nope- you do not absolutely need a walking foot- some of us have expensive walking feet & still choose to seldom if ever use them- I quilt a lot- with my domestic machine & pretty much never use my walking foot- I hate that thing- drives me crazy- bought it 8 or 9 years ago when a class instructor insisted it was a necessity...used it for that class & put it away- I have friends/family who once In a while come by & work on a project- it is there for them if they want to use it- like most * specialty tools* sometimes they are nice to have- seldom are they really necessary- unless you personally find you can not do without it...we each have those *personal items* that we feel we can not do without- but there are as many people who do with out the same item all the time