In my opinion, I think the blade on the second foot is less stable than the one one the first. I have purchased both styles for different machines and my shorter bladed foot is by far the better in the long run.

I like the walking foot too, but sometimes I use the SID foot if I want my stitching to be perfectly invisible. I don't like invisible thread for most things, wallhangings okay, but not for quilts. I don't like the feel of it. And sometimes after it has been in the dryer a lot it gets kinda funky.

I'm lucky because my "stitch in the ditch" foot IS a walking foot on a Pfaff (it uses the IDT if you want it to) so I don't have to decide. The official name for my foot is the "narrow edge foot" and I think some machines might call them an "edge joining foot" (just in case you can't find a "stitch in the ditch" foot for your machine).

The foot I have for my Pfaff is called a Stitch in the Ditch Foot w/IDT and I just love it. It makes my life so much easier.

http://www.pfaffusa.com/media/Projec...Foot_w_IDT.pdf

I have 2, but I am not at my machine...I think they both look about the same. However, of the 2 I have...one is for guiding on the right hand side of the fabric and the other is for the left edge. You can tell by the grooves underneath. Is it possible that one of these is for left-edge topstitching? That sure comes in handy sometimes!

"close to" the seam. but I can't get it into it with my SID foot. I use a wide foot or my walking foot to help "mash" down both side of the seam. Ooh, but I'm getting my new Pfaff soon!

You are going to LOVE your new machine. I found the biggest difference in my stitch-in-the-ditch foot and narrow-edge foot for the Pfaff is the needle opening. I prefer the narrow-edge foot because it is all metal and has the largest opening for needle. I can use more than just a straight stitch with it as well as moving my needle and using it for top stitching.

The other foot has a small round hole and is mostly plastic but the "blade" is a little longer. I like the visibility of the plastic but I'm more of a "multi-function" type so I like feet that allow me to do more than one specific thing.

Maybe you will be lucky enough to test drive and compare the two feet like I did before I bought. My Pfaff dealer is great about things like that (they were the ones who pointed out the differences).

i have just used the stitch in the ditch foot shorter one [pfaff+idt]for sewing on a drawn lines across the diagonals for pinwheel blocks---was a fantastic help also can be used in heirloom type sewing strips together

I have the first one for the Pfaff and it is great. Now I wonder if the second one may be easier to use since it combines the open foot (better visibility) with the seam guide?

I always worry about the really small needle holes which make moving the needle off center limiting (to me anyway). I wish my 1/4 inch bladed foot had a larger needle opening for my piece of mind. Of course, I really wanted to use it for a 3/8 inch seam but that's another story.