My neighbour has a Janome MC 8000CE machine which she bought at an auction. She has used it as a sewing machine and it is fine. She is scared to try it in embroidery mode (particularly as her husband interferes!) I'm going to try to help her with it. I've downloaded a manual. She has some of the memory cards and I see more are available on Ebay. Is anyone familiar with this machine? Any tips or pointers about what to look out for when I try to get it embroidering?

Reporting back:
The machine was OK in sewing mode and seemed OK in Embroidery until I pressed the ordinary sewing button (prior to switching off to change the card.) The carriage moved so far back towards base and then stopped, making a horrible racket. It did this for a few seconds then stopped, not quite in the right position. The screen said "Stepping motor error". I could find nothing about this in the manual. Any ideas?

2 comments

by bowlds 29 Oct 2014

I looked online and it said it needs repair, I have not seen that error on mine, I did also find this on Ehow but I have never done it,
http://www.ehow.com/how_7432082_r...

by spendlove 29 Oct 2014

Thanks, I saw that as well. We may give that a try tomorrow.

Sue - just cannot get my head around these machines that do both. I am sure that you will be a real help to your neighbour. Wish you success

I also have an 8000 & enjoy using it for sewing now. My display has become dim & the stepping motor has caused some problems with stitching. I purchased a replacement backlight that we haven't installed as yet. With a machine of this age, a new backlight to keep on reserve might be a good idea.
http://www.janomememorycraft.com/

I have an 8000, still love it and use it for sewing. I have a Babylock Ellageo that I now use for embroidery but I used the 8000 all the time for embroidery before I got my new one. You can combine small designs to make larger layouts and it works very nicely if you have a "cloth setter" that is a separate accessory. If you have specific question, just PM me and I'll try to help.

2 comments

by bowlds 28 Oct 2014

You can't skip ahead on the colors but there is a trick that lets you do it, you can stick a piece of paper in the tension guide where the thread lays so the eye thinks it's still threaded when it isn't and it will continue to sew without thread until it gets to the spot or color you want, works well to try to get to a point on the design you need to get back to as there is no stitch forward or back to skip ahead or return to a spot. I hope that makes sense.

by spendlove 29 Oct 2014

Thanks - more very useful info!

The 8000 was my 1st Embroidery machine. Loved it but upgraded as new ones became available. I have stopped at the 11000 SE as I see no point in upgrading further at this stage. Best of luck with helping your friend. I am sure she will get hooked on Embroidery. Hugs

I also have an 8000 , which gave me many years of great sewing and embroidery , as the others have said its only a small embroidery area, but they do stitch out well , my screen has gone now ,so I can only use it for stright sewing , but it works well onmy quilt frame ,good luck

3 comments

by shirley124 28 Oct 2014

Someone down here in Tassie was able to get a new light for their 8000 screen a couple of years ago. Worth trying. The Elna one is the same I think. Best of luck

by aussiequilter 29 Oct 2014

I was told its probably not the back light but some board that’s gone and would cost about $600 to fix but they can not guarantee it will work ,not worth putting that much money into a machine that old

by shirley124 29 Oct 2014

I agree

I also have the MC8000 and bought it in about 1989. The embroidery is beautiful if limited in size. It's easy to use, very straight forward. My kids grew up wearing designs done with this machine. The cloth setter makes it foolproof to perfectly place designs on garments and to group designs to make larger scenarios. I sure hope she has it. I have an Ellageo BLL but still use the 8000 at times (I have some favorites) for embroidery and it's my go to machine for sewing although I'm trying hard to bond with my brother. Have fun, because it is! Please keep us posted on your progress.

1 comment

by spendlove 28 Oct 2014

Will do.

I have a Janome MC 8000...but I am not sure about the "CE"...I bought it in 1989 and it still works like a champ...both sewing and embroidery modes...The embroidery is excellent....I would say that you might be surprised at how noisy it is compared to today's machines...it might make a kind of "loud" grrrr noise when you put it into the embroidery mode...I know when I took it to a class a couple of years ago and put it into the embroidery mode..the class turned around to see what the "problem" was....and the Janome dealer said...oh, that's the normal sound it makes...the only tricky thing there is to it is trying to match up lettering..if she has the cloth setter, it shouldn't be that big of a problem...I would suggest selecting a simple design...or perhaps just some lettering from Memory Card 1 to begin with...after you see how it goes...move on to another more complex design...I used this as my embroidery machine from 1989 to 2009 when I got the MC10000 SE...which Janome replaced twice with a new machine...ultimately I had to return it as well...I then got the Baby Lock Ellisimo...If it sews the lettering...It should be okay for the cards as well...good luck and keep us posted!

2 comments

by spendlove 28 Oct 2014

Thanks - that is very useful. Especially the bit about the noise!

by bowlds 29 Oct 2014

Just turning it on makes a noise....scared me the first time I turned it on!