourse for obtaining help except to go to the Singer web-site and watch the video that does not address how to make a buttonhole much less how to troubleshoot. There are NO contact numbers and one is basically left with nothing in place to address such problems. I boxed up the Singer and pulled out my Janome and it was the best machine I've EVER sewn on (I've been sewing about 45 years.) The machine is solid, heavy and stitching is sure. Everything about this machine is sound - it even sounded more substantial than the others. I just finished my first buttonhole on the Janome and it was a breeze and took me less than 5 minutes. And to think I've had the machine in my closet for about 3 years! <kicking myself in the butt> The machine is a wonderful machine. No fancy bells and whistles but enough extras to handle most sewing projects. There are also numerous youtube videos for operation and the manual is concise and easy to understand. I'm looking forward to many years of operation with this machine.

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 had my old machine for 30 years and was looking for something as reliable and sturdy as I had. I did a lot of research and reading of reviews (the Amazon reviews were very helpful!) I am pleased to say that I am thrilled with the Janome HD1000. The stitching is even and tight and the bobbin winding goes smoothly. I haven't tried all the stitches yet but have found some that are very helpful with the heavy knits and upholstry fabric that I work with. This is a sturdy machine that seems like it will tackle all I will use it for. It came with a hard case (thought it was coming with a soft one) so that was very nice. I like that it is made of metal and not all plastic. The bobbins are really little fat things and hold a LOT of thread - very nice! I am very happy and would recommend this machine for anyone who needs a basic, sturdy machine with some very helpful stitches. It is not an embroidery machine but that is not what I wanted. I also do quilting (piecing) and the foot piece is very easy to control.

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.