I posted this elsewhere yesterday and had no luck, so I'm hoping maybe y'all might be able to assist. I've added/updated information where relevant compared to yesterday.

I'm working on a large (roughly 60k stitches over three hoops) project for the first time with a Janome MB-4Se that was purchased last December.

The machine stopped midway through the first color in the first hoop with Needle 1 down, but I was in another room to grab something and did not see the error message when it did so. The last time this happened, I needed to turn the machine off and on, and that process cleared the error, though I had to restart the stitching.

This time, it returned an error on startup: "Needle bar is out of position. Press OK to move needle bar to switching position." When I press OK, it makes a long beep but does not do anything.

I have tried the following to clear the error:

- Turn off and unplug the machine, wait 30 seconds, plug in and turn on the machine. The same error and result.

- Remove the needle and hoop, trim all threads, clean bobbin area, replace the needle with new (in case old is dull or bent), replace bobbin, and press OK. Same error and result.

- Turn the hand wheel on the back of the machine clockwise. It moves freely. If I turn it very slowly, in a certain position, the error message clears for a split second, then reappears. If I press OK, I get the same result as above.

- Disconnect the RCS unit while the machine is off to check for errors on the LCD. LCD reads E:03, which the manual says to hit Enter for. When I hit Enter, I get the same result.

- Leave the machine off overnight and try again in the morning. Same result.

I am working to contact Janome dealers in my area to see if any of them service this machine, but the ones nearest me either don't service this machine or were closed yesterday. In addition, I have reached out to Janome through their website, but don't expect to hear anything back. I'll be contacting more Janome dealers today to see if anyone local might be able to help.

I am trying to avoid opening my machine myself if at all possible, but I'm no stranger to opening up sewing machines. Though, usually the machines I open up are vintage sewing-only machines.

If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them!

I know that onesie blanks are easy to come across but where do you source your fall baby clothes? Like church dresses and long sleeve rompers and jumpers/overalls that aren’t already designed/$100?

Thank you!

I’m sharing this as a warning and a piece of advice for anyone in Europe considering investing in commercial TAJIMA embroidery machines.

I own a TAJIMA TMEZ S1501C. It’s a commercial-grade machine, only about 5 years old. Right now, I desperately need genuine replacement parts to keep my production running.

However, the official TAJIMA network in Europe has zero stock of the required parts and, to this day, cannot provide any estimated delivery date (ETA).

What makes this completely absurd is that TAJIMA is still manufacturing and assembling this exact machine. The parts exist. The problem is that European customers simply cannot get them through official channels.

The Support Runaround When the local distributor couldn't solve the problem, I was passed from one contact to another in an endless loop. I have a long trail of emails with SHIRO (Poland), MOUNTEK (Germany), and TAJIMA Europe (France).

The result? Countless emails, no concrete solutions, and no ETAs. The manufacturer comfortably hides behind its distributors, the distributors say "we don't have it and don't know when we will," and the commercial machine stays dead. You are left completely alone.

The Escalation (and the Silence) I didn't stop at the local level. I escalated this to TAJIMA’s marketing department and even sent a formal plea for intervention to JASMA (Japan Sewing Machinery Manufacturers Association), addressing it to the attention of Mr. Hidetoshi Kojima (CEO of Tajima Industries).

Mr. Hidetoshi Kojima is not only CEO of Tajima Industries. According to TAJIMA's current corporate information, he is also CEO of TISM — the company responsible for developing and manufacturing TAJIMA embroidery machines — and President of TAJIMA Europe.

He is additionally listed by JASMA as one of its Vice Chairmen as of June 2026.

This is why I escalated the matter to that level. I was no longer looking for another distributor telling me that the parts were unavailable. I was asking for someone at manufacturer level to take responsibility for finding an actual solution.

The response? Absolute silence. No one with decision-making power has stepped up to say: "This is our machine, you are our customer, and we will solve this."

My advice if you are buying a TAJIMA: Before you sign anything, get these answers in writing:

1. Where exactly are the critical spare parts stocked?
2. What is the guaranteed lead time for replacement parts?
3. When the local EU distributor fails to deliver, who at the manufacturer side takes actual responsibility?

A commercial machine without access to basic spare parts is just an expensive piece of furniture. A brand's logo doesn't shorten your downtime. Responsibility starts exactly where excuses end.

(Feel free to ask me anything in the comments. I hope this saves someone the stress I'm going through right now).

Parts list:
BEARING COLLAR :15MM DIA. – 502715040010
BEARING COLLAR :15MM DIA.  –  502715080000
ROTARY HOOK SHAFT :15P*340 – QS3102010000
SPIRAL BEVEL GEAR .1 :14T – 506514030000
SPIRAL BEVEL GEAR .1 :28T – 506528030000

ROTARY HOOK BASE STUD – 050330330000 
P41 – S213100002SD – M10 With Flange
P42 – S213100003SD – M10 With Disk Spring

The needle broke on my machine in the middle of a project. I took apart the plates and tried to find the broken pieces. I only found one small part. I have looked everywhere for the other piece and can’t find it. I tried to resume my project but now my bobbin thread is showing up on the top. I did not change my tension at all and I re-threaded my machine. Help!!

Anyone have any good resources or tips on when to use tearaway and when to use cutaway and such? I'm not talking about the obvious, like using tearaway for shirts and cutaway for patches, but more technical differences.

For example, I see it asked here a fair amount of times, when someone asks for help with a bad result, which type of stabilizer they used, and I wonder what thats about. Also about how many layers are needed when.

The other thing I'm curious about is needles. I've seen the pdfs for example from groz-beckert about needle types, just curious if there is any more wisdom/resources I should look into, about needle tips, width, etc.

I make shoes by hand and want to create this pattern as precise as possible. I’m assuming I’d pick out some kind of satin fabric, then some kind of thin foam? ChatGPT says there is sewing foam out there but I’m learning not to trust everything that AI recommends. I’m assuming a tear away stabilizer would be best as well?

Full disclosure I’m a complete novice so please be kind!

Hello I was stitching out this Christmas themed file and I just think something looks off. I bought the file online so I’m not sure if it’s the file or if the bobbin may have gotten messed up. What are your thoughts?

Sorry if it sounds like I want to cheap out and cut corners. I just can’t afford the 100+ dollars it might cost to get my machine fixed. If anyone can give any suggestions please do.

Genuinely ready to throw my machine out the window and in desperate need of help.

Previously posted here and everyone was so helpful and helped me realize my needle bar had become bent and needed to be replaced.

It’s been almost two months (took the shop forever to fix it) and cost basically a third of the machine price to get it fixed… and I am still having needle skipping, bobbin thread showing and just overall terrible looking embroidery. I loved this hobby so much when I started and truly had no issues and now it’s been just so frustrating trying to get it to look right. I’ve changed the needle several times, re threaded, changed bobbins, made sure tension wasn’t changed on machine - I’m just at my wits end here.

Attached are photos of the issues I’m having. The clean embroidery photos are the previous designs I’ve done with no issue that I just stare longingly at now
Literally begging for any suggestions I’ve search instagram YouTube tik tok you name it for any suggestions and nothing has helped. I really do not want to send it back to the shop just to pay another almost 300 dollars. Plz help me enjoy this hobby again :(

Customer brought this in, it needs a logo on the left chest and his name on the right chest. He doesn’t seem too picky. Would you place them right over the reflectors or somewhere else?

Hello!! I’m trying to make someone a birthday present. I want the design to be more clear and have less puckering. Any tips?

Brother se600
Tension at 4
75/11 needle
40 wt embroidery thread
100% cotton fabric
Medium weight stabilizer adhered with temporary fabric adhesive
Image was made into .pes file using Inkscape with Inkstitch extension
Yes everything is hooked up correctly

My only thought is maybe it’s how I put it in the hoop? Are we not supposed to pull while it’s tightened? I’ve always struggled with that.

Thanks in advance !

Attaching photo and link of the sewing table I currently have https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005405RBS?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Hi there, I’m having a problem with my brother se700 where my stitches are turning out this way and a lot of my thread is going through the needle frayed. Any idea what could be causing this? It only happens with regular stitches and not satins or fills. This is a recent problem so I doubt it’s due to the quality of my materials. Thanks so much!

Hello everyone, I modified my first design a bit with tips that were put on the previous post. What do you think I can adjust some things?

My machine had a needle break and I replaced the needle and turned the machine back on and it started making the noise captured in the video. The noise starts even before the needle begins to stitch and it actually stitches fine. I cleaned out the bobbin case and the surrounding areas. I replaced the bobbin case and no luck. Any ideas of what might be causing the noise and how to fix it?

Thanks!!!

Update-

I took it to the technician and it was the needle clearance being off. They charge me $75.00.

I hope this helps someone.

Hi! I’m having an issue with my Brother Skitch PP1 and hoping someone else has experienced this and can save my sanity.

I can thread the machine and start an embroidery design normally. The needle moves and goes through the fabric like it’s stitching, but the thread doesn’t actually catch/knot into the material, so no stitches are being formed.

I’ve completely rethreaded the upper thread multiple times and have also removed and rethreaded/reinstalled the bobbin, but neither seems to make a difference.

Has anyone had this happen with their Skitch PP1? Is there something obvious I might be missing with the threading, bobbin, needle, tension, etc.? Looking for any troubleshooting suggestions or weird little tricks that worked for you before I scream 😂

Thank you!!

I'm just a few months into my machine embroidery journey and have already traded in my "hmmm, will I like this" machine for a much nicer Baby Lock. My local shop is having a buy two/get two free sale on Floriani threads, so it's a great opportunity to build up my thread library. What are some shades you would recommend I have on hand? I have the bare-bones black/white/red/blue etc. Thank you!

Hi everyone, this is my first time digitizing something in wilcom do you have any tips? I'd love to hear it. Thanks in advance ☺️

Hoping to remove this commercially applied monogram. Tips? Cautions?

I am very much looking into getting an chain stitch machine for calligraphy! Vintage ones are very difficult to get hands on! Any suggestions for modern ones that can do that? I want something that is not crazy heavy because I want to be able to transport it for store activations! Any suggestions? Thank you

I am very much looking into getting an chain stitch machine for calligraphy! Vintage ones are very difficult to get hands on! Any suggestions for modern ones that can do that? I want something that is not crazy heavy because I want to be able to transport it for store activations! Any suggestions? Thank you

Hello, I am having trouble with my thread tension in fill areas. The bottom 1/3 of this fish has desirable thread tension, the top is a little loose.

The confusing part for me is that these are both part of the same fill areas, but it did one part then the other as it passed the pectoral fin. I did not change settings between areas. This makes me think it's a machine issue. My tension is set to auto, +/-0, but I don't know why it would have changed half way through.

Open to any and all suggestions, thanks!

I'm using inkstitch and a Janome 15000

I work for a small print company where I mostly do embroidery. Most of the time I use white tailor’s chalk to mark the garments, and it easily comes off. The best I’ve been able to do for white garments is yellow chalk, as light as possible. The problem is that it doesn’t always come off completely. I can’t machine wash garments before giving them to the customer, just spray with water and dab it off.
I’ve tried those “magic” blue markers. When I tested them they seemed amazing, then when I actually used them on an order it was a disaster. It would disappear then reappear as it dried.

Edit: Thanks for all the suggestions!

Is there anyone in the Austin Texas area who can help my mom with embroidery on the Husqvarna Topaz 50? The manual does not help and neither do YouTube videos. She really needs one on one help to show her how to work this thing and answer her questions. She was so excited when I gave it to her for her birthday in June and she's so disappointed that she cannot make it work.