Mastering Quilting with the Janome Skyline S9

August 14th, 2019

Introduction

Quilting is a cherished skill that allows you to create beautiful, personalized blankets, home decor, and even clothing items. While quilting by hand has its charm, using a machine like the Janome Skyline S9 can significantly enhance the quality and efficiency of your work. This guide will delve into how you can master the art of quilting using the advanced features of the Skyline S9.

AcuFeed Flex: Janome’s Superior Feeding System

A crucial aspect of quilting is the ability to sew through multiple layers of fabric with precision. The Janome Skyline S9 is equipped with the AcuFeed Flex system, an advanced fabric feeding system that ensures all layers of your quilt move together under the needle. This feature is invaluable when working on quilting projects, helping to maintain accuracy and eliminate bunching or shifting of fabric.

Wide Range of Quilting Stitches

The Skyline S9 boasts 300 built-in stitches, many of which are perfect for quilting. From utility stitches to decorative ones, the machine allows you to add unique designs and embellishments to your quilts. You can also easily combine any of these stitches together in endless ways to create unique, personalized designs on your quilt projects. This feature allows you to add texture, depth, and intricacy to your quilting designs that go beyond the traditional straight stitch, transforming a simple quilt into a true work of art. The machine’s memory function also enables you to save your favourite stitch combinations for future use, increasing efficiency and convenience for ongoing projects. Additionally, the Skyline S9’s large workspace and AcuFeed Flex Fabric Feeding System ensure that these decorative stitch combinations are executed with precision, even when working with multiple layers of fabric. The freedom to combine decorative stitches can significantly enhance your quilting projects, adding a level of customization and creativity that elevates your work.

(Please note: Always test out the stitch you want to use on a sample of your quilt sandwich to ensure the stitch will work on the quilt. Some stitches may be too intricate to feed nicely on thick projects such as a quilt)

Stitch Composer Software

The S9 adds another level of personalization to your quilting projects with the Stitch Composer Software. The software allows you to create your own unique stitch patterns that will make your quilts truly stand out!

Large Workspace for Quilting

One of the challenges of quilting is managing large amounts of fabric. The Skyline S9, with its spacious throat space of 8 inches, gives you more room to manoeuvre your quilts, making it easier to manage them. Additionally, the machine’s high sewing speed (up to 1,000 stitches per minute) ensures you can complete your quilting projects in no time.

Automatic Thread Cutter

The Skyline S9’s automatic thread cutter is another feature that simplifies the quilting process. With just a push of a button, you can cut both the needle and bobbin threads, having them both pulled to the bottom of the fabric, saving you time and making the process smoother. This feature is especially useful when you’re working on large quilting projects that require frequent thread cutting.

Leveraging the Extra High Presser Foot Lift

When quilting, especially with thicker or multi-layered fabrics, the Skyline S9’s extra high presser foot lift becomes an invaluable feature. It allows you to easily place and manoeuvre your quilt under the presser foot, leading to a smoother quilting process.

Automatic Presser Foot Lift & Knee Lift

The automatic presser foot lift on the Janome Skyline S9 brings a wealth of benefits to quilting. Quilting often involves managing thick layers of fabric or batting, and the automatic lift feature simplifies this process by effortlessly raising the presser foot after a thread cut or at the end of a seam. This prevents the need for manual lifting, especially useful when dealing with bulky quilts. This feature significantly speeds up the quilting process, allowing for a smoother transition between seams and enabling the quilter to focus more on the design and less on the mechanics of the machine. Furthermore, the automatic lift minimizes the potential for fabric shifting or bunching, thereby maintaining precise stitch placement and improving overall quilt quality. The automatic presser foot lift on

the Skyline S9 is indeed a valuable asset for quilters, making quilting more efficient and enjoyable.

The knee lift feature on the Janome Skyline S9 is particularly advantageous for quilting projects, significantly enhancing both efficiency and precision. Quilting often involves handling large pieces of fabric or multiple layers, and the knee lift function allows you to raise or lower the presser foot using your knee, freeing up both hands to better control and manipulate your quilt. This is particularly useful when manoeuvring corners or complex patterns in your quilt design. Additionally, it eases the process of repositioning or turning your quilt, improving the overall workflow. The hands-free control offered by the knee lift function also means less strain on your hands during extended quilting sessions, making the overall quilting experience more enjoyable. By enabling better control and smoother sewing, the knee lift function on the Skyline S9 significantly enhances the quality and precision of your quilting projects.

Appliqué

Creating appliqué on the Janome Skyline S9 enriches your quilting experience, introducing a world of creative possibilities. The machine excels at precision sewing, which is essential when crafting appliqué designs. Its comprehensive range of stitches, including an entire section of 18 appliqué stitches, ensures you have the ideal stitch for any appliqué project. With its large workspace and excellent lighting, you have ample room and visibility for carefully positioning and sewing your appliqué. The Skyline S9’s pivot function is also a standout feature when creating appliqué, making it easy to navigate around corners and curves of your design. When engaged, this function ensures the needle stops in the down position when you stop sewing, and automatically lifts the presser foot. This allows you to pivot or turn your fabric without having to lift the foot manually or press the needle up/down button to ensure the needle is down. You can also use the embroidery mode to easily stitch out appliqués by downloading appliqué embroidery designs. In short, creating appliqué becomes a more accessible and enjoyable aspect of your quilting projects with the Janome Skyline S9!

Advanced Needle Threader

Threading the needle can be one of the most challenging parts of getting started with a quilting project. The Skyline S9 simplifies this with its built-in advanced

needle threader. This feature not only saves time but also reduces the strain on your eyes, making your quilting process more enjoyable.

Effortless Free-Motion Quilting

Free-motion quilting, a technique where the fabric is moved freely under the needle to create decorative stitch patterns, is made effortless with the Skyline S9. By dropping the feed dogs and attaching one of the multiple free-motion quilting feet, you can add intricate free-hand designs to your quilts with ease.

Quilting with Embroidery Mode

Quilting with the embroidery unit on the Janome Skyline S9 introduces a new dimension of creativity and precision to your projects. With this feature, you can utilize the built in quilting and Sashiko embroidery designs, import purchased quilting designs or even design your own unique quilt designs using the AcuSketch App. The embroidery unit allows for a maximum embroidery size of 6.7 x 7.9 inches, providing a nice space to add quilting to your quilt blocks. It also offers precision design placement, ensuring your designs align perfectly on your quilt. Janome created a number of other apps to work with this machine so you can edit, and manage your designs on your ipad and then easily transfer them to your machine. Moreover, the S9’s full-color LCD touch screen lets you easily manage and adjust designs directly on the machine. Combining embroidery with quilting gives you the ability to create stunning, intricate, and personalized quilts, showcasing the best of both sewing worlds. With the Janome Skyline S9, quilting becomes an exciting journey of endless creative possibilities.

Conclusion

Mastering quilting with the Janome Skyline S9 is a process of exploration, practice, and creativity. With its myriad features tailored to facilitate high-quality quilting, this machine provides a superior quilting experience. Whether you’re a seasoned quilter or just starting, the Skyline S9 is an excellent tool to help you create stunning, personalized quilts with ease and precision.

EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SUPPORT: Janome prides itself on providing excellent customer support, Additionally, the machine comes with a 25-year limited warranty, ensuring the user’s peace of mind.

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