Machine Quilting on the Janome 1600P
Ready to begin machine quilting on the Janome 1600P? This high speed, straight stitch machine is quickly becoming my go-to sewing machine for free motion quilting and ruler quilting because it’s so fast and makes such a perfect stitch!
Jump to the part of this machine quilting tutorial you most wish to learn:
Note – I’ve recently updated this post with affiliate links to Amazon.com. I make a small commission if you decide to purchase a Janome 1600 sewing machine or feet from these links, at no additional cost to you.
Free Motion Machine Quilting Settings
To set up the Janome 1600 sewing machine for free motion quilting or ruler quilting, I do three things:
- Set my stitch length to 0.0 mm. This lowest setting minimizes the movement of the feed dogs behind the quilt.
- Cover the feed dogs with a Free Motion Glider. This Teflon Sheet minimizes friction between the machine and the quilt making it easier to move.
- Attach a Convertible Darning Foot. This really is one of the very best designed darning feet for machine quilting!
This is all I do to limit the movement of the feed dogs against the back of the quilt. With the stitch length at 0, the feed dogs just bounce up and down a bit, but do not move enough to pull against the back of the quilt.
I know, typical free motion quilting instructions include dropping the feed dogs. Turns out, the Janome 1600 doesn’t have the ability to drop the feed dogs (which I really like).
Instead the Convertible Darning Foot Kit comes with a thicker needle plate that will further limit the contact of the feed dogs with the back of the quilt. It’s entirely up to you if you want to attach this thicker needle plate or simply try my settings above. As with all quilting techniques, give it a try and see what works best for you!
Video – Free Motion Quilting on the Janome 1600
Remember, this home machine has minimal features so it doesn’t have decorative stitches or fancy gizmos. Instead it has speed and precision – exactly what you need for machine quilting! Click Here to find this machine on Amazon.
Also it’s always important to remember that free motion machine quilting is a skill gained with time, practice and patience. No machine will immediately give you great results. You have to put some time and practice in to get the hang of balancing the speed and movement of your hands moving the quilt over your table.
Machine Quilting Tools I Use and Recommend
Of course, machine quilting will feel a lot easier if you have your sewing machine set up properly. Here are a few of my favorite free motion quilting tools that make it possible to quilt even king sized quilts on your home machine:
What You Need for Ruler Quilting on the Janome 1600
Ready to try quilting with rulers on your Janome sewing machine? The great thing about using the Convertible Darning Foot is you can switch out the bases on the foot and be able to do more quilting styles. Click Here to find the Frame Quilting Foot Set, which you’ll need for ruler quilting.
The Frame Quilting Foot Set includes two additional darning foot bases:
- Ruler Foot Base – This base has a high edge which allows you to press quilting rulers against the foot. The quilting ruler then guides your quilting design, giving you more control over your quilting stitches.
- Frame Facing Open Toe – If you decide to put your Janome 1600 on a frame like one of our quilting frames for home machines, you’ll need this foot which faces the right direction when the machine is set up on a frame.
The Convertible Darning Foot really is my my favorite foot for free motion quilting because it has both a height adjustment and the ability to change the bases so you can do different styles of quilting. I use the open toe base most of the time, but if I’m quilting around applique or fuzzy fabrics, I’ll switch to the closed toe base.
To safely do ruler quilting on your Janome 1600 sewing machine, you will need a ruler foot and 1/4-inch thick, longarm style rulers.
If you try this machine quilting style without a ruler foot or with thinner rulers, the ruler can potentially slip above or below the foot and crash against your needle.
Video – Quilting with Rulers on the Janome 1600
Now let’s learn how to do ruler quilting on the Janome 1600! I shared this video as a little bonus tutorial for the Dream Big Quilt Along.
I used the Super Slide ruler to quilt Matrix, one of my favorite machine quilting designs into a large petal on the Dream Big quilt panel. Yes, you can quilt Matrix with free hand, free motion quilting too. Using the ruler for support will give you the ability to stitch perfectly spaced lines, perfect curves, and have more control over your machine quilting stitches too.
Ruler quilting is a relatively new for home machine quilters and the main advantage is the added control it can give us over our quilting design. If free motion quilting feels just too “free” for you, ruler quilting may fit your quilting style and personality much better.
Let’s go quilt,
Leah Day
More Quilting Tutorials on the Janome 1600 Sewing Machine!
Recently came across your excellent videos using the 1600p and free motion darning foot. I recently attened a workshop for free motion quiting and took along my machine. They had the Janome foot in so we attached it as per instructions but when dropping the needle it hits the foot and not in the middle. the 1600p does not have the option fr changing the needle position. What am I doing wrong? Hope you can help.
Most likely that’s not the right walking foot for this machine. It’s very easy to get the wrong one and unfortunately Janome doesn’t make this very easy. I would double check the attachment, but most likely you’re needing a different walking foot.