My beloved Janome 6600 has every feature a girl could want except for one: a free arm. My previous sewing machine had a free arm so I do know what I’m missing! Here’s a simple tip that I picked up in one of my Yahoo groups: sew a circular seam from the opposite side. Since my stitching looks better on the top than the bobbin, I like to actually turn items inside out when I need to topstitch so that I’m sewing on the side that will be seen.
Any more tricks on sewing without a free arm?
And yes, this is a teaser shot of the Mail Sack. I’m expecting delivery of the pattern sheets any day now!
Oh my gosh! I can’t imagine life without a free arm!!! I regularly choose to sew on the “inside” of the circle, so that I don’t have to remove my clear table, but STILL! That’s just because I’m lazy and have tons of stuff stored between my clear table and my sewing machine table. With all the garments I make (most of them size 4T and smaller), I don’t know what I would do!
I can’t WAIT to see the next pattern!!!
And I also can’t wait for the time in my life when the smallest size I sew for is “school-age” (whatever size that is?) — just so I can put pen to paper on all the pattern ideas I have. So for now, I live vicariously through you and totally enjoy it! You do such a beautiful job on your patterns and instructions, it’s inspirational!
Thanks for the tip, I have a 6600 and missed the free arm as well!
But every other feature of the machine is making me a happy sewer!
I just got my Janome 6600 about a month ago and miss that free arm as well (especially when sewing little girl’s clothing!) So far, I really like the machine though!
I remember mending the knees on my kids’ jeans without a free arm on my old Kenmore. Now, that took some gymnastics! I make mostly quilts now but I don’t think I’d ever buy a sewing machine without a free arm again.
NO FREEARM!!!?!? My word!!!
Okay, I can’t wait to see your new design! My goal for the weekend is to get the pattern sheets finalized and sent out to TriState. And now that I’ve said it “out loud” in blogland, I MUST get it done!
I have the Elna Quilting Pro Queen, which doesn’t have a freearm either…..so I bought the Janome Jem so that I had a machine with a freearm! In the long run, it worked out even better because the Janome is the perfect size to take to classes and sewing club.
How odd that a nice sewing machine like that would not have a freearm! I don’t use mine in freearm mode a lot, but I would sure miss it if I didn’t have it.
Lorrie: What a great idea. I haul my 6600 with me when I teach classes and it’s REALLY heavy! I’ve heard lots of great feedback on the Jem.
Kathi: My impression of the 6600 is that it’s a machine that must have come from an industrial platform, the base and main body is cast metal with the remaining ‘consumer’ pieces in plastic. It reminds me of what the commercial stoves like Wolf looked like when they first came out. I have no knowledge of the true origin of the machine, it’s an interesting combination of materials though, it works like a horse, and it is heavier than all get out!
How does a machine not have a freearm?? That is just SO wrong.
1) yay! new pattern coming!! (I’m working on Rubblework scarves this weekend—cottons, kimono silks, dupioni silks, and microsuede—-yum!)
2) I just purchased a used Janome 6500 and really love it. This machine is in addition to my Pfaff 2056, which has a free arm, and has the built-in walking foot. This is why I don’t miss (YET) the 6600′s Accufeed. Last night I pulled out my Singer 201k handcrank, and sewed on it for the first time. Awesome—-quiet, accurate, gorgeous stitch quality, AND I can sew by firelight when camping! (nevermind that it weighs a mere 40 lbs., pshaw). My children are entranced by the handcrank, and my 8 yr old daughter has already put dibs on it, as in “can I have this after you die, Mommie?” “Yes, dear, but you have to wait until I’m dead.” A cheerful, “OK–no problem!” Sheesh.
I sometimes work in a costume shop (here at uni) and our industrial machines don’t have free arm at all. I don’t use the industrials too much except for the surger and the blind hemer for any wide skirts (hoop skirts are a bitch and a half to hem, just in case you wanted to know). The lack of free arm isn’t usually a big deal, you get used to it, and I’d rather have the stability of the industrial machine style than use the domestics and feel like I’m sewing on a flimsy piece of plastic machine.
I think that the companies that are coming out with the bigger machines with no freearms are trying to appeal to the the home quilter. For many years the only machines with a large space for quilters was the Brother 1500 and Juki 98. Both these machines sew a beautiful straight sitch, but that is all they did. I had a Brother and that is the only machine I used unless I needed a special stitch, then I drug out the fancy machine. I bought the Elna Queen Quilter because I wanted a machine that had the large sewing area and decorative stitches but then there was the problem of the freearm. My local Elna dealer made the suggestion of the Janome Gem. I’m very happy with both the Elna and Janome.
I think that the companies that are coming out with the bigger machines with no freearms are trying to appeal to the the home quilter. For many years the only machines with a large space for quilters was the Brother 1500 and Juki 98. Both these machines sew a beautiful straight sitch, but that is all they did. I had a Brother and that is the only machine I used unless I needed a special stitch, then I drug out the fancy machine. I bought the Elna Queen Quilter because I wanted a machine that had the large sewing area and decorative stitches but then there was the problem of the freearm. My local Elna dealer made the suggestion of the Janome Gem. I’m very happy with both the Elna and Janome.
Hi, sorry, no experience without freearm…
i feel so ignorant. please can you tell me what a free arm is. i am an avid sewer and never used a free arm!
Jen: Many home sewing machines have a very narrow bed (about 3 1/2″ wide) on the end where the bobbin and presser foot are. You can easily slip a sleeve cuff on it and just turn it as you’re sewing. If you look at my Janome in the photo, the bed is close to 7 inches wide. This is a nice platform for keeping your sewing feeding through the machine evenly. A trade off if you will. My old machine has a free arm but also has a small table that hugs near the bed sort of making it into a wide bed surface, the best of both worlds.