it is easy to avoid the fabric going down into the hole..if you can't get a single hole needle plate..(which i have and don't use) You simple use a Leader piece of fabric..
go to
www.quiltville.com
and see how Bonnie uses leaders/enders.. and what you can do with them!

Yep, I agree! I just learned to quilt a few weeks ago and the first few days, I had to do without the rail/guide on the foot. A few days later, I found a 1/4 inch with a guide and it is SO much better!

I love my Janome 6600. You won't be disappointed.

If you have only one machine a straight stitch machine with wide throat would do both things. I use my Brother 1500 for quilting. I could also piece on it but prefer my Featherweight or Janome. If I could only have one I would have to go with the Brother because you can't quiilt easily on small throat machine. I bought one secondhand a few years ago and it is perfect. The new machines that do everything including embroidery are great for some things but I find that you can not sew on them for hours as computers can overheat. They also do not make as nice a straight stitch. I haven't used a Juki but understand they do the samething as Brother 1500.

Hi I have a Brother Innova 4400D and it is a embroidery and regular and it does a great job. I also have a Janome 6500 and that is on my quilt frame but I have used it just sewing and the 1/4 " seam is great and the free motion is wonderful. Before I put it on my frame I used this alot. Loved the fancy stitches.
also have a Babylock ESL and Haven't done much with it but it doesn't have a 1/4" foot so when I hit the dealer soon I'm going to purchase one. Good Luck but check out everyone of the machines that the dealer has so you can get a good idea of what you want. kjym Kathy

I have two Pfaffs and one for quilting. The older one does a good job on the 1/4" with the 1/4" foot but I still have to pay attention how I feed the fabric. (Love the built-in walking foot). My newer Pfaff is very persnickety with thin fabric and it sucks the corners down into the feed dogs (even with a leader strip) Regular cotton piecing is handled quite nicely.

If I had to do it again, I would check out the Janome.

I like my Singer Featherweight for piecing. I can be more accurate and the needleplate is single. I use several layers of painters tape to mark where a scant 1/4 " seam edge should ride. It works well for me. I have used a lot of different machines and prefer this for piecing. I use my new Viking for machine quilting, etc.This is my first comment on this site. I have been enjoying all the comments for several weeks now.

I too love my 1/4 " foot with the guide. It helps keep my seams consistent. So does taping an index card or a post it on the machine, just to keep a long guide line.

For my bernina, I had to buy a extra foot to get a good 1/4 inch seam.

Sharon

Bonnie Hunter has a good test for whether or not your machine does an accurate 1/4 inch seam using an index card. See her website at www.quiltville.com. I have a Viking Rose and I'm very happy with my 1/4 foot. I did, however, just order a different foot that has an edger on the side. I am looking forward to trying that out.