Originally Posted by
BoJangles
Thank you Joe! I think that 2-tone 301 is really cute too!
Candace, when you FM with your 301's, what hopping/FM foot do you use? I just ordered a darning/FM foot from Sew Classic yesterday. I am curious to try one of the 301's for FM work! Do you have any problems, tricks you can tell me when using the 301 for FM? Do you have a walking foot for the slants? I think I remember you saying the new walking foot does not work right with the slants - something to do with not working with the feed dogs correctly? I want to try FM on the 301, but I also have my Pfaff 1222e that does great with FM - I have done queen sized quilts with it, and I have the Pfaff Grand Quilter with the larger throat space - besides, my long arm. I thought it would be fun to FM small projects with the 301, though!
Nancy
I would make sure you try some kind of 'sharp' type needle, not a universal etc. or you may see skipped stitches. You also may have to play with the pressure on the foot so that you don't see skipping. I've been told microtex sharps are the way to go, to avoid skipping but I'm trying to use up what I have. I have the plastic foot from SewClassic and others. It's noisy but does the job. I do have an original, slant walking foot for my 401, but it doesn't fit the feed dogs on the 301. Right, none of the walking feet available (new or vintage) will work as engineered for the 301. So, don't waste your money. The walking feet are made for wider zig zag machines and don't line up properly with the the narrow, straight stitch feed dogs of the 301. You'll see people claim they work great, but just because the foot is pushing fabric through, doesn't mean it's doing what it should;> Many people just release a bit of pressure on the foot and quilt without a walking foot. If I were you, Nancy, I'd just use one of my other machines for machine quilting and stick to the 301 for piecing and FMQing. Though, you may find you prefer your 1222 for FMQing. I like to put my 301's in my card table for FMQing so that it's one flat surface.