Editor’s Note: This product has been removed from our side-by-side comparison because it has been discontinued. You can still read our original review below, but Top Ten Reviews is no longer updating this product’s information.
The Janome 8077 sewing machine has capabilities and features that both beginning and advanced sewers look for. It includes an automatic needle threader, thread cutter and bobbin winder that complete common tasks for you. It also sews at a speedy 820 stitches per minute, though the speed is adjustable so beginners can slow it down as needed. It just lacks a few features that would make it more versatile.
While this is a beginner sewing machine, several of its capabilities are more appropriate for experienced sewers. You can adjust the width and length of your stitches to fit your style, which is helpful, since the machine only has 30 stitch patterns. It also has a dial for tension, which means you have to manually adjust the tension of the machine to match the fabric and stitch you are using. Other machines adjust the tension automatically, which can be very nice when you are learning to sew. You can sew using either the foot controller or a start and stop button. If you'd prefer a sewing machine with more stitch patterns and automatic tension control, you might be interested in the Singer 7258.
The Janome 8077 is an easy-to-use sewing machine that has six different buttonhole styles, and it uses a simple one-step buttonhole operation. It lacks twin needle capabilities, which would make it ideal for clothing. Rather than creating a strong hem in a single process, you have to sew multiple lines to create the same effect. This machine lengthens the process of making clothing significantly from other sewing machines.
The machine includes an LCD display that shows the stitch patterns, as well as error codes when the machine malfunctions. With the drop-in bobbin and clear case, you can easily place and remove the bobbin before it runs out of thread. This electronic sewing machine also has a standard design with a sewing light, extension table, free arm and built-in thread cutter. With these features and the adjustable feed dogs, you can sew without restraint. However, the throat space of this machine is only 6.5 inches, so projects involving large pieces of fabric might be hard to work on.
Weighing almost 20 pounds, this is not the most portable sewing machine, and there is no carrying case to make it easier. Instead, it has a retractable carrying handle, which offers the means to transport but no protection in the process.
While the Janome 8077 has several features and capabilities, it has few accessories. It only comes with four presser feet: a zipper foot, zigzag foot, satin stitch foot and buttonhole foot. Other, less expensive units come with many more, and one competing machine comes with almost five times as many. You can always buy more feet to accommodate different types of projects, but it is nice to be able to handle a wide variety right out of the box. It does have a needle set, seam ripper, spool caps, screwdrivers, bobbins and a felt ring. Janome does not provide you with a cleaning brush or cover to protect your sewing machine from harmful dust particles.
Janome's machine has a 25-year warranty from the original purchase date against defective workmanship and materials. However, the electronic component parts, including the circuit boards, step motors, and all other electronic and non-electronic pattern control units, have a warranty of only five years. Labor is warrantied for one year after the original purchase date.
The sewing machine includes an instruction manual and DVD to refer to when you have trouble with it. You can contact Janome by phone or email. The website also lists a FAQs section applicable to this specific machine, as well as a more general FAQs page.
The Janome 8077 lacks some accessories, including a cover and carrying case, and it has relatively few stitch patterns and no twin needle capabilities. It is still a reliable sewing machine and an effective tool to teach beginners how to sew. Between the automatic features, easy-to-use tools and support, beginning sewers have what they need to become an advanced sewer with this machine.
