Originally Posted by winia
Why is it when I have everything lined up, a foot that has markings on it that I follow rather than the needle I still can't sew in a straight line? What is wrong with me? It's extremely annoying.
I'll tell you the same thing I used to tell my students (and I still have to do myself at times).
1. Did you check to see if there is enough pressure on your fabric. There is an adjustment you can make by tightening a screw at the top (well, that's where mine is -- check your manual) that will cause the presser foot of lean harder on your fabric.
2. If you don't have a quarter-inch foot, do this. Take a pad of small post-its and split the pad so that you have about 1/3 or 1/2 of the pad. Adhere that to the plate of your machine at the place where the edge of you fabric will touch -- 1/4 inch away from the needle for a quarter inch seam, 1/2 inch away from the needle for a half inch seam, etc.
3. When you sew -- DO NOT watch the needle go up and down. Keep your eye on the edge of the fabric to be sure that it is against the foot (in the case of a quarter-inch foot) or against the post-it pad.
4. Slow down. Going too slow is almost as bad, but there's no rush. Sew at a medium speed so you can have control of the fabric.
5. Dont worry about crooked seams. As long as they are in the "general area" most of the time, once pressed -- it'll be OK.
No q. police here.