Hi everyone! I have a couple of things that have me "thoroughly" confused! I was told by an employee at a LQS that I could NOT reverse stitch with my walking foot or it would cause serious damage to my machine, so I haven't been securing any of my stitches..., my very first quilt is almost finished, and now will probably fall apart in the wash! LOL! And my second issue is, I've been watching several You Tube videos on binding, and some bind from the front and some from the back...I want to machine bind mine on both sides....which do you think is best? Thanks to all who can offer a little expertise! Chris

some say theirs can. there are different feet for different brand machines. to be safe, i don't do it with mine.
if you want binding to be binding on both sides, use binding sewn to the front and turned to the back.

If you can't reverse stitch you can do what I do with my vintage 66 Singer that doesn't have a reverse. Stitch about 1/2 inch down, lift the presser foot, slide the fabric back up to where you started, and sew back over it again. This works really well for me.

Thanks SO MUCH!

Thank you, that's a GREAT idea!

Sorry, didn't quote your reply...thank you SO MUCH!

I didn't quote your reply, either! Thanks so much for the information! That's a GREAT idea!

What kind of machine do you have? I backsitch on mt 14 yr old New Home Memory Craft 9000 while using the walking foot all the time and never had a problem with my machine. Maybe it's the newer machines, I had not ever heard this before. Worth checking with your local dealer for his advice on your machine. JMHO

Regarding the walking foot, why not check with the insert that came with yours? Mine says if my stitch length is at 3 or below, I can reverse stitch. I think it all depends on the brand you are using. I personally won't take anyone's other than the manufatcurer's words for what I can or can't do with my sewing machine and accessories, lol.

A friend was telling me about doing the binding completely by machine, and I tried it on a small quilt for the first time and it worked nicely. Attach the binding in the back of the quilt, turn your quilt over and use a washable glue to glue down the binding on the front, then use your favorite stitch to secure it down.


Good luck.

ooh, I also meant to say that I don't reverse stitch when quilting, rather, I take a few very small stitches at the beginning and end.

I cannot reverse with my walking foot because of the gears inside of it. Instead, you can use locking stitches. If your machine doesn't have a locking stitch setting, just set the stitch length to zero and sew several stitches in the same place. This creates a knot that holds the thread in place. When you are ready to move forward, just reset the stitch length. When you get to the end, repeat the locking stitches in the same way.