How long should a walking food last?
 

I think I broke the second one I bought. I tested it with just fabric and it seems to sew just fine, but when I try to quilt with it it messes up. It started doing this all of a sudden in the middle of a quilting project. I really haven't had it very long. What am I doing wrong? I have already tried cleaning the lint out of the machine, rethreading, reinstalling the part and changing the needle.

Are you buying generic walking feet. I have had several and one almost 14 years, but mine are the name brand, they should not be breaking that frequently. I have yet to break one I own

I've had mine for at least 15 years. I had it serviced when I had my machine cleaned and updated just a month ago. Mine if a for a Bernina. What sort of problems are you having with it?

Perhaps lessening the pressure on the presser foot would help.

I agree. Something's wrong. You do put the little arm above the screw for the needle, right? Other than that, I'd check with your dealer to see if it's really the right foot. I've had mine for 5 years and it's still going strong. I didn't even know they could be broken.

so, You are suppose to have a walking foot serviced?

It was working fine and then it wasn't. Anyone have any idea what went wrong? If I am breaking them then how am I doing it so I don't do it again?

Go to a friend and watch them fit your foot on their machine and use if possible. If not trip to a dealer and watch them use your foot on your machine if possible. The later may come with a bill the first may just be a homemade cake.

Good luck.

P.s. Try just using as a foot with two layers of fabric instead of your normal foot . If it works there keep making it thicker until it plays up. I've read on here people who use their foot all the time.

Are you getting the correct walking foot for Your machine? I have had mine for 10 years, never had a problem with it . shortly after I purchased it from the dealer ( boy, it was expensive!) I saw one for much less - bought it thinking I would return the expensive one. The ( off brand) one did not work so well, skipped & broke my needle. I decided it was not worth possibly damaging my machine and went back to using the one for my machine.

Don't forget that you're not suppose to sew reverse stitches with a walking foot on. It seems to mess up timing or something - either way, the needle starts hitting the walking foot and then you have to buy another one.

I bought a generic one and it broke after a couple of uses, I then bit the bullet and bought the brand one for my machine and I've been using it constantly for over a year with no issue. Also remember you cannot use your reverse stitch with a walking foot, you can only sew forward.

I also agree that this is not the part to try and save money on. Bite the bullet & get the name brand one and make sure it's the correct one for your machine. Like ckcowl, I started with an inexpensive generic that lasted only a few months. The brand name replacement is 5 years old and still working well.
In addition to making sure that you are installing it properly (it can be tricky!) how are you quilting with it? A walking foot will SITD, or do gentle curves, not FMQ. Are you supporting the quilt properly? The foot can't pull the whole quilt thru the machine by itself, you have to make sure there's no drag.

I would refer back to your machine manal for installation.

straight stitch only

I never knew there were so many rules for walking feet!
The one for my Bernina cost as much as my previous machine- but it is fabulous! It runs so smoothly (and has for a few years) and I love the interchangeable soles for stitch in the ditch or open for better visibility than the standard sole. It is also so easy to put on compared to my last walking foot.

Mine sews just as nicely backwards as forwards. I've never had an issue with the needle hitting it.

I use mine all the time for decorative stitches.

Well the funny thing is this. My parents arrived two days ago with the Bernina that I inherited when my 102 year old grandmother passed away. She was a seriously talented quilter almost till the end. I haven't looked through the stuff yet or tried it, but I think I need to see if there is a walking foot. If not maybe the next one I buy needs to be for that machine instead of the Brother.

I broke two generic walking feet until I bought a brand name.
Much better quality.

The IDT feature of the Pfaffs is worth its weight in gold. I can disengage it when it is not useful/needed. (Models 1471, 1473 - late 1980s)

I can sew backwards or forwards and do decorative stitches with (or without) it being engaged.

My walking foot for my Viking lets me go backwards , and decorative wide stitches. I have owned and used it for about 15 years.

I bought a generic walking foot about 20 years ago and it's still working. Sews backwards too. I have a newer Brother that enbroideries (sp) too and the walking foot on it broke. Go figure. I used the generic walking foot on my 1990 something Kenmore but now it's on my old straight stitch 237 Singer in a cabinet. No problems here.

I have had a generic walking foot for my 1970's era Viking and also my Featherweight and they have worked just fine for a lot of miles sewn. I did have to replace one a few years back because the plastic part where the screw goes to affix it on to the machine cracked but the foot mechanism still operated like it should. I do find that you have to be careful how it's aligned and so when I'm putting it on I use the wheel on the side of the machine to slowly lower the needle to make sure it goes through the foot with plenty of clearance. The ones I have purchased have been in the $25 range. I have never tried to sew backwards with it and don't know why I would ever want to. I tie and pull my thread ends into the quilt bat with a needle which I prefer the look of over backstitching to secure the ends.

I have to agree with Skittl1321, I've had my walking foot for at least 15 years, and have never had any problems, I've used it doing decorative stitching, I've used it in reverse. My suggestion would be that maybe you have the wrong shank height for your machine, other than that I don't have a clue what would be causing your problem.

Not true with my Bernina walking foot. I've used my walking foot with all kinds of decorative stitches, forward and backward. Mechanically, there's no stop mechanism to prevent the movement either direction.

i bought the correct janome foot for my janome machine.

after about 10 years and maybe 10 quilts (really not sure - i hand quilt too) the plastic piece that rests against the screw on my presser foot lever thingy cracked. and then after another quilt it finally broke apart.

frankly i was not too impressed.

that foot was almost $100 when i bought it. and the plastic at that joint was too soft for the kind of repetitive motion it was theoretically designed to withstand.

i haven't replaced it, but i am going to have to. in the mean time my machine might also need replacing, so all new purchases are on hold.

aileen

Is it possible that the screw holding the foot to the needle bar is not loosening up as you sew? I always give mine an extra test to make sure it is securely screwed down.

I quilted for almost 10 years for others and yes, I did actually wear out my Bernina walking foot. Just bought a new one for my older Bernina 1530 on eBay and I am so glad I can put the generic away. it did the job but not as smoothly as the Bernina walking foot. You get what you pay for.

My walking feet are years old and no trouble.

It may not be the foot at all that's causing you problems. Someone else posted here that she started suddenly having trouble sewing and it turned out to be the fabric; one fabric in particular just was not playing nice. Are you sewing on EXACTLY the same fabrics as when it was working? Not just same manufacturer, but same color and everything? There might be something else you can adjust to make it work properly.

Have you tried changing the needle itself? Maybe it got a little bent at some point and that's why you're having trouble with layers? Can you stitch through the quilt without the walking foot on OK?

I have replaced the walking foot for my Baby Lock after having it for just under 2 years. The lady that services my machine said it was because of the many miles of quilting it was used for. She did say it should be oiled occasionally which I never did. I bought another Baby Lock walking foot & it is on it's 2nd year now.

They do break sometimes. I had one for my Bernina 440QE that broke after about two years-needless to say I was very upset because I had taken good care of it.. Took it back to the dealer and they replaced a small wire in it for $15 and has been working fine since. Good luck on getting it repaired.

Well what I finally did was plug in my old, but new to me classic bernina that was my grandmothers. First of all even though its a dinosaur from the 80's this machine is far superior and you can tell right away. I'm all excited about the whole thing. The sad thing is the needle on it was broken and was never replaced. At some point it broke for her and she was done and never said anything to anyone. I had to go get a new walking foot for it because my grandmother sewed, but only did hand quilting. At the store they had to go in back and dig for the part and if I want a FMQ foot they have to special order it. My next question is this. Do sewing machines get so old that you finally can't find parts for them?

Also this walking foot did cost as much as my cheap brother machine, so it better last or I will be upset.

Thank you so much for all your replies.

My walking foot on one machine kept coming apart as I used it. I ordered another specifically for my my machine. It is not exactly like the original. It works great.
My manual says to not go fast with the walking foot on. I think with the original foot I did go too fast several times. I try now not to go too fast. Slower speed it does sew better. Remembering is my problem.

You don't say what model your Bernina is, nor whether the store you went to is a Bernina dealer, but I certainly wouldn't call a 1980's Bernina a dinosaur, especially within hearing distance of the machine. :)

No Bernina dealer worth their salt will have any trouble at all getting parts, especially feet, for a machine of that vintage. Bernina has 'old' style feet and 'new' style feet. I believe 'new' is post 1996? Anyway, the old ones have black numbers and a round back and the new ones have red numbers and a square back with a notch in it.

As a side note, you'd be wise to get the machine cleaned and serviced before you use it too heavily.

Regarding the other walking foot, if you give us more details, we might be able to narrow down what the problem with it is. What part of it is breaking? Are you loosening the foot pressure before sewing as recommended for most walking feet? If the problem is operator error, it could be transferred to your new, expensive, walking foot and you definitely don't want that to happen.

I have walking feet (brand) for both a Viking (1989) and a Bernina (2001). Both work as well as they did right out of the box.

Yes, machines do get so old it is hard to find parts. I have a Viking 6460 from 1976 that I can no longer get parts for. It is a wonderful machine and I have sewn miles and miles with it. The only parts that I can find are from other machines that have something else broken on them. Fortunately, I have had it serviced and taken good care of it over the years so it's still going but I know the handwriting is on the wall that if something goes wrong chances are good it can't be fixed.

My backup machine is a 1980's Bernina , model is 1010, that still performs perfectly. They are great machines and you will really enjoy sewing on it. I have the walking foot that is specific to that machine, it was pricey but still working perfectly after all these years....and my dealer can find the parts without any problem. Enjoy it!

Well I didn't know about loosening the foot pressure and my manual says nothing about it.

I haven't opened up many walking feet, but that is where the moving parts are. I once purchased a Penguin walking foot made for the Singer Featherweight at a garage sale. It did not move correctly, and the problem was that the spring on the inside had detached. Once it was put back in place, it worked. The problem I have had with other walking feet is that the plastic shank eventually breaks. Given the choice, a metal shank is a better buy.

I have a 1975 Singer & my authorized dealer doesn't have any issues getting me parts for it. On occasion they might not be actual Singer-branded parts, but they always find parts that are supported for my machine (i.e., if they don't work properly, I can exchange them & when I bring my machine in for repair/cleaning, they don't have any issues with those feet). All of the original parts/accessories for the machine are always easy for them to get, but, for example, Singer never made a walking foot or a satin stitching foot for my machine, so we went with a Singer-recommended 3rd party vendor that specializes in these after-market parts. I've had the walking foot for over 5 years & no issues with it.
I think availability all depends on how long a particular model of machine lives for. If a lot of the machines like yours are still in good working order 20, 30 or 40 years from now, I can't see why you wouldn't be able to locate replacement parts for it.

I've had mine for over 20 years and it i still going strong.

I gave my 1473 to a friend when my husband bought me the 7570. It also has the IDT on it, in fact, I think all Pfaffs do. Maybe not the very latest, I don't know about them. But I know I love it

My first one broke. It was a generic but almost exactly like my Janome. I think I may have been rough with it. (No I did NOT throw it across the room in a fit! But might have wanted to a couple times LOL) The toes/feet part had a welded bit and one of the bits broke off so now it flops loose on one side. Maybe just the pressure of going over seams? Unclear.

I bought a mfgr foot from Janome and it has different open and closed toes which is really nice, and they snap on to the man body of the foot. Slick!