Walking foot question
 

I am just beginning to machine quilt. So far I have only done hand quilting. But the need to get things completed in a more timely manner has driven me to machine quilting.

Currently I'm doing echo, straight line quilting on my DSM with a regular foot. Don't own a walking foot at this point. Tension is fine but I'm noticing that my stitch length is not consistent. Is this simply a product of my pulling/pushing the sandwich?? I suppose I should try some gloves to help move the fabric more gently/consistently??

Or do I need to bite the bullet and invest in a walking foot for my machine?

Any/all thoughts/comments welcome. Thanks.

When I use my walking foot I don't have to pull or push my quilt, the machine feeds the quilt very nicely. I think you should get a walking foot.

Go online right now and order the walking foot for you brand of machine.

My favorite quilting stitch is the serpentine using the walking foot. I use this stitch on all my donation and utility quilts and many of my gift quilts. The non quilter thinks it's wonderful so why bother with the fancy quilting unless its for myself or a show.

Treat yourself to a walking foot! Mine is never turned off!

The walking foot is my best quilting tool! You won’t regret buying one!

I agree with other members - I find a walking foot very helpful, love my quilting gloves too!

I agree with getting a walking foot. I bit the bullet years ago and bought one on a half price sale for my Bernina (Bernina walking feet are pricey.) One of the best investments I've ever made.

And after you get it, be sure to read the instructions about how to put it on. Some of them are a bit tricky.

Well, I guess the jury is in, lol! Apparently I'll be headed to the dealer tomorrow for a walking foot.

I don't have much room to quilt but I do think I have it puddled as much as humanly possible. I know there is a bit of drag when I'm doing a longer line of stitching but much of the shorter lines of stitching are equally as inconsistent.

Did try the rubberized (clean) gardening gloves I have on hand. They sort of helped so hopefully the walking foot will be more helpful. I've never really needed it when doing bindings but then again, who sees those stitches?? (I machine sew to the front and hand stitch to the back so none of those stitches show anywhere).

Thanks for everyone's input.

how small of a stitch length were you using? that can make it difficult to move around much. good luck.

When I use the walking foot in straight line quilting I set stitch length to 3.

The walking foot is an excellent tool and, like someone already said... It can be very tricky to get it on the machine. I just leave it on all the time. Also, you can get a generic one from eBay or Amazon very inexpensively. That's where mine came from and it works fine.

Love my walking foot, I agree it's a great tool. It can be tricky getting it on. You mentioned that you'll be going to your dealer to purchase one, while there check to be sure it does get installed correctly, then quilt on..... Enjoy,it opens up a whole new skill.:thumbup:

I love my walking foot and use it all the time to put on binding and it works so smoothly. I think you would be very pleased with your quilting if you purchased a walking foot if it fits in your budget.

My answer is a little different than those of the others. I'm fairly new to machine quilting, too. I recently used my Pfaff Passport with the built in "walking foot" (called DST???) to machine-quilt. I had uneven stitches, too, which I chalked it up to my lack of technique. An unsatisfactory answer, since I've been garment sewing for three decades and am firmly familiar with using a walking foot. But quilting takes different techniques, and I confess to not having mastered them yet. Foolish not to do otherwise.

My advice is to invest in the walking foot. And practice, practice, practice your technique. That is, do several practice runs with the materials you are using in your project.

My machine has lots of 'auto' settings which, in general, I'm not a fan. However, on my sewing machine I love them! The book said to use the 'heavy woven' setting for quilting which auto sets the tension and sets the stitch length to 3. From those two perspectives it's been perfect.

Like heron, I think my biggest issue is probably technique at this point as well. I, too, have been sewing (garment/home dec) for decades and quilting for about 15 years. But up until now have been a hand quilter. I have about a half dozen quilts that I just need to have done. They are for no one in particular; utilitarian in nature so they are my 'practice' pieces at this point. I do have one other quilt, however, that is 'special' that also needs to be done sooner rather than later. If I can get a couple/few of these utilitarian quilts done and feel reasonably good about my machine quilting skills at that point, I'll put the 'special' one next on the list after those.

Will be calling my dealer when they open this AM to see if they have the walking foot in stock. If I can pick up locally somewhere that would be my preference. This way I can have them show me the proper installation techniques since many have said that can be an issue plus I can have it now!

Make sure you have the correct size needle in your machine. Your needle could be dull if it has been used a lot. Clean out all the lint, make sure the bobbin is in correctly too. My neighbor and I were sewing together yesterday, her machine started messing up, we did all the above and it's working perfectly now.

Get a walking foot. You will not regret the money spent. Well worth the money. The layers feed evenly and smoother.

I believe that after you have started using a walking foot, you will wonder why you didn't get one a long time before! I find that I use my foot other than just on a quilt. I think (but not sure) I would give up a zipper foot before I give up my walking foot.

Adjust your stitch length to longer stitches that will allow for the thickness of the quilt. Then try it with a "scrap" quilt sandwich--three layers--top/batting/back to see if that helps.

I would also highly recommend purchasing a walking foot. I firmly believe that our quilting projects should be for the most part highly enjoyable....therefore doing everything we can to eliminate stress and frustration. Go get that walking foot---you will not be sorry!

I picked up a variety of needles that I had seen recommended for quilting. I'm currently using an 80/14 topstitch and it seems to be doing just fine. I also cleaned out all the lint that I could get to before starting this project.

We'll find out soon enough, lol! I just picked up the walking foot along with a couple of guides (because for my machine they are left/right specific). Going to grab some lunch and then put this puppy on the machine and get back to quilting.

yup agree w/all above...can't live w/o my walking foot...I have one for all of my machines...Vintage Singers, New Singers, Husq Vikings. First thing I search out when I pick up a machine. I found by not having one and trying to quilt I'd get fabric bunch up on the back and then I'd have to pull out stitching ...once I got that walking foot no more issue.
I use it for binding, applique, quilting line by line or echo's anything layered.

Well, folks, everyone's advice was excellent! I picked up my walking foot this AM and started using it soon thereafter. OMG! What an improvement! My stitch length consistency is greatly improved. I think the biggest thing I need to be mindful of at this point is my stitching speed to really have the perfect consistency. Well, as perfect as any of can be that is, lol. Thank you all again. As always, great advice here and greatly appreciated.

Buy a good Walking Foot for your machine. and buy one for every machine you have. They are worth the money.

Is a walking foot the same as the Bernina dual feed?

Now that you have a walking foot, perhaps check out the book titled "WALK, Master Machine Quilting with Your Walking Foot". I picked up a copy a while ago and wow, talk about all the different things you can do with the walking foot. Have fun!

Thanks for the suggestion - I'll have to check it out. So far I have completed one throw size quilt and am well on my way to finishing up a twin size quilt. These are all sampler style quilts so doing different quilting motifs in each block which is a bit time consuming. Might do something different on the next one. Have about 5-7 total to complete. And I had the bright idea in the last couple of days to hopefully complete all of these before end of June so they can be gifted to the nephews during summer vacation. Yikes!

NJ, I was happy to read your current posts that you are having much success with your new walking foot. It’s one of those things where you might say “how did I live without it?” Happy quilting, Joanne