Walking Foot

I guess I'll stay with the presser feet theme a little longer, if you can stand it!!

Another presser foot that I think is a MUST for quilters is . . . the Walking Foot! If you've never heard of that, you're thinking WHA?

From 2008-11

A Little Explanation: The feed dog on your machine pull the fabric through the machine. Right? That's what they're meant to do, but sometimes when you're sewing on something slippy and slick, things don't sew through your machine too well. The top fabric wants to slip and slide all over and the bottom fabric tends to follow the feed dog. A walking foot has grippers from the top, that help "walk" the top fabric through while the feed dogs "walk" the bottom fabric through.

From 2008-11

In the Quilting world we don't sew a lot with slippy fabric, but we do sew "layers" together. And herein lies the problem. When a quilter is piecing the quilt top and sewing 2 layers of cotton fabric together, we can use the Quarter Inch foot just fine. But when we decide we're going to quilt the layers (quilt top, batting, quilt back) together our good old "regular" presser foot just doesn't work too well. Here's what happens; the quilt back gets pulled through by the feed dogs, but the quilt top gets pushed forward because of the thickness trying to make it's way through the small space between the presser foot and the feed dogs. SO, everything gets off kilter and a mess is made. The Walking Foot is the answer to the problem.

From 2008-11

I also apply my binding with a Walking foot, which is a really good thing, because when you're binding by machine not only do you have the 3 layer quilt sandwich (quilt top, batting, quilt back) but you've add 2 more layers for the binding!!

Also, you can use the walking foot to quilt the top! It's great for stitching in the ditch, quarter inch outlining and even some curvey designs. Check out Mary Mashuta's "Foolproof Machine Quilting".

BASICALLY! A walking foot is a very good thing to have in your quilter's bag of tricks!

Quarters for Quilters

Sounds like I'm collecting money for quilters!! Nope, it's just that quilters think in quarters!

I wanted to show something unique about the Quarter Inch foot. At least on the Bernina Quarter Inch foot. Not only is the width of each side of the foot 1/4", but the foot also has notches on it. It has 2 notches on in front both sides that is 1/4" from the needle, and another set of notches on the back that marks a 1/4" from the needle to towards the back. These notches are helpful when you are sewing miters, binding, turning a corner, or especially "Y seams". Discussion of Y seams won't happen for awhile as they are for the more experienced quilter.

From 2008-10

So when shopping for your Quarter Inch foot, check it out to see if it has any Notches on it!

Quilting a Quarter Inch at a Time

One of the biggest hurdles for a begining quilter is sewing an exact Quarter inch. Many sewing machine companies make a Quarter Inch presser foot, which will help you get your best 1/4 inch seam. If your machine was advertised as a machine for quilters, it probably came with the Quarter inch foot. If your's didn't, try your local sewing machine store or repair shop. Also, the internet is a great place to search.

From 2008-10

BASICALLY! It is much easier to keep an accurate 1/4 inch seam when you sew watching your fabric move under the edge of the presser foot, and much more difficult to keep the edge of the fabric along the lines on your needle plate. Because the quarter inch mark on the throat plate/needle plate is usually just inside the edge of the right feed dog.

If you don't have a Quarter Inch foot and/or can't get one, you really should check and make sure that the lines on your machine are accurate.

Get your smallest rotary ruler because it will be easier to manuever, but you can use the larger one if needed.

@ Take your rotary ruler slide it between your presser foot and your feed dogs. Line up the right most quarter inch line on your ruler under your needle, turn the sewing machine hand wheel and drop your needle down exactly on the quarter inch line. Make sure that your ruler is square under your needle, and then lower your presser foot. Take a piece of painter's tape and put it on your machine where the right edge of the rotary ruler is. Now you have a line to sew along for your 1/4 inch seam.

From 11-4

From 11-4

@ I've seen/heard it suggested to use a pile of post-it notes to make an edge for your fabric to run along. If this works for you, great. But as noted above the quarter inch line is usually inside the edge of the feed dog. So, if you lowered your presser foot, it would land on the post-it notes and could impede the impact of the feed dogs on that side. So be sure and test out this suggestion before actually sewing your project using it.

Now test it out. Take 2 - 2 inch strips about 6 inches long and sew them together using your new quarter inch line. Press it and then measure it. The 2 strips pressed open should measure 3 1/2 inches wide. If your strips are narrower than that, then your tape needs to be moved in a smidgen. If they are wider, then it needs to be moved out a smidgen. Keep tweaking until you get it just right! BASICALLY! It will pay off in the end.

From 11-4