The Janome Horizon Memory Craft 9400 QCP makes it so easy to free motion quilt! With its large harp space, ability to set the speed of the machine with the adjustable speed control, and the several free motion quilting feet included in the machine, you’ll truly enjoy quilting your projects with it.
To prepare the Janome 9400, I drop the feed dogs and turn the stitch length to zero. The most important and helpful thing I can do on the Janome 9400 is to adjust the speed control so the speed of the machine (how fast the needle goes up and down) is comfortable for me. I should be able to press the foot pedal all the way down and hold it there with the machine is stitching at a comfortable pace for me. The ability to adjust the stitching speed of the machine means that I don’t have to think about this when I am free motion quilting allowing me to concentrate on the quilt motif I am creating.
Janome 9400 Speed Control
It’s important to use the right needle for the task and, in this case, I use a purple tip Janome needle. I always use a new needle for each project which helps to give me good results. I also use the blue dot bobbin case which has less tension and works really well when free motion quilting. To find out more about Janome bobbin cases, watch this video.
Janome Purple Tip Needles
There are four different free motion quilting feet included with the Janome 9400: The PD-H foot, the QO (open toe foot), QC (closed toe foot), and QV foot (echo quilting, thread sketching, thread painting and more). The PD-H foot is typically called the free motion, hopping foot or darning foot and this, unlike the other feet, has an integral foot holder. The other three feet will fit on your regular presser foot holder. They attach a little differently than other presser feet, so watch the video on my YouTube channel to see exactly how to attach them securely.
Janome 9400 PD-H Foot
Janome 9400 QV Foot
I like to use the Sewing Applications Menu on the Janome 9400 to help me choose the correct free motion quilting stitch. You can choose straight or zigzag stitches and these options will depend on what needle plate you have installed on the Janome 9400. Once you choose a stitch, the Janome 9400 suggests which presser foot would give the best results when using this stitch. I do like a sewing machine that guides me to the choices that will give me the best results!
Janome 9400 Free Quilting Screen
To see how to set up the Janome Horizon Memory Craft 9400 QCP for free motion quilting and the various stitching options available, read my blogpost or click on the image below to watch a video about it on my YouTube channel.
The features on the Janome Horizon Memory Craft 9400 QCP will help you in your free motion quilting journey and make this part of your project easy and enjoyable.
Happy quilting from Kim of Chatterbox Quilts, Janome Canada Artisan in Calgary, AB, who loves creating on a Janome 9400.
You might also like to see our post on Monday 2nd April where we announced the NEW Upgrade kit for Janome MC9400 – which does include free motion quilting feet: QR and QZ & Open toe PD-H foot)
Janome Life 
I have a Janome 8200 special edition and it included the darning foot (PD-H) as well as the convertible free motion quilting foot (QB-S) and closed-toe foot, open-toe foot and clear view foot.
For a beginner to free-arm quilting, which one of these is better to start learning with?
Thank you,
Jan Meyer
Plainfield, IN
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Hi Jan,
It is largely preference. Why dont you try both and see which one you like best. Quite possibly you will like the PD-H foot for some applications and the other set for other projects.
Good luck and happy quilting!
Liz
JANOME CANADA
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Thanks for your post. I’m a little confused though at the beginning you mention you drop your feed dogs to do free motion and then later you talk about the free motion program. Doesn’t the free motion program drop the feed dogs automatically? Sorry if Im misunderstanding but I’m new to Janome
Cheers
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Hi: Sorry for the confusion. The free motion program will set the presser foot level to accommodate free motion quilting in that the presser foot will now hover, rather than lowering all the way down to the needle plate – it does not drop the feed dogs. I hope this helps explain how it works.
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So one last clarification- so do I need to drop the feed dogs if I am using the free motion program? Is it a choice? Many thanks, again
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Yes, you will need to drop the feed dogs.
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