I also use a 1/4" foot with a guide, but found that it was still a little generous. On my machine, I can bump the needle over to the right just enough that it won't hit the foot (it's a single hole foot), but will still give me the scant 1/4" seam that I need. This really comes into play when you have several people making blocks....sometimes there's 1/2" difference in the size of a 12" block! It's always good to check the final measurement of your blocks to see if they are finishing as they should.