The Janome 8077 Sewing Machine: A Comprehensive Review
Do you consider yourself a beginning sewer? If so, the Janome 8077 sewing machine is for you. Do you consider yourself an experienced sewer? If so, the Janome 8077 computerized sewing machine is still for you.
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Classifying a sewing machine as only for beginners is a little like saying a smallish house is a starter house for first-time homeowners. It’s only a beginning machine or house if you already have plans to get something bigger and more expensive later.
If the first machine or house you buy will fit your needs for many years to come, then it’s not just for starters, is it?
Main Features | |
---|---|
Weight | 18.2 pounds |
Stitch length and width | Adjustable |
Buttonholers | One-step, total six |
Free Arm | Yes |
Needle Up/Down | Yes |
Start/Stop button | Yes |
Drop Feed | Yes |
Needle Threader | Yes |
Stitches | 30 |
Let’s take a look at the Janome 8077 review to see if it’s a good fit for you or not. No matter how long you have been sewing. I think you’ll discover that this may be the next machine you own.
What features does the Janome 8077 have?
If you’re like most seamstresses, you don’t look forward to having to setup your machine for a new project.
What you might call all the technical stuff - winding the bobbin, threading the needle, grabbing that bobbin thread, adjusting the tension, and so on - just gets in the way of the fun of actually sewing.
With this sewing machine, all of those startup tasks are a breeze.
Bobbin Winder
This machine has an automatic bobbin winder. You push the bobbin winder to your right, so the auto-declutch mechanism automatically stops the needle. It then winds your bobbin. It stops winding when the bobbin is full.
You get four bobbins with your 8077 so you can load that many different colors or types of the thread without having to unwind manually one of them to reuse it.
Needle Threader
No longer do you need to strain your eyes to see if that thin thread is going through that tiny eye of the needle. You now have an automatic needle threader at your service.
First, you pull down the needle threader. Then you put the in the hook and pass it in front of the needle. When you pull back, your needle is threaded. It’s as simple as that!
Bobbin Thread
After you’ve automatically wound your bobbin as described above, you can drop into its appropriate location and place the see-through cover.
To draw up the bobbin thread, first, raise the presser foot lifter and then turn the power switch on. Hold the needle thread with your finger and press the Up/Down needle button twice to pick up the bobbin thread.
Draw up the needle thread to bring up a loop of the bobbin thread. Finally, slide about 4 inches of both threads to the back under the presser foot.
Does it come with transparent bobbin cover?
The transparent bobbin cover lets you see how much thread is left on your bobbin as you sew. If you keep an eye on it, you’ll never again run out of thread with just inches left to go to the end of your fabric.
You’ll also never have to worry about starting a new project with just a little thread left on the bobbin.
Is top thread delivery is horizontal or vertical?
The guidelines for top threading on your Janome 30-stitch computerized sewing and quilting machine are easy to follow. The horizontal top thread delivery method cuts down on the number of times your thread will break.
This method has been proven better than vertical delivery because it feeds thread more smoothly into the workings of the machine.
Video review of this machine
Is bobbin jam resistant or not?
Experienced sewists and beginners who have started on other machines know that sewing off the edge of your fabric can easily jam it, causing headaches that you could easily do without.
The Janome bobbin system is jam proof - no more time wasted unclogging the innards of your machine.
Does it have automatic thread cutter?
This model doesn’t have an automatic thread cutter. There is a manual cutter at the back of the machine on the left side.
If you would like to have an automatic needle threader, you could consider xm2701. However, xm2701 is a very basic machine for absolute beginners.
What about top thread tension?
When it comes to setting top thread tension, it’s case of setting it and forget it. When you adjust the precision tension dial, the tension stays put until you decide to readjust for whatever reason.
What is the size of LED screen?
The LED screen of your Janome sewing machine, 8077, is a little bit small but bright enough to read.
The main reason you’ll look at it is to select and set one of the 30 available stitch patterns. You can find LED over the needle arm so that you can see your work.
How many stitches available?
The Janome may not have the hundred of built-in stitches that some other machines have, but the 30 you do get were well thought out.
You get to choose from 6 one-step buttonholes. There will be one just the size that you need.
There are several quilting and decorative satin stitches. As you might have guessed, you also get the most important and common utility and garment construction stitches too.
How easy is to select the particular stitch?
You choose a stitch by its number, which is what shows up on the LED display.
Another reason to look at the screen is to set either the width or the length (or both) of your stitch. After you press the mode key to bringing up the option, just push the plus or minus button to increase or decrease the size of the stitch.
What is width and length of stitches?
You can have a maximum stitch width of 7 millimeters and a length of 5 millimeters for certain stitches.
What type of feed dog system does it come with?
This Janome machine comes with a superior feed dog system consisting of a 7-point contact in a box rotation pattern for incredibly consistent fabric movement for different types of fabrics.
Does it come with Drop feed dogs or not?
You can drop the feed dogs for free motion quilting, embroidery, and button attachment.
Does it have a free arm?
You can even do pants legs and shirt sleeves with the free arm feature.
What are different types of buttonholes available?
There are six different one-step auto buttonhole styles available with this model.
Square buttonhole
Select stitch number 16 to make a square buttonhole. If you have medium to heavy weight fabric, then use this buttonhole stitch.
Round-end buttonhole
Select stitch number 17 to make a round-end buttonhole. If you have to sew the buttonhole on children's fabric, which is mostly fine to medium weight, this will come in handy.
keyhole buttonhole
Select stitch number 18 to do keyhole buttonhole. If you have to sew the thick buttons on denim or another medium to heavy weight fabric, you can use this feature.
Stretch buttonhole
Select stitch number 19 for stretch buttonhole.
Knit buttonhole
Select stitch number 20 to make knit buttonhole.
Antique buttonhole
Select stitch number 21 to make an antique buttonhole.
How easy it to make buttonholes?
For sewing buttonholes, you press the up/down needle button to raise the needle (if needed). After you attach the automatic buttonhole foot and pull the holder back, you place a button on it.
Note that the holder accepts buttons from 0.5 cm to 2.5 cm in diameter.
Next, you pull the buttonhole lever down as far as it will go and insert the fabric under the foot. Press the up/down needle button twice and then move the fabric to the left to draw the needle thread through the foot hole.
Starting the machine will sew the buttonhole automatically. To sew another buttonhole, you raise the presser foot, move the fabric to the next buttonhole location, lower the foot, and start the machine. That’s about as simple as it can get.
Towards the left side of your machine above the needle arm are four handy buttons. Here’s how you’ll use each of them.
Does it have Up/Down needle position?
The up/down needle button lets you determine where the needle will stop when you stop sewing. You’ll find this button a big help when doing free motion quilting.
Can it sew locking stitches?
When sewing the straight stitch, straight (needle left) stitch, zigzag and multi-stitch zigzag, the auto lock button will take care of tying off stitches for you.
With these stitches selected the machine will sew locking stitches right off the bat to reinforced them, and stops when you press the button.
If you’re using any of the other stitches besides those four, your Janome will sew locking stitches at the end of the pattern and then stop automatically.
Does it sew in Reverse?
If you've pressed the reverse button, when you have selected any of the zigzag, multi zigzag, straight needle left or straight stitch, your machine will sew in reverse.
When using other stitches, reverse button acts much like the auto lock button by sewing locking stitches and stopping.
What's the difference between auto-lock and reverse stitch?
The reverse button will force your machine to go backward to reinforced the stitches. Auto lock instead of going backward, sew some stitches at the same place to lock the stitches in place.
Does it come with a start/stop button?
To use the start/stop button, you need to remove the foot controller from the machine. The larger start/stop button lets you sew without using the foot control pedal.
You press the button to start the machine. It runs slowly for the first few stitches and then continues at the speed at which you have set the speed control slider, which is located just above and to the right of these four buttons. Press this button a second time to stop the machine.
Does it come with a speed control slider?
If you’re just beginning, or you have a tricky piece of sewing to do, you might want to prohibit your 8077 from going too fast. If so, you can move the speed control slider far to the left to throttle down the machine.
Move the slide to the right to allow faster speeds when you’re more experienced or have easy stitching to add to your fabric.
The Janome’s presser foot lever has three height settings.
- Standard down position
- Up for removing or inserting your fabrics
- Extra high up setting for working with thicker layers of fabric.
What kind of fabric it can handle?
Due to it, superior 7-piece feed dog system and extra high needle position it can handle many different types of fabric.
Owners of this machine report being able to sew through cotton, satin stretch knit, and garment leather without making any significant adjustments. It works equally well on denim, blackout lining, and very thin voile.
Can this machine handle king size quilts?
Despite the drop feed dogs setting, extra high needle position, the throat of the machine does not have enough space to handle king size quilts.
Having said that, to get the big throat machine for quilting, you have to shell out way more dollars than this machine.
Other Features
The Janome is quiet, runs smoothly, and makes beautiful, even, high-quality stitches. It sews straight with little guidance from the user, provides consistent power, and is easy to use.
Even though it’s good sized, it’s relatively lightweight (just over 18 pounds) and easy to transport using the built-in carrying handle. There's no hard case included.
How many needle positions?
This machine comes with 15 needle positions. With the help of these needle positions, you'll be sewing stitches precisely at your desired point on the fabric.
You are in control of the fabric, not the other way round.
If you are a quilter, you can even reposition your needle to achieve a quarter inch seam. It allows you to make the consistent seam and that's critical while working with the quilts.
Where can I buy the Janome 8077?
We always suggest buy through a friendly dealer as there are additional benefits to doing that. But depending upon on your location, you may or may not be able to find this machine locally through a dealer.
PROS
- Seven piece quality feed dogs
- Drop feed dogs
- Auto locking stitches
- Speed control
CONS
- No automatic thread cutter
- No hard case