1/4" foot guide dragging(Janome)
 

I just bought a 1/4" foot with guide (metal) and really like the accuracy. However , it sits really. really low to the plate. When I was chain sewing squares today, I had to pick up the presser foot and set it back down on the fabric about every 4th square. Am I doing something wrong ?

Is it the regular foot or the accufeed foot?

Regular. The brand is Distinctive. Got it thru MrSewandMrsVac online.

I bought the one from Janome and dislike it for the reason you said. Several friends of mine put a piece of painter's tape or masking tape on the machine as a guide. I have learned to "eyeball" instead.

thats why I hate guide foots, much easier to see without the guide

2 things I did to ease the problem. I bought a second foot (O2 is best) and snapped the guide off and use that when the guide is a problem. On the one with a guide, i put some white out on the guide so my old eyes can see it! Dollar store usually has the white out. Cheap fix

Is the pressure of your presser foot perhaps set too high and you've not noticed?

I'd always used a 1/4" with guide as that's what I bought when I first started quilting. However, since I got my new machine and the 1/4" foot supplied didn't have a guide, I interchange between the two, particularly for bulkier seams and layers of fabric. I find the foot without the guide copes better with them.

My Bernina does this sometimes with the guide. I noticed the fabric was catching behind the foot, not the foot's fault. I had a tiny gap from the extension table to the machine throat that held the fabric. I just give the fabric a push backwards and it's fine. I have a Janome with the snap on foot with guide but never had the problem. The machine is not set in a cabinet and does not have a bed extension.

I have a Viking and the first foot I got, the edge guide was so high that the fabric could slide right under, not guiding it at all. It was basically the same as using a piece of tape as you had to watch how you were feeding it all the time. I mentioned it to my dealer who told me to bring it back for an exchange. The new one is perfect, it sits close to the plate and actually guides the fabric, but I can only use it when the seaming 2 raw edges. If I'm making HST (draw line on square, sew on either side) I can't use it because it binds the fabric up (remember, it's an EDGE guide). If you are joining 2 patches along a raw edge, the fabric will just butt up against the guide. If it's getting caught, you just need a bit more practice. If you want to use the foot to sew in the middle of a patch, I would talk to the dealer & see if you can exchange it for a different one & try it out before you leave the store.

i also recommend you check your presser foot pressure setting.
it might also be that - if you have never used this type of foot before - it will take you a little while to get used to it and to learn its quirks. (which would not be any reflection on you. just on the foot.)

i have two janomes.
i found that a janome brand quarter-inch foot works better than other brands.
the O2 is better than the O and costs the same.

i cannot see any difference at all between the brand name and the "equivalents."
that just seems to be the way it is - at least for me.

my non-janomes don't like the janome feet so i guess it's the machine version of tit for tat. LOL