1) Deciphering the Needle Plate Seam Guides

The Horizon features an exclusive needle plate design that offers a wealth of useful information where you need it most – right in front of you as you sew. Below you’ll find information on what all these markings mean.

First, we’ll get acquainted with the markings.

1. 

   Seam guides are located on the front of the needle plate for easy viewing while feeding. The first notch represents a ¼” seam – when used in conjunction with ¼” seam foot O, your ¼” seams will be perfect. The second notch represents a 3/8” seam – very handy when creating French Seams and other special hems. Finally, there is a mark for a 5/8” seam. To use these guides, simply align the edge of your fabric with the notch as you feed it under the needle.

2. This mark indicates the center needle position. The numbers on the needle page and arm indicate the distance from this point in both inches and millimeters.

3. This mark, located on the right and left side of the bobbin cover, is a cornering guide. This guide indicates the position for fabric feed to stop for turning a corner with a 5/8” seam.

4. These marks indicate angle scales. They are especially helpful when patchwork piecing, so that you can feed triangles at specific angles to achieve a perfect ¼” seam when piecing.

2) Creating a perfect 5/8” corner
with the Cornering Guides

The Horizon features special markings on the needle plate that help you with your sewing. When using the cornering angle in conjunction with the needle up/down button, you can create perfect 5/8” seams easily!

1. 

   Press the Needle up/down button, so that the needle will end in the down position.

2. Begin sewing your seam.

3. As you come to the end of your fabric, slow down, and stop sewing (with the needle down) when your fabric reaches the cornering guide on the needle plate (indicated as #3 in the image above).

4. Raise the presser foot and turn the fabric 90 degrees.

5. Lower the presser foot, and begin sewing the next seam.

3) Using the Favorite Stitch Adjustment

The Horizon offers the ability to save your personalized settings for any stitch. To do this, simply turn on the Favorite Stitch option – when this option is activated, alterations you make to any stitch length or width will be saved for future use.

In order to memorize a stitch adjustment for “Favorite Stitch” do the following:

1. Select the SET button. [Image 1]

2. Turn the jog dial until you reach the FS setting, or select this icon with your stylus. [Image 2]

3. Turn on the FS (Favorite Stitch) function by turning the jog dial and pressing the confirm key, or by pressing ‘on’ with your stylus. [Image 3]

4. Press the ‘x’ in the upper right hand of the screen to go back to the stitch display screen.

5. Press “Mode” to go to the stitch selection menu.

6. Select the stitch you would like to adjust and maintain as FS.

7. Adjust the stitch (for example – minimize the length of the zigzag #9 to be a satin stitch).

8. At the bottom of the screen the stitch length and the needle position will have a box around it.

9. Touch inside the box.

10. Then the screen containing the “Memory” icon will appear reflecting your chosen stitch settings, and the “Memory” and “Set” icons.

11. Select the “Memory” icon and the adjusted stitch will be saved as “Favorite Stitch”.
    
    

4) Pattern Length Display Function

Now it’s easy to fill a specific amount of space with decorative stitches! The Horizon’s exclusive pattern stitch length calculator allows you to determine the size of decorative stitch combinations to perfectly fit in a given space.

You can find the exact length of any decorative stitch, simply by touching it on the display screen.

1. Select the stitch you would like to use, either with the jog dial or the stylus.

2. Touch the stitch with your stylus. [Image 1]

3. The stitch information display screen will appear, indicating the size of the stitch in inches and centimeters. [Image 2]

4. Based on this, you can calculate how many of a specific stitch you need to cover an area of fabric.

Create Stitch Combinations

1. Select the first stitches that you would like to combine or repeat.

2. Press the Memory button to access the stitch combination screen.

3. Select the subsequent stitches for the combination, hitting the Memory button after each stitch.

4. After combining stitches, touch the stitches at the top of the screen.

5. A screen will appear indicating the length of the combination.

6. To leave this screen, touch the ‘x’ in the upper right corner of the screen. This will take you back to the stitch combination screen.

7. Add or subtract stitches to allow the combination to fit in the designated space.

8. When satisfied with your combination, hit the locking stitch key to program a locking stitch at the end of your stitch combination.

5) Programming Auto Thread Cutting

You can program your machine to automatically snip your thread tails at the end of a line of stitching.

1. Program the thread combination as usual.

2. Touch the Automatic Thread Cutter key at the end of the stitch combination.

3. You will notice that the thread cutter button on the machine front lights up – this indicates that the thread cutter has been programmed.

4. The machine will sew the pattern combination and cut the threads, then stop automatically.

6) Achieving a Perfect ¼” Seam with the Horizon

The Horizon features so many great accessories for quilting, it is hard to know which one to choose. There are also some specific considerations when using some of the different accessories for making a perfect ¼” seam. This tutorial will review the accessories available, and the machine settings appropriate for each.

¼ Inch Seam Foot O
The first and most obvious accessory for perfect seams is the ¼” Seam Foot O. This is a standard quilting accessory, and the snap on foot will fit all Janome machines. Follow these instructions to use this foot:

1. Snap the ¼” seam foot O on to the machine.
2. Select stitch D1S.
3. Set your thread tension to Auto and the foot pressure to 7.
4. Place the patchwork pieces right sides together.
5. Sew, guiding the edge of the fabric along the guide (or flange) on the foot to keep a precise ¼” seam allowance.

Note: You may also find the angle scales on the needle plate to help create accurate seams. These angles are marked at 120, 90, 60, and 45 degrees.

¼” Seam Foot for AcuFeed
The ¼” Seam Foot for AcuFeed is another great option for quilt piecing on the Horizon. When using this foot, it is necessary to set the needle position to 5.5 to ensure even feeding with the left and right feed dogs and is especially effective for light fabrics. Because the needle position is altered for this setting, the APC function cannot be activated for stitching with this foot. To piece using this foot:

1. Attach the ¼” Seam Foot for AcuFeed
2. Select stitch 93.
3. Press the ‘+’ side of the stitch width adjusting key until the needle position changes to 5.5.
4. Set thread tension to Auto and foot pressure to 7.
5. Stitch, guiding the edge of the fabric along the guide (or flange) on the foot.

Note: You can easily store this stitch setting for easy recall on the Horizon. To save this setting, follow these instructions:

1. Active the Favorite Stitch (FS) on the Set screen. (see accompanying lesson for Setting the Favorite Stitch Adjustment).
2. Adjust the stitch length and needle drop position to your preferences.
3. Press with the box that surrounds the needle drop and stitch length display on the screen – this is the custom setting key.
4. The LCD screen will display the custom settings in a new window.
5. Press the Memory Key or the Memory In icon on the LCD screen to save the custom settings.
6. After you have saved the settings, the LCD screen will return to the previous window. You will know that the preset values have been changed, because a ‘c’ will appear to the upper left of the stitch length display.
7. If you would like to restore the default settings, press the clear key or the trash icon on the LCD screen.

¼” Seams Using AcuFeed and the APC function
If you would like to do your quilt piecing on the Horizon with the AcuFeed and APC function activated, use the standard AcuFeed Dual Feed Foot AD with the Cloth Guide aligned at ¼”. When piecing light fabrics, we recommend using the 1/4” seam foot for AcuFeed so the fabric is fed with both feed dogs.

1. Attach Dual Feed Foot AD to the machine.
2. Engage the AcuFeed function: Raise the presser foot lifter to the extra lifted position. Swing the dual feed device to a position under the foot and lock it in place.
3. Select stitch D1S.
4. Remove the accessory tray, if you are not using the extension table. The Cloth guide will work with the extension table in place.
5. Attach the Cloth Guide to the machine.
6. Position the cloth guide so that it rests ¼” from the needle drop. You can use the markings on the needle plate to identify the ¼” line.
7. Sew, aligning the edge of your patchwork pieces with the edge of the cloth guide.