sometimes even with the 1/4 inch foot, you can either let the fabric wander away from the needle or push it in towards the foot too much. it's only a guide. and yep, i hate instructions that say sew a scant 1/4 inch seam. all right, all ready.

we had a conversation about this recently in another thread.

it turns out that even though 1/4" feet are designed especially to achieve a 1/4" seam, the default needle position differs among brands and models of machine. soooooo even if you're using the 1/4" foot made especially for your machine you might not get that 1/4" seam without adjusting the needle position.

for example, i have two different janome models. if i use the 1/4" foot on the first machine with the needle in the default position, i automatically get a scant 1/4" seam. i must adjust the needle position to get a full 1/4".

the second model has two different 1/4" feet. using the first foot with the needle in the default position, i get a perfect 1/4" seam, so have to adjust for scant. using the other foot i have to adjust the needle whether i want a full or scant 1/4". fortunately, the package instructions included the required setting.

considering all the different makes and models of machine, plus all the different styles of 1/4" available, it's no wonder we are still confused! :lol: :lol:

p.s. - a scant 1/4" is really 3/16th". adjust your needle one or two clicks to the right and c'est voila!

One sure way to have accurate size blocks when not using the scant 1/4", is to cut all the pieces 1/8 bigger. It's just another line on the ruler, not scary at all.

Patrice said it all in a nutshell :D:D:D

Thanks Patrice and BellaBoo for the very informative information. I so appreciate that knowledge. :thumbup:

Charity Quilter
I too have a Janome 9000........
What I do is set my needle at 6.0 for a 1/4" seam and for the scant 1/4" seam I set my needle at 6.5.
Using the 6.0 setting my seams are always 1/4" and blocks come out very accurate.
I love my Janome how about you????

I finally invested in one just before Christmas and I love it too.

Scrap Quilter.....I too love my Janome. I'm having withdrawals at the moment as it's in the shop for cleaning.......I'm lost with out Janome! Thanks for the pointers. I will use those settings and am anxious to give it a try.
Thanks again!

Even with a 1/4 inch foot with the metal quide my seams were to big and my blocks were to small. So I still have to adjust my needle for a scant 1/4 inch to make up for the fold.

An index card lines are 1/4" apart. Use an index card to see if you truly have a 1/4" seam. Put it under your foot against the guide and sew (without thread). I have 2 machines that use the same foot but have to adjust the width because of the default.