Janome Horizon Memory Craft 8200QCP the Dream Machine for Quilters

Many quilters I know just happened upon quilting. They stitched a few blocks together and fell in love. After making a few quilts and realizing their new found dream to be an epic quilter, they often need to upgrade their machine. I always joke that quilters really don’t peak until their 80s so as long as you are under 70 it is really worth investing in a good machine that is going to take your quilting to a whole new level. Finding a balance between all the features you need/want and a price that you find reasonable is sometimes hard. For those of you in this position, may I suggest the Janome Horizon Memory Craft 8200QCP?

The Janome Horizon Memory Craft 8200 is packed full of features and accessories for all your quilting needs. Below I’m going to go over many of these features that will help take your quilting to the next level!

Let’s take your quilt project from beginning to end so you really can visualize why the Janome MC8200 will be the perfect machine for your quilting needs.

First up is cutting your fabric! Ok, the Janome MC8200QCP is not going to help you cut your fabric. Wouldn’t that be amazing? However, having the Janome MC8200 in your sewing room is going to make you excited to get quilting, it’s so beautiful! I’m in love with the blue accents!

Piecing

Accuracy in piecing for a quilter is paramount for having your quilt come together with not only ease, but with crisp points, smooth curves and looking exactly how you imagined. The Horizon Memory Craft 8200 comes with an amazing 1/4” piecing foot with a guide. This foot helps you achieve the perfect 1/4” seam with every piece that you add to your quilt. PLUS it comes with a straight stitch needle plate. 

 

The straight stitch plate makes every stitch even more accurate. While piecing bulky seams together it will help guide your needle accurately to make sure every stitch is exactly where you want it.

Appliqué

Adding appliqué to a quilt can be so much fun! I also think of appliqué like colouring. Designs are only limited by your imagination! The toughest part for me is picking just the right stitch for the project. The Horizon MC8200 has 170 stitches to select and many of these stitches would be perfect for appliquéing on your quilt.

My favourite feature by far to perfect my appliqué is the needle down function. As seen in the photo below, it is the button with the two triangles. This magical button makes it so that every time you stop sewing, your needle stops in the down position, in your fabric. This allows you to make adjustments to your fabric at every stop without losing your spot on your project. To make this function even more amazing, use it in combination with your knee lift. 

 

That’s right the Janome Memory Craft 8200 QCP comes with a knee lift! If you haven’t used a knee lift before, be prepared to be amazed! With a simple push to the right with your knee you presser foot will lift up! When using it with the needle down option this allows you to make the ultimate adjustments to your project with ease!

Quilting

I think the actual quilting part gives us the most anxiety. You’ve spent countless hours picking fabrics, cutting it, piecing it, ironing and the sandwiching & dreaded basting of the quilt layers.  The pressure is on to quilt it in a way that is going to make all your hard work shine. With the Horizon MC 8200 we have many things that are going to make quilting it so much easier. 

The Janome Memory Craft 8200 has a massive 11” to the right of your needle. This space is going to let you quilt a generous sized quilt with ease. Pictured below I have a double bed quilt on the machine.  Plenty of space to move this quilt around.

If you are a free motion quilter, you are going to love the standard free motion quilting options on the Horizon Memory Craft 8200QCP! Not only do you get a darning foot which can be used for free motion quilting, but you also get a Convertible free motion quilting foot with a closed toe, open toe AND clear view foot! Lowering your feed dogs is a simple flick of a switch on the side of the machine.

If walking foot quilting is more your thing, get ready to be amazed by the AcuFeed Flex system with the Dual Feed AD foot! This combo is going to make quilting your quilts super smooth with no slipping of layers. This foot is also amazing for sewing slippery and thin fabrics. AND also for thick layers like denim and coat fabric. It is simply brilliant at feeding fabric. Period. 

Also included is your quilt guide bar so you can space out your quilting lines consistently for a nice professional look! 

Binding

Binding a quilt is my favourite step. You’ve done all the hard work and now you get to look at it all as you seal in your edges.

The AcuFeed Flex system and Dual Feed AD foot make attaching your binding to your quilt super easy. When attaching your binding, there are so many layers that you want to make sure nothing is slipping. Having your knee lift on and your needle down function activated you can make sure to line up your binding perfectly.

You might also want to consider using the Janome Quilt Binder set. Here is a link to a video which shows how this works. Ed. 

I really hope this post has helped you fall in love with the Horizon Memory Craft 8200QCP. I really is an amazing machine for quilters and it will still tackle many other sewing projects that you have on your list. If you already have one feel free to leave a comment below telling everyone just how much you love it!

Stitch on!

AmandaBee