Quilt Joy--My Problem with my Juki 2010Q May Be Resolved

For over a year since I purchased my new Juki 2010Q, I have been very unhappy and frustrated when I did straight-line quilting with it.  The reason why I purchased the Juki was all the reviews I read about what a great machine it was and the quality of the stitching which I figured it would be wonderful for straight line quilting which is basically the only quilting I like to do, anything more elaborate I would send my quilt to my long arm quilter, Jan.  I love the look of straight-line quilting, it's clean and works well for both modern and traditional quilts which I make.  The problem I had was the even feed foot which came with the machine.  The answers I got from talking to the dealer and searching online;  from the dealer where I purchased my Juki was that I needed to make sure my thread up mechanism, needle and presser foot was all the way up when I threaded it in order to set the stitch tension, a comment from a Juki dealer on a FB group as to why was I using the even feed foot for quilting to a Pinterest post saying to take the even feed foot apart and oil all the black parts.  I also found on Pinterest someone saying that the Janome Convertible Even Foot, Open Toe, Part No. 214-516-003 works on a Juki 2010Q and when I questioned the dealer who I bought the machine from, they said no.  So, for the past year, my quilts did not turn out as nice as I would have liked, puckers and pinches and re-basting because the even feed foot just pushed against the quilt.  I thought the problem was basting and I even purchased three cans of basting spray and still had to re-baste.

When I was making my Blue Ernie Quilt and knowing if I wanted to do horizontal straight line quilting I would have to find an alternative way which was QAYG on my Elna 7200 Quilters Dream and it turned out so great which made me open to the idea of doing more machine quilting on it even though the stitching came be inconsistent and didn't look as nice and clean as the Juki.  So last week while Game 7 of the World Series was being played and my wanting to send some positive energy to the Cubs, I quilted my Easy Addition Plus Quilt on the Elna and it turned out great, just one little pinch, and no fabric pushing, re-basting or too much distortion.

I thought the Elna 7200 was going to be my answer to my quilting woes but before I committed I talked again to the Juki dealer and someone from their service department called me back and basically reconfirm that the even feed foot is not meant for quilting and that any other manufacturer's high shank even feed foot would work on the Juki, including the one from Janome which I was told from their floor staff that it would not.  So I decided to make a $60 gamble and ordered one from Amazon (who also mentioned on their site that this foot will work on a Juki 2010Q), I was not going to give any more business to this dealer and it arrived this past Saturday.  I wasn't expecting much but ordered it just to give the Juki one last chance, because I just love the stitch line, by quilting my Unruly Quilt, pattern by My Quilt Infatuation.

Was I pleasantly surprised and amazed at how absolutely wonderful it was to do straight line quilting with the Janome foot. (I should mention that this foot comes with a quilting guide which the Juki foot does not have).  It was heaven, the quilt sandwich fed through so nice and fast, I was done quilting within six hours, no re-basting, no distortion on the edges, it was the way straight line quilting should be.  I just love the nice and even stitching which is why I wanted the Juki 2010.

I want to share my thoughts on my Juki 2010Q, which are entirely my opinion, in hopes of anyone who have been frustrated with their machine can find some answers in this post.  First of all, I will never again purchase a sewing machine online; for me there is some disconnect.  One example, I had found via the Facebook group, that the needle clamp screw was being replaced with a shorter one because of users finding when the even feed foot was used, it was too noisy.  I personally felt that the dealer should have notified me that this was being offered, they had my email address.  I feel Juki relies on social media to help and assist with their sewing machines which is not a bad thing, but the dealers should give out correct information.  Think how much happier my quilting life would have been if I ordered a Janome foot sooner after seeing it on Pinterest but chose to listen to the dealer.

Here is the photo of the Janome foot with the Juki foot on the bottom.  The Juki foot is twice as heavy as the Janome and has black parts which feeds the fabric while the Janome has white parts.  The Elna foot also has white parts which lead me to believe that the problem with the Juki foot is the black parts which don't feed the fabric but pushes it.  Also, I used the Janome open-toe foot which I think helps to feed the fabric better while the Juki is a closed toe. When I look at the description for Juki's even feed foot it does not mention it being used for quilting, which I've always was taught that an even feed foot is a must for quilting.  Juki does have other quilting feet but are used for free motion quilting which I don't do.

So I can finally say that I have Juki Joy, it just needs help from Janome--I should also mention that I do piece with a Janome quilting foot since the one that came with the Juki is a full 1/4" and not a scant 1/4" like the Janome.  And if I ever buy another sewing machine, I'm going to a dealer and buying a Janome.

Happy Quilting for me and for you!

Update:  It’s been almost five years since I wrote this post and is still being read.  I wanted to provide a link to Laura Piland, Slice of Pi Quilts, who purchased the Janome Walking Foot after reading this post who then wrote a post about her Juki 2010 experience and more technical info on the walking foot: https://www.sliceofpiquilts.com/2017/06/theres-new-workhorse-in-town.html#more