I have a very simple singer sewing machine which has worked very well so far, but now that I am trying my hand at free motion quilting I was wondering if it will work. I have been reading something about dropping the dog feed? Is that right? but I am not sure if I can even do that with this machine. I am attending my first quilting show (yes, I am so excited about it, I can't wait ) and am signed up to take a machine quilting class, but I want to be prepared. Does anybody have one? and if so can you advise me? Thanks

I have done free motion without dropping the feed dogs but a embroidery foot is almost a necessity....

I just bought one, in preparation for my class. Thanks

Some machines have a plate to cover the feed dogs instead of dropping them. In your manual, it is usually referred to as a darning plate.

I have an inexpensive Singer also, the feed dogs do drop on mine. Check your manual to see how this is done :D Although there are times when I do leave them up, also :D:D:D

If it is a newer plastic machine, it probably has a lever to drop the feed dogs. Check inside the bobbin area; often there is a little lever there on the right side. Experiment with it.

Some of the older machines have a lever on the bed of the machine, underneath the stitch length regulator.

Very old Singers came with plates to cover the feed dogs, instead of dropping the feed dogs. You can do the same with any machine. Just make your own cover out of plastic, make a hole for the needle to go through, and tape it to the bed of your machine. You might be able to do this just using an index card too.

If you are taking the class at an LQS, you can probably bring your machine in and have them look at it before class to help you figure out how to drop the feed dogs. I took a machine quilting class at a quilt show and ended up helping many of the other students figure out how to drop their feed dogs; almost all portable machines have this capability.

My singer has a plastic cover that goes over the feed dogs..It came with the machine when I bought it.

I have an old Singer - all metal and I have an extra metal plate that goes over the feed dogs, 328K - bought in 1964. I tried machine quilting on it but, prefer one of my Juki TL 98QE s.

My first machine was a Singer FashionMate Model 237, which I purchased in 1971, and the feed dogs didn't drop. At the time I bought it, I was sewing clothing and crafts, but not quilting, so have never tried covering the feed dogs. I finally retired it about 3 years ago and purchased a Bernina.