Thread: Question on Walking Foot

Mine works really well for decorative stitches.
The ones I use take a stitch or two back and then most forward and to the sides. :D:D:D

I use mine all the time with decorative stitches. I even sewed a zipper in with the walking foot when I forgot my zipper foot while on retreat. It might not work on the conventional method of installing a zipper but I wanted the tape to show as I was using it as a pop of hot pink color on a black and white quilted duffle bag.

Nice to know I have one with my machine and never used it before.

According to my Pfaff dealer you are not supposed to use the walking foot or the Pfaff even feed with any stitch that requires going backwards.

He said the the whole idea of the walking foot/even feed is to move the fabric forward evenly so doing anything the requires backing up is not good for the foot or the even feed mechanism. He said if you do it, the stitches are often distorted and you risk causin it to not work properly.

I have a Pffaf and it tells me on the LDC display when I choose a decorative stitch whenther I can can use the even feed or not.

Careful! I have a Baby Lock and ruined my first walking foot by going backwards. The lady at the store said that some of the decorative stitches go not only backwards, but sideways, too. If your manual says OK, then OK, but if it says don't, then DON'T!

Originally Posted by quiltingnonie

Originally Posted by MadQuilter

Originally Posted by kathy

YES YOU SURE CAN

as long as the pattern does not have any backward motion. Them feet don't like to go backwards.

I have a Huskvarna machine, and the walking foot DOES go backwards! (one of it's special features)

Thank you for posting this. I too have a Huskvarna and recently purchased the walking foot and didn't even know it would go backward. There instructions are in so many languages and not very clear so thanks...

Originally Posted by MaggieLou

Does anyone know if you can do decorative stitches using a walking foot. I need to sew the binding on a quilt for my DD and want to use a decorative stitch. There aren't any instructions in my manual about how to use it. Thanks for your help and Happy Thanksgiving to all.

No! You definitely shouldn't use a walking foot for decorative stitches as they will become distorted! A walking foot is designed to only take the fabric in one direction but, for decorative stitches, the fabric is generally moved in several directions . The only time you can guarantee it to work is if the stitches move forward towards you - I hope that makes sense!

My Babylock walking foot instructions say you may use with
zig-zag stitches, but never backwards.

So I guess the answer is: it depends on the decorative stitch. Not all of them go backwards. I have feet for my Pfaff that are designed for the IDT and for decorative stitches. I think it depends on the foot in that case.

Originally Posted by stewyscrewy

Nice to know I have one with my machine and never used it before.

:lol:
I have only used mine for the basic. NEVER EVER thought of decorative stitching.
Thanks everyone for reply.
This is what is so lovely about this site, you are NEVER TO OLD to learn.
Am going to give this a go also