I love doing piecing, but have always had trouble getting a perfect 1/4" seam -- my fabric would shift around, or kick to the left, and getting the fabric to perfectly, consistently line up with the edge of the foot was often difficult. So after Christmas, I went to our local sewing machine place, and talked to them about it, and they recommended a stitching foot with a guide:

http://www.sewingmachinesplus.com/vi...-412914145.php (just a link so you can see what I'm talking about)

It works so great -- I have a perfect 1/4" seam now, every time. And I don't have to pin the pieces together anymore to keep them straight, which is a huge time saver.

It's probably old news to most of you, but in case any other newbies are having similar troubles, I thought I would mention it; I would imagine most sewing machines would have such a foot available.

I couldn't live without my 1/4" seam guide foot. It's the only thing that helps sew a straight line

Thanks for the info. I'll have to look into this.

I have a reg foot that makes 1/4 in seams. works great for me

I bought a 1/4" foot with metal blade to fit all my machines. I have one for my Featherweight too.

My 1/4" foot, with a metal guide, broke after two months. :0/

I couldn't beleive how much more accurate my mini's were after I bought and used my 1/4" foot :-D

I had one Janome 1/4 foot break. It was the cheaper one but the only one available when I needed it. The shop gave me a refund and I ordered the better quality one and there is a big difference.

It was the good quality one. Allegedly. Ha. That was the price anyway.

I love the 1/4 foot that came with my Jannome 9000.

However, when I use it I find that the finished size of the blocks don't always turn out correct....for instance if the finished block should be a 12.5" block, sometimes the blocks come out as a 12 1/4" block instead. I am not very good a 'scant' 1/4" seams.......so I've tried to make the fabric cuts 1/4" or 1/2" larger than pattern calls for and that does not work either.

How does one go about doing an accurate 'scant' 1/4" seam?

sometimes even with the 1/4 inch foot, you can either let the fabric wander away from the needle or push it in towards the foot too much. it's only a guide. and yep, i hate instructions that say sew a scant 1/4 inch seam. all right, all ready.

we had a conversation about this recently in another thread.

it turns out that even though 1/4" feet are designed especially to achieve a 1/4" seam, the default needle position differs among brands and models of machine. soooooo even if you're using the 1/4" foot made especially for your machine you might not get that 1/4" seam without adjusting the needle position.

for example, i have two different janome models. if i use the 1/4" foot on the first machine with the needle in the default position, i automatically get a scant 1/4" seam. i must adjust the needle position to get a full 1/4".

the second model has two different 1/4" feet. using the first foot with the needle in the default position, i get a perfect 1/4" seam, so have to adjust for scant. using the other foot i have to adjust the needle whether i want a full or scant 1/4". fortunately, the package instructions included the required setting.

considering all the different makes and models of machine, plus all the different styles of 1/4" available, it's no wonder we are still confused! :lol: :lol:

p.s. - a scant 1/4" is really 3/16th". adjust your needle one or two clicks to the right and c'est voila!

One sure way to have accurate size blocks when not using the scant 1/4", is to cut all the pieces 1/8 bigger. It's just another line on the ruler, not scary at all.

Patrice said it all in a nutshell :D:D:D

Thanks Patrice and BellaBoo for the very informative information. I so appreciate that knowledge. :thumbup:

Charity Quilter
I too have a Janome 9000........
What I do is set my needle at 6.0 for a 1/4" seam and for the scant 1/4" seam I set my needle at 6.5.
Using the 6.0 setting my seams are always 1/4" and blocks come out very accurate.
I love my Janome how about you????

I finally invested in one just before Christmas and I love it too.

Scrap Quilter.....I too love my Janome. I'm having withdrawals at the moment as it's in the shop for cleaning.......I'm lost with out Janome! Thanks for the pointers. I will use those settings and am anxious to give it a try.
Thanks again!

Even with a 1/4 inch foot with the metal quide my seams were to big and my blocks were to small. So I still have to adjust my needle for a scant 1/4 inch to make up for the fold.

An index card lines are 1/4" apart. Use an index card to see if you truly have a 1/4" seam. Put it under your foot against the guide and sew (without thread). I have 2 machines that use the same foot but have to adjust the width because of the default.

I have one for my Pfaff and I love it. It's so accurate, that is if I keep my attention on what I'm doing, LOL! May in Jersey

My machine is basic and does not have the bells and whistles. I cannot adjust the needle a few clicks...wish I could! I just have to continue to try for the scant 1/4 as best I can. Sometimes I get it and sometimes not.

Use an index card, put your needle into a line and then put tape to the right of the card, this is 1/4". Build up the tape if needed. Or take some post-it it notes (about 6, do not take apart)and place to the right of the card. Place the sticky part next to the card. Your fabrice will ride along the edge of the post-it note. For a scant quarter, move closer to the needle.

I was having the same problem. Took the machine to my repair man and asked if he could shift the needle to the right very, very slightly and VOILA! a great 1/4 inch. When they design the 1/4 inch feet they should remember that, when the fabric folds, some of that 1/4 inch is lost.

I agree! That's the foot I use most! After I bought the 1/4 inch foot with guide I also purchased the Stitch in the Ditch foot. My experience with it has also been great. Anyone else find the Stitch in Ditch foot useful?

Yes, I have one and it is the best purchase I have ever made.

Lyle in SC

WOW, this is something I don't want to think about. I would never cut anything bigger - as detailed and precise as blocks are, you can't take the chance of screwing them up. Learn what makes a scant 1/4" on your machine and use it. I'd hate to sew & sew and end up with my points all wrong & not matching. Maybe some blocks its not so important, but I'm a scrappy sewer and most of my blocks are complex.
My advise - Practise practise practise & use the scant 1/4".
I, also think we don't realize how much the feed dogs control our 1/4" seams. Just as someone else said, the fabric is pulled to the left.
I just bought the new Juki Exceed, and it has what it calls a box feed system. It truley feeds the fabric thru with no pull at all. I love it. I can get that scant 1/4" without fighting - it's great.
Judi in Ohio

I have an old Janome the gives me a full 1/2"; no way to shift the needle. I just purchased the Babylock 1/4"with guide and need to set the needle position on the brother and get the scant 1/4". Depending on what I am working on I have remember which machine I used and not switch off.

I have the 1/4" foot for my Pfaff and I love it, but it is the plastic one and I just noticed that the metal guide piece moves. I'm thinking about ordering the metal one with my birthday coupon. I just got the SID foot and I can't wait to try it!

I use the stitch in the ditch foot to attach the binding to the back. It works much better than a walking foot.
It stays in the ditch.

I have an older version of the edge-stitching foot for my Viking D1. For that model, you must be able to adjust the needle position. Depending on the fabrics I'm quilting with, the needle position changes from time to time. (i.e. piecing with my hand dyed pima cottons vs. a quilting flannel).

Love the foot, totally recommend it. Glad to know that there's a specific quarter inch model now!

Thank you!

Thanks for they tip! I'll try it. :-D

I use my serger to sew pieces/strips together and get a perfect 1/4" seam every time. Does anyone else use their serger? It makes for more seam to hand stitch through but I love the durability of the seam.

Another tip, thanks! I just bought a book about quilts that are done on a serger because they looked so neat, especially the one on the cover. It's called Serge and Merge Quilts.

Something else added to my list!! :lol: :lol:

Patrice

I have the true quarter inch foot for my machines and they have a round hole so there is no room for adjusting the needle. The needle must be in the center position to use these feet or you will break the needle and or break the machine. On the other hand, the edge stitching foot does have an oval opening in the foot where you can adjust the needle.
It can be a very expensive lesson for a new quilter to not pay attention to the hole in the foot. Thank You for all you do on this forum.

Sue

I strip piece and tried to used the serger, cut them apart and where I cut the seams came apart. I had to go back and resew the seams. My pieces were 2.5" x 1.5". But I did have lots of luck when I serged around my quilt before putting on the binding. It made the binding go on beautiful.