Janome Memory Craft 350E Review

The janome Memory Craft 350E is a discontinued computerized embroidery machine that was very popular amongst home embroidery enthusiasts. In this comprehensive review, we will take an in-depth look at the features, capabilities, accessories, pros and cons of this classic Janome model to help you decide if it is still worth pursuing in the secondary market.

Janome Memory Craft 350E Review

Janome is a well-known brand in the world of sewing and embroidery machines. The janome Memory Craft 350E was one of their computerized embroidery-focused models aimed at advanced hobbyists and crafters.

This machine boasted excellent precision stitching, a generous embroidery field, built-in designs perfect for monogramming, and user-friendly features like the LCD touch screen. While it has been discontinued, many still seek out lightly used Janome 350E machines for sale to add to their craft rooms.

In this review, we will go over everything potential buyers need to know about the specifications, accessories, features, ease of use, and potential drawbacks of the Janome Memory Craft 350E.

Main Features and Specs

The Janome 350E included many premium features for creative embroidery work. Here are the core specs and capabilities:

• Type of Machine: Computerized embroidery-only
• Built-In Designs: 100
• Built-In Fonts: 3 monogramming fonts
• Maximum Embroidery Field: 5.5″ x 7.9″
• LCD Touch Screen: Backlit grayscale display
• USB Connectivity: Import designs from USB flash drive
• Embroidery Speed: Up to 650 stitches per minute

Table: Janome 350E Technical Specifications

Specification	Details
Product Dimensions	15 x 22 x 21 inches
Weight	26.98 pounds
Power Source	Corded Electric
Bobbin System	Front-loading bobbin case
Warranty	25 years limited

The Janome Memory Craft 350E packed many features into a specialty embroidery machine perfect for monogramming towels, adding embroidery accents to quilts, and personalizing garments and accessories.

Let’s take a deeper look at the core embroidery capabilities.

Embroidery Capabilities

For dedicated embroidery enthusiasts, the Janome 350E delivered excellent stitch quality and a robust set of features.

Precision Stitching

The Janome 350E produced beautiful, accurate embroidery stitches on a wide variety of fabrics. This includes natural fibers like cotton and linen as well as synthetics like polyester and rayon blends. The stitching detail is comparable to far more expensive commercial embroidery machines.

Suitable fabrics include:

• Cotton
• Linen
• Wool
• Silk
• Satin
• Taffeta
• Velvet
• Twill
• Canvas
• Corduroy
• Denim
• Fleece

The Janome 350E handled these materials exceptionally well, providing neat and professional embroidery results. This made it a joy to work with for monogramming, embellishing garments, adding a touch of embroidery to home decor pieces, and crafting custom gifts.

Built-In Designs and Fonts

While many embroidery machines in this price range offer only 10-20 built-in designs, the Janome 350E spoiled users with 100 built-in options right out of the box.

You can take the machine out of the box, thread it up, and immediately begin embroidering one of these designs without needing to purchase or download anything else. The built-in options include floral motifs, scrollwork borders, seasonal designs, and simple patterns suitable for young children’s clothing and craft projects.

In addition to the built-in design library, the Janome 350E has 3 monogramming fonts. This allows you to easily create personalized monograms, names, and words to use alone or within the framing elements in the design library.

The built-in designs cover many basic embroidery needs for hobbyists and crafters. However, you can always import more designs through the USB port.

Large Embroidery Field

A generous embroidery field is important when working on projects like gowns, blankets, bag panels, and anything requiring large design elements or text.

The Janome Memory Craft 350E offers a hoop size of 5.5” x 7.9”. This is significantly larger than petite 4×4″ hoops you’ll find on lower priced embroidery-only machines.

The included hoops are:

• 5.5” x 7.9” (140mm x 200mm)
• 5″ x 4.3″ (126mm x 110mm)

While having the option of using large built-in designs or importing your own, the 350E’s hoop size does limit the maximum potential design size. Some projects like backpacks, banners, and jackets may require re-hooping to complete if working with larger designs.

Still, the expansive hoop included with this Janome embroidery machine accommodates most hobbyist and crafter needs. You can easily embroider multiple design elements, large names, phrases, and focal motifs without needing to reposition the hoop multiple times.

Editing Capabilities

Once you’ve selected a built-in design or imported your own embroidery pattern, the Janome 350E makes it simple to customize it on-screen before stitching out your project.

The LCD touchscreen walks you through the editing process step-by-step. With just a few button presses, you can:

• Resize the design from 90-110%
• Rotate in 1 or 45 degree increments
• Flip the design horizontally or vertically
• Move the design across the hoop editing area

After customizing the design exactly how you’d like it, you simply save your work and get ready to embroider!

Ease of Use

The Janome Memory Craft 350E earned its reputation for being one of the most user-friendly embroidery machines on the home market. Both beginners and advanced sewers could appreciate the well-designed interface and intuitive controls.

LCD Screen

The high-quality backlit LCD screen makes selecting designs, editing, and embroidering a breeze. The screen is crisp and easy to read, a major perk when working on long design sessions perfecting your projects.

The menus and settings are straightforward with minimal digging through sub-menus. Everything you need is easily accessible from the main screen.

From threading and hooping to editing and stitching out designs, the LCD screen provides ample guidance with text and visuals. You’ll know exactly what to do at each step.

Easy Set Up

Once you unpack and assemble your Janome 350E, the initial set up is quick and painless.

• Threading: Follow the guides printed on the machine – the automatic needle threader does the rest!
• Winding the bobbin: Simple and fast thanks to the built-in bobbin winder.
• Hooping: The hoops snap into place and are secured with one small clamp knob.
• Selecting designs: Built-ins are categorized conveniently on the LCD. Imported designs appear in your “My Designs” folder.

Within minutes, you can go from a blank canvas to winding your bobbin and picking your first design. The Janome 350E does not require extensive adjustments or specialized tools to start embroidering.

Importing Designs via USB

Expanding your design library is essential for any embroidery machine owner. The Janome 350E makes the process easy by allowing you to import .JEF file designs from a USB flash drive.

Here’s how to import new embroidery patterns with the 350E:

1. Insert your flash drive into the USB port located on the right side of the machine arm.
2. The designs will appear under the “My Designs” menu on the LCD screen.
3. Select the design you want to embroider and proceed as normal.

As long as the designs follow the proper .JEF file format, you can purchase sets from Etsy and embroidery design stores as well as digitize your own to continually add to your Janome 350E design library.

Accessories

The Janome 350E comes with all the essential accessories right in the box to get started embroidering a wide range of projects:

• Embroidery Hoops: The two included hoops accommodate small and larger designs.
• Bobbins: Janome including 4 high-quality bobbins made specifically for this model.
• Spool Holder: Plastic holder for large and small thread cones.
• Thread Spool Net: Prevents thread from unraveling off the spool.
• Extra Needles: Janome provides an assortment so you have spares on hand.
• Screwdriver and Scissors: Tools for light maintenance and trimming jumps threads.
• Instructional DVD: Very handy visual guide for getting started.
• Embroidery Design Guide: Shows all the built-in design images with their reference numbers.
• Hard Cover: Protects the machine when not in use.

Janome included the essential accessories to handle most common embroidery tasks right out of the box. However, there are worthwhile optional accessories available:

• Embroidery Hoops: Additional hoop sizes expand your project possibilities.
• Bobbin Winder: Allows winding bobbins without unhooking the machine.
• Magnetic Frames: Optimal for easily hooping coats, sleeves, and other hard-to-hoop items.

Purchasing optional hoops and frames will make your embroidery projects easier and expand the range of what you can create. Check for compatible Janome 350E accessories on Amazon, Janome’s website, or your local Janome dealer.

Pros and Cons

Now that we’ve covered the key specs and features of the Janome Memory Craft 350E, let’s summarize the main pros and cons machine owners have experienced.

Pros

• Excellent stitch quality: Professional, precise embroidery on a range of fabrics.
• Well-designed interface: LCD screen makes navigating designs and settings highly intuitive.
• Good selection of built-in designs and fonts: Provides lots of options for monograms, names, and embellishing projects without purchasing additional designs upfront.
• Large embroidery field: Major perk for quilters, crafters, and sewists working on larger pieces like jackets. Larger maximum design size than similarly priced competitors.
• Fast sewing speed: Up to 650 stitches per minute for maximum efficiency on larger designs. Saves significant time compared to 10 year old models maxing out at 400-500 SPM speeds.
• Easy USB connectivity: Seamless to import .JEF embroidery patterns from your computer.
• Automatic thread cutter: Convenient built-in thread cutter eliminates manual trimming between color blocks. Big time saver!
• Reliability: Parts still readily available makes purchasing this discontinued model less risky. Janome enjoys an excellent reputation for reliability.

Cons

• Limited hoop size: While larger than most home embroidery machines, the maximum hoop size may still require rehooping large designs intended for jackets, bags, etc. Optional special hoops are recommended.
• Fewer features than combination machines: Lacks the versatility of a sewing/embroidery machine combo. No built-in sewing stitches.
• Fading LCD screen: Some owners report the screen fading overtime requiring resetting screen contrast/brightness.
• No wireless connectivity: Cannot import designs wirelessly like newer model Janomes. Must plug in via USB instead.
• No camera scanner feature: Cannot easily scan hand embroidery or artwork to digitize like advanced models. Must be manually digitized with software.
• Limited supply: Since model is discontinued, may be difficult to find available brand new. Consider pre-owned if wanting to purchase this classic model.

The Janome Memory Craft 350E has some limitations, but overall provides tremendous value at its price point for dedicated embroidery enthusiasts.

Finding a Janome 350E for Purchase

Since the popular Janome 350E has been discontinued, where can you purchase this machine new or lightly used? Here are some options to find one for sale:

• eBay: Search for reputable Janome sellers offering new open box or gently used 350E machines. Models under 5 years old with documented servicing are ideal.
• Facebook Marketplace: Crafters sometimes resell machines locally when upgrading. Be sure to test functionality before purchasing.
• Local Dealers: Janome dealers may still have new 350E stock available for purchase if you call around. This is less common but possible!
• Amazon: Available from third party sellers here, though limited availability. Carefully vet seller feedback and return policies.
• Craft & Quilting Conventions: If vendors sell used machines, this is a great place to test run before purchasing.

Buying secondhand does require more research and carries some risk when purchasing electronics. Be sure to thoroughly test the machine, research the seller, and verify everything functions before handing over your hard-earned cash!

Purchasing through a reputable eBay or Amazon seller that offers returns can give you peace of mind on pre-owned electronic items like the 350E.

Alternatives to the Janome 350E

Since the ever-popular Janome Memory Craft 350E is no longer manufactured, what are some comparable embroidery-only machines to consider instead? Here are some top options:

Brother PE535

• Key Specs: 4×4″ embroidery field, 80 built-in designs, 3.2″ LCD touch screen, 4″ x “4 hoop included
• Notable Features: Automatic thread trimmer, easy USB design import, included editing software
• Price Range: $$

The affordable Brother PE535 has a smaller hoop but impressive built-in design library and intuitive controls like the Janome 350E. It’s a great entry level embroidery-focused machine.

Click here to check current price on Amazon

Brother PE800

• Key Specs: 5″ x 7″ embroidery field, 138 built-in designs, 5 lettering fonts, 5″ x 7″ hoop
• Notable Features: Large color LCD touchscreen, easy design customization, fast 400 SPM speed
• Price Range: $$$

The PE800 improves upon the PE535 with a larger embroidery area, more built-ins, and impressive editing capabilities – similar to the Janome 350E. It’s an attainable upgrade for hobbyists.

Click here to check current price on Amazon

Janome 400e

• Key Specs: 5″ x 7″ embroidery field, 160 built-in designs, 3 fonts, 7″ full-color LCD touchscreen
• Notable Features: Packed with user-friendly features, extension table, easy hooping system
• Price Range: $$$

Janome’s replacement model for the 350E, the 400e provides a larger display, more designs, and great extras to delight embroidery lovers.

Click here to check current price on Amazon

Janome MC9900

• Key Specs: 7.9″ x 11.8″ embroidery field, 200 built-in designs, cute character collection, 9.4″ LCD screen
• Notable Features: Industry-leading 1260 SPM speed, superior stitch accuracy, advanced editing capabilities
• Price Range: $$$$

Janome’s premier embroidery model, the MC9900 offers professional results, incredible speed, and deluxe accessories – with the price tag to match.

Click here to check current price on Amazon

While not exact replacements, these Janome and Brother models pick up where the 350E left off – with improvements in technology, design libraries, and editing capabilities. Carefully compare key specs and prices to choose the right successor based on your needs and budget.

Conclusion

The janome Memory Craft 350E stood the test of time as one of Janome’s most popular home embroidery machines. With its intuitive controls, generous embroidery field, and built-in designs, it enabled hobbyists to create monograms, embellished fashion, quilting accents, and gifts with professional quality stitches.

While discovering a new 350E for sale secondhand can take some persistence, this discontinued model remains a worthwhile option for shoppers seeking an embroidery-only machine. For those looking to buy new, the Brother PE800 and Janome 400e offer improved technology, bigger design libraries, and more editing functionality. Yet the venerable 350E still holds its own for producing beautiful embroidery results.

Hopefully this overview gives you a comprehensive look at the Janome Memory Craft 350E’s capabilities, accessories, strengths, and limitations. While newer machines have surpassed its technology, the 350E is built to last and satisfies crafters seeking worry-free operation and simplicity in a specialty embroidery model.

Whether you are hunting for a secondhand 350E or comparing it to other machines, use this detailed buying guide to make an informed decision. Happy embroidering!