I have a Brothers Inovis and it has the sideways sewing feature. Love my Brother!

I have done this on many occasions.

Can't you simply lower the feed dogs and move the quilt in the direction you want to sew? Isn't that basically what FMQ is?

The Husqvarna Viking machines can sew in four directions (stitch a box or rectangle) and can sew in eight directions. The eight direction stitch is great to sew a square or rectangle when attaching a fabric handle to a bag. You can stitch an "X" inside the square or rectangle to reinforce the fabric handle.

My Babylock has directional sewing.

Yes you can, but I was trying to carefully sew in the ditch, hich is what prompted my question. My FMQ in the ditch is not the greatest! LOL

I thought I'd read something about Directional or Sideways sewing that indicated it is a feature on some machines that allows them to make decorative stitch patterns (not embroidery) that are larger than would normally be possible for that machine, so a machine that makes 7mm decorative stitch patterns could make much larger ones if it can sew sideways.

Rob

Yes Rob, that is true of my Bernina 1630 and Pfaff 1475 and others of that era. They can make designs approx. 1 1/2" X 2 1/2", or a little more. These seem to be the precursor of the first home embroidery machines, the Bernina 180, and the Pfaff 7570.

My Babylock DestinyII has directional sewing. There are several Babylock models that have this feature. It was wonderful for sewing badges and patches on my grandson's Boy Scout shirt. It really saved time because I didn't have to reposition the shirt constantly.

Wow, thanks for posting this question. I have never, ever heard of machines that allow for directional sewing. What an awesome feature that would be on a machine.