FMQ help! The plastic foot broke; can I FMQ without it?
 

:mad: I was sewing away and came to a nice stop and noticed the oval shaped plastic foot on my Bernina that I use for FMQ was crooked. When I touched it part of the plastic fell off and now there's no nice hole for my needle to go and of course no pressure on the fabric as I FMQ.
The question is: What would happen if I try to FMQ without using any foot? Is it possible and what would the results be if it is?
No I did not "hit" the foot with the needle. My machine's about 10 yo so maybe the plastic has degenerated. I have to finish some projects before the end of the week and don't want to run out of town to get a new foot.
Looking for any thoughts on this. Thanks in advance.

they make a needle with a spring in it - not sure what would happen if you used a regular needle and no foot, I would think you would need to be very careful not to snap the needle while pulling the fabric through... sounds kind of scary

FMQ without some kind of foot is usually not very successful. The spring neegle, in my experience, doesn't do a good job either. Useful only in emergency. Well that is what you said you have.......
Do you have a darning foot for your machine? It really needs foot that doesn't set tight on the surface of the quilt.
The spring needle and the separate spring that you can attach around the needle were developed for "thread painting" or perhaps darning. I have provided them for class but was not satisfied with the results.

yes, there are many feet you can use and if you put the presser foot down, you can do it with no foot.... there are lots of 3rd party feet out there, just look carefully at your feet, are they shaped like 'shoes' or 'boots'.... all the 3rd party feet are designed for one or the other, high or low shank...

If you can release the presure on your foot, you can use another foot. My old Kenmore dosen't have a darning foot and I use it with an embroidery foot for FMQ. With no foot you will probably get skipped stitches or no stitches.

I've tried FMQ with no foot, and I wouldn't advise it. The stitching ends up terrible

i know this sounds this way, but the majority of the machine embroidery in the world is done in 3rd world countries with NO FEET at all.... having the presser foot down is the key... the tension you put on the quilt sandwich is plenty... just try... what have you got to lose?

I agree. Having pulled my quilt out from the machine when the FMQ foot was still in the down position I can attest that the amount of pressure on the fabric is very minimal. I think (and I could be wrong) that the 'foot' part of the foot is there for A) safety, and B) a visual aid.

As long as the upper part of the shank is intact (ie the spring and the arm that sits over the needle screw to make the foot "hop"), then as long as you are CAREFUL and don't put your fingers in there ... in a pinch I'd try it until I could replace the foot.

I think safety is the biggest issue ... so BE CAREFUL. We don't want to hear any 'needle through the finger' stories!!