sophia

good morning all it is me again. my question is. does the 1/4 foot suppose to sit flat mine tips in the front. and when I sew my seam. My fabric will jump and make my seam crooked I dont even have to lift the foot to put the fabric in and then sometimes it gets caught in the needle hole. so I tried the littel piece of fabric and it will work but the toe is up and just the back of the foot rest on the feeddogs. sometimes I have to turn my fabric around and sew it over from the start.

Nammie to 7

Do you start with a little piece of fabric to catch the beginnings of the threads? Does this happen on each piece when you chain piece? Are your feed dogs up? What kind of machine? Is your 1/4 foot a generic or specific for your machine?

stillclock

i would check and make sure the foot you are using is designed for your machine. doesn't sound like it's attached properly, fitting correctly or is the right piece. it's also possible that the foot is broken - a bent piece or something in the foot itself. it shouldn't be doing any of those things!

aileen

Prism99

Is it a generic foot or one made especially for your machine? Sometimes generic feet are not very good.

sophia

this is one I got at hancocks fabric it was on sale less than 200.00 it is cheap made. and the foot was in the package. the foot has a slide bar on it. does not sit flush on the feed dogs. Idid use a little piece of fabric and that did seen to help. I have been working on 6 little pieces all day. it even has started skipping stitches. so I cleaned it out and changed the needle. I am useing aurafil thred. man I have had a time but you know I am not going to give up. I have to keep busy even if it kills me LOL Ido appreciate all of your response I have another foot I am going to try everyone have a blessed day.

Prism99

I actually don't use a 1/4-inch foot at all.

I get moleskin or moleskin plus (a little thicker) in the foot section of the pharmacy and cut strips of it with my ruler and rotary cutter. To position, I place my favorite thin-lined ruler under the presser foot, lower the needle so the needle point is just a little to the right of the 1/4" line on the ruler, lower the presser foot to keep the ruler in position, make sure the ruler is running straight front-to-back, remove the adhesive from the back of a moleskin strip and butt the moleskin up against the edge of the ruler. Usually I will add another strip of moleskin on top of the first to make sure the barrier is tall enough so my fabric doesn't "jump" over the barrier.

Alternatively, I use these Dritz adhesive seam guides -- which I love even better than the moleskin because they are taller and the foam is nice:
http://www.amazon.com/Dritz-Quilting...dp/B0085L2Y2I/
I have found these hanging on the wall in the quilting area of JoAnne Fabrics too. Just *do not* get the package that includes the red ruler. The red ruler is useless because it measures a full 1/4" inch. If you use it to position the strip, your quilting seam will be too wide. You want your guide to be a "scant" 1/4-inch from the needle, not a full 1/4-inch!

I find with this physical barrier that I am able to sew strips of fabric very quickly and still have very accurate straight seams.

auntpiggylpn

I've never seen a 1/4" foot with a slide bar. . . Do you possibly mean you are using a "walking" foot"? My walking in foot doesn't sit down tight to the feed dogs.

AliKat

So, I think you need to use what we call leaders or spiders. This is where you first start sewing an a folded scrap of fabric before actually sewing on your project.

Also, does your machine have a single hole throat plate? Sometimes using the multistitch throat plate allows your fabric to get 'hung up.'

Don't worry about the cost of the machine as long as it works. Having said that I had bought a very cheap machine at Target years ago and had to keep returning it because of flaws in its sewing. This is why I prefer a good used machine if you can't afford a new machine.

Jingle

You can also mark the scant 1/4" seam line with the sticky patch you can buy for holding foam in a flower pot for silk flowers. The 3M product to hold pictures in place too. Blue painters tape or masking tape stacked and post it notes work also. Just use a regular foot to sew seams with.
When starting or ending a seam make sure fabric is where it should be.
There are so many things to remember, make yourself a check list to look at until you remember them all.

ManiacQuilter2

I would contact Hancock fabrics. You really do need to deal with someone with experience who can help you since you are new at this. There are generic foot but you have to know if you have a low shank or a high shank on your sewing machine. I never have heard of anything especially a slide bar being on a 1/4" foot. Can you post a picture of the foot??