Janome XL601 - A.K.A Bertha |
When I first took up sewing around 6
years ago my Mum kindly gave me her 1970’s Frister Rossmann sewing
machine. This served me well in the
early days but was rather tired and old and started to struggle. Then, in 2013 when faced with the “what would
you like for Christmas” question I asked my parents and my husband to club
together to buy me a sewing machine.
I was completely overwhelmed by the
selection online and by the varying comments of sewing friends. So, I booked myself in to visit a sewing
machine shop so that I could try out a few different models. I received demonstrations of a couple of
different brands and levels of machines.
I was keen to buy something more elevated than the basic entry level but
not to get too carried away as I was still rather new to sewing. When I tried the Janome XL601 (affiliate
line) I completely fell in love.
This doesn’t have the most decorative
stitches but to be honest I am fairly boring in my choice of stitches. It does have a few features, which I love and
want to tell you about:
·
It is possible to
control the maximum speed of the machine which is great for if you are
undertaking some intricate work or you a simply tired and “heavy footed”. This was also a helpful feature when I
recently taught a friend to sew on my machine and I can see this being great
when my little Pickle is big enough to have a go
·
There is a button to
put the needle up and down and I don’t have to wind anything. It is so useful and if I use another machine
at a class I realise just how much I like this feature
·
Although I don’t do a
lot of freemotion embroidery, I do intend to pick it up more and this machine
can drop the feeds (and it is easy to do so!)
·
When I purchased my
machine there was a special offer that included a quilting pack. Part of that was an extension table, which I
always use when quilting to help support the weight of the quilt. I would have never thought I would need this
but I have been super pleased with it
·
Finally, I love the
walking foot and the guide that fits to it.
It means I can do accurate straight line quilting and vary the width of my
lines
I don’t have a vast experience of
sewing on different machines but I do know that I really like my current
machine and would highly recommend it to beginner and intermediate sewers and
quilters.
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