I stopped by a sewing machine shop yesterday and they showed me the 1/4" seam foot for one of their machines.
Guess What? It didn't sew a true 1/4" seam. So be sure and check the foot and adjust to give you the correct seam. It won't make any difference if you are sewing squares but sure would make a difference if you are sewing mahy shapes together.

yes alot of them require you to move the needle to the left or right to get the true 1/4"
my viking is like that

My Brother is like that. I have to move it to the "left" setting.

If one has to move the needle setting to get a "1/4 inch" seam, why bother to get the 1/4 inch foot?

I used graph paper to figure out where to "set" my needle.

I lined up the right edge of the presser foot on one of the lines and fiddled with the needle setting until the needle came down on the next 1/4 inch line.

Graph paper.....good idea. Will have to remember that.

On my janome 9000 you had to move the needle too. This is a very common thing. To get machines that do a hundred stitches, the needle may have to be moved over a hair. It's not a big deal, really.

the voice of reason ;-)

I know it sounds stupid but I have found this is to my advantage if I need a scant 1/4"
I can set it as per instructions for the 1/4" then move it slightly to the right.
much easier to me than trying to eyeball it

I wonder if it is because each machine's center needle position is slightly varied?
When they machine all of the parts, it would be near impossible to get them all exactly identical.. as well as when the machines are assembled. :D:D:D

I had to move it quite a bit on my Janome 6600P to use the 1/4" foot (which I like because it has that little fence thing to run my fabric up against). On my MC3500 I only had to move it one click.