I'm surprised no one has mentioned the little magnetic guide. I got mine at a quilt show, I think. It sticks only to the plate, not the machine, and usually I just line it up with the guidelines. To be very sure of the measurement I usually lay an index card under the needle, because the lines on those are exactly 1/4". No idea who manufactures this, it just says Taiwan on it, but it's one of my favorite tools. [ATTACH=CONFIG]484284[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]484285[/ATTACH]