I was wondering if any one can help me with this question. I have an old sewing machine where the dog feeds don't automatically go down. I've read where it's suggested to put tape or a business card over them which is fine but that covers up the hole that the needle needs dip down into when your wanting to to FMQ. Can someone clear that up for me. I'm new at quilting and am puzzled. Thanks a bunch.

I just placed tape around the area,but didn't close off the place where the needle goes into. Just test manually first to make sure the area is not obstructed, so you don't damage your machine.

You can cut or punch a hole where the needle goes. Put the card where you want to tape it and barely poke the card with the needle. Then take it out, punch a hole where the little poke is, and tape it on.

To cover the feed dogs on old Singer machines, I use the feed cover plate that comes with the old Singer buttonholers. The buttonhole attachment needed the feed dogs covered as it had to follow the cam that had been inserted in the buttonholer. The provided plate attaches with a screw and works perfectly on my featherweight.

Lot's of people just set the stitch length to zero and don't worry about dropping the feed dogs.

I have an older machine where the feed dogs do not drop. It has a plate you can attach to cover them up. Does your machine have any attachments like that perhaps?? Just a thought...

Good luck.

Ditto! When the stitch length is set at zero the feed dogs don't move.

Just cut a hole in the card where the needle goes in. As for the stitch length - that differs by machine. Some need to be set to zero others (like mine) need to be set to the regular quilting length (3-3.5 in my case).

Wow. Thanks for all the feed back. I will definately try some of these options. Glad I have a place to go with all my questions.