I bought the Janome HD 3000 10 years ago. Use it a lot . Mostly replacing Marine Bimini sunbrella panels and clear vinyl .2 layers of 20 gauge vinyl is challenging, but if you use a 16/18 gauge , and turn up the top tension to 7.5, to tighten the bottom stitches. I get thru 6 layers of sunbrella at tension 4 or 5.Also highly recommend a Teflon presser foot when sewing thicker clean vinyl windows .Do use too thick of thread either. I buy the good/best lasting outdoor UV thread and fabric at Sailrite.com

I bought this for my wife. She has 8 Janome machines now. She's a master seamstress and loves it.

I was brand loyal to anther sewing machine brand for 32 years. Was in the market for a heavier duty machine as the model I had started having trouble with fleece, light weight jean and sweat-shirt material. I had had it fixed a few years back, cleaned it routinely but it was failing quicker and quicker even using some tricks with putting tissue and/or parchment paper on both sides of the fleece. I did some research and the brand I was so loyal to has not been getting good reviews on their products and it seems that you are now just paying for the "name". So I came across Janome and started again with research on the brand. After pushing my purchase off for 2 months due to the price of the machine, I finally purchased it. It was the best decision I have made for a sewing machine. It arrived very well packaged to avoid damage, instructions were easy to follow. The machine is light weight, easy to setup, runs great, plentiful storage, plenty of extras. Have tried it on light weight cotton pants that I needed to hem, it did not cause bunching of the fabric. Used it to hem black out curtains for my front and back door, went through tripled fabric without issue. Will be using it to make a lightweight jean skirt soon and will update this review once I do. Machine has plenty of stitch options for general home use, runs smoothly, easy to wind bobbins and love the ability to wind a bobbin without having to undo the machine set up. The bonus needle threader is a great addition, easy to use and gets you up and sewing much quicker. I have nothing bad to say about this machine and will be sewing much more often now!

This is a fantastic machine for someone who needs a basic general machine and they want to invest in something that that will last them long enough to decide what (if any) more specialized type of machine they might want. And it's a wonderful backup for when your other machine needs to be sent out for regular maintenance or repair.I have been sewing for decades. First I was mostly a garment sewer, and later I started quilting. I can do most garment and home dec sewing on this machine. But I don't like it for quilting and it's not the machine I choose for buttonholes, blind hemming, piping, couching, or other specialized techniques that need fancy feet.I originally bought this to use when my fancy Viking Sapphire 870 was out for service (may it RIP, it's dead now). What I like about this little Janome is its simplicity. My other machines I need to have the manual handy for a lot of projects when I want to do something special. With this little guy I just put in a new needle, a full bobbin, turn it on, select my stitch, width and length, and go. It doesn't matter if it's been 2 years, this machine is so simple it's like a bicycle, I don't need instructions.I also like that is is completely mechanical so there are no computerized parts that can go sideways leading to an expensive repair. It is also very unlikely to get zapped if I happen to forget to unplug it during an electrical storm.The important parts in this machine are metal. That makes it a little heavier, but it doesn't get bogged down by thicker fabrics or tight weaves. Hemming denim? No problem for the motor, though to be honest I need to use a little jig or a hump jumper to get over the seam allowances when they are folded over each other. Not a big deal - I need the same kind of jig on a more expensive machine.I saw someone said they wanted a machine that could sew through 2 layers of fabric and batting so they could quilt. My response to that is this is not the machine you're looking for. Yes it can absolutely sew through that, but this machine is not for quilting. Yes you can piece a top with it, but the harp space is too small quilt anything bigger than a small lap quilt or a wall hanging and there's no walking foot and I don't think it can do freemotion but if it can, it's not going to be fun in that tiny space.I had this tucked away for a couple of years after I replaced the Viking with a 6700p. I wasn't really doing anything with it until 2 months ago when I had to send in my 6700p for repair. The issue was difficult for the technician to reproduce and that machine was out for service for over 2 months. I couldn't wait that long to sew so I ended up working on a stack of items I had piled up that needed hemming and repairs and I needed to make a curtain panel too. And that's what I did with this machine. I hemmed and repaired that stack, then made the curtain panel.After that I started sewing up some blocks for my next quilt project. The piecing kind of bogged me down on this machine. I'm a little spoiled by my much more expensive 6700p. It has an automatic thread cutter with a foot remote and a knee lift and all other kinds of features. I explain the experience with a metaphor: imagine needing to precisely chop 16 pounds of vegetables, different kinds, and you used to have an industrial food processor, but now all you have is a knife and a small cutting board. So no, I don't ever want to piece quilts on this machine. Ever. That's totally OK. That isn't what this machine is for.Being that this is heavy duty and mechanical I expect it will serve me for a couple decades of occasional use. And I could take this to a class because it's a lot lighter and more compact than the beastly 6700p.If you'll be doing basic general sewing and you want a simple machine to last you many years and give you little to no trouble; this is for you. If you are getting started and know you'll get something more specialized after you figure out what you want to make most often in your hobby, and then keep this as a backup: this is for you.If you're not sure what you'll be sewing but know you want to sew I recommend getting a non heavy duty machine with lots of features in that entry level price range. Make sure it has an extended plexi sewing table (many come with this). You'll come to appreciate that flush access to the needle regardless of your project type. Come back to this machine if you really need something heavy duty, or you want a super simple machine to last you many years.

Easy to set-up when you read the manual instructions.I have tested but haven’t used it to sew any fabric.Its a nice machine.Thank you for the gift.Machine is still in good condition after buying it back in 2019.

We needed a machine to replace the piece of junk Brother my wife had from Walmart. I decided to spend the extra cash and get something decent without going nuts on something with a ton of features she'll never use. This thing has been awesome. I'll sew through 3 pieces of nylon webbing (but not 4) and I've sewn medium leather (heavier than a purse but not as thick as holster leather) with it with no problems. As far as sewing fabric, it's worked great. Don't think you're going to sew heavy leather or sailboat sails with it, but I'd recommend it as a general purpose machine for sure. If you're just sewing fabric, it'll last you a lifetime. The only thing I would change is I'd put a light behind the stitch selector display. It's very hard to see what stitch pattern you're on without holding a flashlight to it.

Good solid basic machine. Very user friendly, took me no time to figure out how to use it. I absolutely love that it has the adjustable presser foot pressure as I sew a lot of knits and stretchy fabrics. Seems very durable, hasn't had any issue with anything I have put through it.

Solid machine after using a machine I purchased 25 years ago it was having issues with it, I was somewhat skeptical I would find anything to match it's performance. I have found the Janome HD 3000 has surpassed my expectations. Love the needle threader! I sew heavy fabrics and found it has no problems going through several layers of denim and over bumps like thick piping. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a heavy duty machine.In fact I did recommend it to a friend and after "test driving" mine she she purchased one also and loves it. It is simple without the computerized component which I really didn't need it has plenty of stitches for any project for my use. I have not tried the one step button hole yet but it looks simple and easy.