Thread: FMQ do you the foot pedal or not?

I have always used my foot pedal when I FMQ (I say "always" but I have only been doing FMQ for 9 months or so). I heard somewhere that some people do not use the foot pedal that they use the On/Off button and adjust speed with the speed control. Last night I tried that for the first time, and wow it was different. I only did a little bit, but I am thinking I will finish my quilt without the foot control. I am wondering if anyone else does the FMQ without the foot pedal and if there are things I should look out for. Any tips or warnings?

I prefer to have my hands free so I use my foot pedal.

Sometimes I use the on/off button when FMQ. I have a Pfaff QE 4.2, sometimes the machine won't shut off when I step on the foot pedal, when the machine is behaving it's great.

I've tried the on/off method but haven't used it enough to get comfortable with it. It's a little bit like cruise-control on the car... you really need to keep alert on those curves! Have fun playing with it, and hopefully you'll have more perseverance than me

I like my foot pedal and my knee controller on my 401.

I use vintage machines and I have a cabinet with a knee controller that I love. I much prefer it to a foot controller. I have better control over my speed and stitches whatever kind of sewing or quilting I'm doing.

Cari

Originally Posted by meyert

no tips huh? sounds like I tried something really different! Well I like having my hands free too, but I can hit my stop button with my thumb and keep my hand on the fabric. Whether that means I have big hands or just a different machine I don't know. I don't change the speed once I start, I just continue at the same speed so what that seems to do is keep my stitches the same length (or at least much better than when I use my foot pedal)... something that some of you can do with your foot pedal no doubt, but my stitches are all crazy and different. I will do some more tonight and then after that I may decide that I hate it

I find that I have more even stitching if I use the on/off button and set the speed control on the machine. I have done it both ways, but prefer the constant speed. I have both hands free. I guess it depends on which machine you have because my hands are fairly small.