New to me
 

There is a lady in our quilting group who knows everything about quilting (eye roll). another gal was sewing on binding using her walking foot & serpintine stitch. This lady told her she would ruin her walking foot as they were designed for only straight stitching. Who knew.

I have sewn binding on with the walking foot and a serpentine stitch. Works fine on my babylock. love the look of this and it is pretty easy. Doesn't appear to have bothered my foot yet!

I've heard that too. maybe it depends on the machine.

If they were only designed for straight stitch, they wouldn't have a wide enough needle area to accommodate other stitches.

Cari

It may depend on the walking foot. The walking foot on my July HZL-DX7 has a wide enough needle area to accommodate decorative stitches. The first time I used it for that purpose, I did manually lower the needle just to make sure it wouldn't hit the foot.

It depends on the machine. Viking has a walking foot that works with the decorative stitches, which go forward, back, etc.

It depends on the machine. I know I can use some stitches on my machine but
not all. The ones that I am not supposed to use are greyed out on the chart.
She should check in her manual or with the dealer.

Gee, maybe she doesn't know "everything"?

Watson

Interesting. I would have asked her to explain how it would ruin her walking foot. My walking foot is wide enough to accommodate every stitch my machine has, so I can't envision any problems.

Normally I just avoid her. LOL. This time I did ask and she said your walking is not designed for such side to side movement ( insert her tone of don't question me, I know best).

I try to avoid people like that too. All my life when someone has told me I can't do something, it's usually after I've already done it. "You'll never get a straight seam with that old machine" "You can't put a name on a coat that way" "You can't sew that with that old machine" "You'll never get that to work" "That's not how it's done" "You can't, you can't, you can't....." I do my own thing my own way and I can't say that it always works, but I'd never know if I didn't try.

Cari

Ah yes, I've dealt with those types. I just give them my best "why are you even talking to me" withering look. Works every time :)

the walking foot just moves the fabric through the machine, forward and back. The needle moving from side o ide makes the decorative stich. If your foot as the space for the needle to move, no problem.

I had heard that so I asked my Viking Dealer. He said that it was true for certain very early walking feet, but he said I was just fine using it with all my Vikings. I love the serpentine stitch for putting binding down and use it often with my walking foot. My guess is any of the newer ones would it would be fine, but check with your dealer to make sure. And for newer, I bought my walking foot in 2001 and have used it with decorative stitches ever since.

It's not that it "ruins" the foot. It is that many machines don't do "other than straight" stiches correctly with a walking foot. We've seen multiple posts here where someone couldn't figure out what they were doing wrong and that was the problem. Maybe she has a point. (eye roll, LOL).

I would have told her well if it breaks I'll buy another one, no big deal to me. That usually shuts up the know it all when they find out you don't give a rat's a_ _. LOL

I'm betting that would be surprise to her :D

She sounds like a paper-pusher in my doctor's office. They really love telling you no, as pompously as possible.

Re the binding,I am just getting ready to do that for the first time. I wasn,t going to use the walking foot because I didn't think it would ride over the raised binding edge that well. Is that what most people use? Should we ask the guild lady? :)

hugs,
Charlotte

This is where every one should open their dictionary and go to the conjunction "can't" and cross it off the list of words you will never use again.:D

I don't blame you! We all have met people like that. That is a big reason why I am not in a quilt guild.

I have also heard (or read) that you can't or shouldn't stitch backward with the walking foot. Is that the same situation? I've never found a need to go more than a few stitches backward with any foot, so I don't know what the fuss is. Some of the decorative stitches do involve going backward and forward a bit.

The purpose of the waking foot is to make your machine an even feed so the top and bottom fabric go through at the same interval. Without it, the bottom fabric advances slightly more than the top. That is why, if we have a bit too much fullness, we put it through the machine with that part on the bottom. If the walking foot has a wide area there is no reason not to use if for decorative stitches. Craftsy has a couple of classes to highlight its use in embellishing quilts.

I just "just show me in my owner's manul where it says that! or, show me where there's a law that says I can't. That usually shuts them up.

maybe it was just "they can't go in reverse"....

Conjunction junction, what's your function?

Now I have an earworm.... :D

New to me too...I use my walking foot all the time to sew binding on but have not used decorative stitches...yet. I will have to ask my Janome dealer.

I like all of your answers! lol We all know people like that don't we? I just stay clear of them if possible. If I can't I think I need to take Onebyone with me! lol Good Answer!

With the new type of walking feet, some come with changeable feet so you can do pretty much whatever you want, including decorative stitching. I never used my old walking feet but since I got my new machine, EPIC, it came with a couple feet and I've purchased most all the rest I thought I'd use. Still waiting for my decorative foot with the center flange.

I would imagine that it would be ok with any stitch that only went forward. Since the purpose of a walking foot is to 'increase' the top fabric's forward movement, any decorative stitch that required a backward stitch might create a problem. But, I think it would be fine for a zigzag or a serpentine. Just a guess, but it makes sense to me.

I have reversed with my Janomes' walking feet and never had a problem. Never even looked in the manual to check if I was 'allowed' to or not. My machines are post 2006. If you go very slowly in reverse, you can see the walking foot action in reverse. Having said all that, I have never reversed more than half an inch.

But my Pfaff has a built in stitch regulator and has certain feet that do not allow using the regulator.

Good point Cari!

Hate to ask a dumb question but what is a serpintine stitch?

Is it possible the sewist was doing a FM serpentine with a straight stitch machine? I would think that type of motion would be bad for any walking foot. Since I always use a straight stitch only machine for sewing on bindings, that is the first thing I though of, so I agreed with the "know it all".

It took me a bit to realize everyone else was talking about doing a decorative stitch with a swing needle machine :)

I use my Bernina walking feet on zigzag all the time. Never any problem.

I sure don't see where the side to side motion would make a difference if it did my walking foot would be shot as I quilt most all of my charity quilts with the serpentine stitch in the ditch using my walking foot A stitch where the foot has to move backwards may be different I never thought of it but I am not sure the foot even moves I think it is feed dogs moving and side to side only the needle moves. HOW INTERESTING

Ridiculous. I use my walking foot for CURVED straight line quilting ALL THE TIME. Constantly. It's my favorite straight line quilting.

See all the curves? Walking foot!

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Oh, no! The quilt police! Actually, with some machines what she says is true. You can't even go backward. With other machines, however, are very happy to sew any fancy stitch you have.

And maybe she is correct. It walks straight. I think I would go to the manufacturer for the best answer. It might not ruin your foot but it might stress the post it is attached to.