Janome DC6050 Review + Sewing Machine Shopping Guide

It’s been a few months now sewing on my gorgeous Janome DC6050. I started off making a few simple projects on it to get myself familiar with the machine and have since also made a few pieces of clothing too! So it’s probably high time I put together a little review + info guide on this machine, for anyone who’s in the market for a new sewing machine!

To preface - the sewing machine I was using before this was almost 20 years old (they really do make them robust, don’t they!). It was a Janome actually, but the model was a lot more simpler and a mechanical sewing machine. A lot has changed since then - sewing machines these days have plenty of new features - all which can make it confusing when trying to figure out what sewing machine to get.

(my sewing machine was provided by Janome but all opinions & content is my own!)

BASIC CONSIDERATIONS

There are a few initial things to figure out:

What do you want to use it for?

First, what do you want to use your sewing machine for? Usually cheaper sewing machines have less power and are more simple in their features. So if you’re only looking for a casual sewing machine that you won’t use much and only want it to be doing simple straight stitches, etc, then you’ll probably go for a more simple sewing machine.

However, if you want to make clothes, quilts or take up bigger or more complicated sewing projects, then you’ll most likely want something with a few more features tailored to the types of things you want to do.

Mechanical vs Computerised machines:

I grew up using a mechanical sewing machine and so never really knew what a computerised sewing machine was until I got my Janome DC6050. In the most basic sense, a computerised sewing machine is kind of like a calculator - there’s a screen and buttons where things are computerised. With a computerised sewing machine, you’re more likely to have buttons that will do things for you (e.g. cut your thread automatically) as well as a calculator-like screen for choosing your stitches, etc. It’s kind of like comparing a digital clock with an analog one. But generally speaking, a computerised sewing machine will be more expensive than a mechanical one.

Features you’ll probably want to make sure it has

You want to make sure that the sewing machine you buy has all the features that you want it to have. Now this is the tricky part as sewing machines have soo many different features and sometimes it’s hard to know what features you want it to have, especially if it’s your first sewing machine.

My personal thoughts would be to buy the best sewing machine you can within your budget, because a sewing machine to me, is one of those things you don’t want to be updating regularly if you don’t have to. A good quality one will set you off on the right foot, making sewing a more stress-free and easy hobby. Plus, it’ll hopefully last you many years so it’s a good idea to get a sewing machine that you can grow into.

But what features should I look out for?

I thought the best way to go through the various sewing machine features is to go through the list of features that my Janome DC6050 has and what I think about them. Then, use this information to decide whether you’re interested in having these features in your sewing machine as well.

This dress I’m wearing was made using the Janome DC6050!

Features of my Janome DC6050

1. Start/Stop button:

The start/stop button was the biggest difference between my new Janome DC6050 computerised sewing machine and my mum’s older Janome mechanical one. All Janome computerised sewing machines come with a start/stop button which is located on the right-hand side near the needle. This button actually allows you to sew without using the foot control which is a-m-a-z-i-n-g especially when you’re just doing a quick and easy project.

But hey, I wasn’t convinced from the start. When I first learnt about this start/stop button, I wondered why anyone would want to use it as sewing using a foot control just gives you so much more control and sewing precision. But I’ve since realised this is an invention worth embracing. The Start/Stop button is actually also accompanied by a sewing speed button (kind of like a volume button) which you can adjust to dictate your sewing speed.

To start stitching very slowly, press and hold the Start/Stop button, the machine will sew super slow, allowing you to control your fabric. Release the Start/Stop button and the machine will sew to the speed set by the speed control slide. To finish your sewing, simply press and hold the Start/Stop button, the machine will sew slowly, when ready release the Start/Stop button to stop.

Using these two features together, you can easily sew without having to even unpack your foot petal, meaning that when you have easy or quick projects on hand, all you have to do is simply carry out your sewing machine and plug it in. You could probably sew more difficult projects with the start/stop button too as you could just always set the starting speed to really slow and start from a slower speed so you have time to control your fabric feeding. And it’s been so easy to get used to, from someone who grew up sewing with foot control only.

That said, using the foot control still gives you more control - but the start stop button is just so handy to have for those times when you’re just doing something simple!

2. Sliding Speed Control:

As mentioned above, there’s a sliding speed feature button which you can use alongside the start/stop button so you can sew without having to use the foot control.

3. SCISSOR BUTTON:

The scissor button is another handy feature and I’m only just appreciating now. On my old mechanical sewing machine I had this little blade on the top left which you can use to manually cut your thread (which I think it’s amazing!) but this scissor button takes things one step further by cutting your thread at a 1cm length from where you finished sewing. This means that you don’t have to have long thread tails hanging around every where and also, it’ll reduce the amount of thread wastage too - good quality thread can be expensive!

4. Automatic Needle Threader:

So, I did not know this was the thing! I love sewing but one of the things I have always struggled with was threading the needle. I’ve always struggled to do this and so the automatic needle threader has made things so much easier and sewing so much more enjoyable for me! I wouldn’t say this is a necessity to have on a sewing machine if you’re a gun at threading needles (like my mum), but if you’re someone like me who always misses the hole, this will definitely make you sewing journey and experience much more better. It’s so easy to use and I no longer find needle threading annoying.

5. BUILT-IN STITCHES + FULL CUSTOMISATION OF LENGTH/WIDTH

Sewing machines usually have built-in stitches and the more built-in stitches/functions it has, the more expensive it’ll likely be. But how do you know what you need? Usually, I would recommend making sure you definitely have 1) straight stitch (a given) 2) zigzag stitch 3) reverse stitch 4) button hole. Of course, if you want to do more advanced things like blind hems, decorative stitches, embroidery etc then check if those are included too.

The Janome DC6050 can basically, probably sew anything and everything. 50 built-in stitches cover almost everything under the sun and includes variations for different fabrics (e.g. stretch fabrics vs woven fabrics). You can also customise all of these stitches in length/width. So if you wanted a decorative stitch but you wanted it wider, you can literally input those measurements into your machine.

Being able to adjust the length/width of your stitches is definitely a more advanced feature to have but so useful as they basically allow you to customise anything and everything!

I also made this dress with my sewing machine too!

6. Automatic buttonhole foot

My mum’s old sewing machine didn’t come with an automatic buttonhole foot or buttonhole feature. This isn’t completely necessary if you don’t have any intention of ever making clothes with buttons, however if you did (and I think a fair proportion of people probably would, if they’re shopping for a sewing machine), then an automatic buttonhole foot is an indispensable feature. When I first saw my sewing machine sew a buttonhole, I was blown away haha. You literally pop the button you are using into the buttonhole foot and it’ll automatically calculate the size of the buttonhole and proceed to sew a matching buttonhole for you. If that ain’t wizardry then I don’t know what is.

7. EASY SET BOBBIN

The Janome DC6050 has a drop-in style bobbin where you put the bobbin in from the top. This makes it easier to thread your machine as you don’t have to take off the storage compartment (like in my old sewing machine) to reach the bobbin - just take off the transparent cover and drop it in. Plus, as the bobbin is visible when using the machine, you can easily check to see if you’re running out of thread without having to open the compartment up. I definitely love this feature as a step up from the more traditional front-in bobbins that sit hidden from view. I super recommend choosing a sewing machine with a drop-in style bobbin.

8. FREE ARM DESIGN

This is really handy to have if you’re sewing clothing. Basically, the storage compartment area of the sewing machine can be taken apart so that you can sew an entire tube of fabric (such as sleeves or pants hems) easily by wrapping it around the machine.

The machine also comes with a wide table to make sewing larger projects easier as well.

9. SEWING MACHINE COVER

This sewing machine comes with a hard cover and also a handle for easy carrying. So when it comes to storage, it has a great protective outer shell to keep dust out and if I want to move it around a lot, it’s easy to carry. So definitely something to consider as well as not all sewing machines have handles, and some come with no covers, others might come with soft covers or hard covers.

10. NEEDLE PLATE GUIDES

I haven’t seen a sewing machine without this but in case they exist.. definitely find a sewing machine with needle plate guides that show measurements in both cms and inches (or at least the system you use in your country). These are super handy to have so that you can guide your fabric along them to assist in ensuring you have the correct seam allowances, etc.

11. FOOT PRESSURE

The Janome DC6050 also has a special dial at the top left of the machine that allows you to change the downwards pressure on the sewing foot when sewing! This means that you can sew anything from thin fabrics to thicker ones just by adjusting the correct pressure to suit your fabric. Plus, you know how sometimes you’re sewing something and it’s just bunching up / not moving forward? You can use this handy foot pressure dial to change the foot pressure to allow the fabric to feed through better!

12. OTHER

There are so many other features I could talk about (tension adjustments, auto-lock stitch button, multiple sewing feet for all different sewing applications, etc) but the above are the main ones. There are a few other things that sewing machines differ in, for example the speed they can sew. So there’s plenty to consider!

All in all, I am absolutely loving this sewing machine. At first when upgrading from my more simple mechanical sewing machine, I thought some of the features weren’t necessary. However after using them, I can’t imagine my life without them. It’s like having a Nokia mobile phone and then upgrading to a smartphone. It makes life so much easier and sewing so much more enjoyable when all the nifty features like the scissor button, drop-in bobbin, automatic needle threader are available. It makes me want to sew cause it’s so quick and easy to get things done.

However, I’m still at the beginning of my sewing machine journey with my new DC6050 and I can see myself really growing into this machine and utilising all the functions it has as I tackle more advanced projects. A sewing machine isn’t something I’d be replacing or upgrading anytime soon, so having all these features will be extremely handy because I know that no matter what project I want to tackle that this machine will be more than fit to handle it and that I can confidently go-forth and make whatever my heart desires.

For a machine that’s so packed with features, it’s actually also quite compact as well which is a plus for me when it comes to transporting the machine and storing it.

I hope this guide gives you a good starting point in sewing machine shopping!