Roberta, that sounds similar to the Elna 740 mechanism. There is a regular and a 1/4" walking foot that you install on the "ankle" or shaft. The foot lever does have three positions. After you've installed the walking foot, raise the position to the highest spot, and at that time, you can bring the top walking feet down. They should seat within the walking foot you just installed. It's a little funny feeling at first. BUT, the advantage is that all the walking feet are driven by and resident on the machine, and not on the foot itself. I hope this helps. After you get it, this is really a great feature!