Walking Foot "Slipping"
I am currently working on a quilt for my BIL and family. I have some FMQ and straightline quilting in it. The straight line quilting is stitich in the ditch and outline quilting on the Churn Dash blocks.
I am finding the walking foot "slips" off the shaft when I am pivoting. I have tightened the screws, etc. This is getting very tedious, and I still have many of the Church Dash blocks left to do. As I pivot I make sure the needle is down, tension lever up, turn, put the tension lever back down, and I can tell by the sound it makes as it goes down whether or not the little lever on the walking foot is going to slip off the foot shaft. I hope that makes sense! What am I doing wrong in the pivot? Like I said, sometimes it is fine, and others, it seems like every pivot means I have to readjust the walking foot back on the shaft properly. Other than that, I'm enjoying quilting the quilt! LOL |
It sounds like the walking foot is either not installed correctly or maybe not the correct one for your machine. If the arm is slipping off, I would be afraid of damaging the machine.
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Originally Posted by donnajean
(Post 5132469)
It sounds like the walking foot is either not installed correctly or maybe not the correct one for your machine. If the arm is slipping off, I would be afraid of damaging the machine.
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this does not sound right at all-they are right in asking are you sure it is the right foot for your machine??
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I have a New Home Janome. It is about 14 years old. I had another walking foot on it, but it got broken, and replaced it with the exact same foot. The old one worked fine, with occasional slipping. I'm wondering if the screw keeps coming loose and it shifts as I am sewing? Maybe I need to get my teenage son to tighten it for me! :D
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Don't tighten it to much, that can also damage the shaft..... I would have a tech look at it, or another quilter to see if you have missed something....
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There is something wrong here, and it's not you. I've been known to drop a stitch if I take a curve too fast, but never has my walking foot come off under any circumstances. If you have a friend who is a good quilter and knows your machine, I'd have them look it over first. If not, take it to your repair person and tell them what is going on. If you know you don't have the right walking foot for your machine, well, there's your problem right there. Just get it checked out in case you've damaged the shaft by over-zealous tightening, or a walking foot assembly that wore too much on the shaft.
And don't blame yourself, whatever it is. No place for guilt here. As it is, I use 3 different kinds of feet on my machine, because they fit, and they work, and I hate to throw them out and buy expensive replacements. But if a part started giving me trouble, it'd be out in a heartbeat, because my machine is far more important (and expensive) than a part. Good luck to you! |
It maybe as simple as needing a longer screw. Check with a Janome dealer and see if they have any ideas. Maybe even exchange the walking foot for another. Things have been mislabeled before! Luann in CT
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Walking feet have plastic parts (at least the ones I have do) plastic breaks. i had one tiny little piece crack and break on mine. It was the part that held it in place against the shaft. If you have to buy a new one do not loose the long screw you have with this one. I also did that. Lost the long screw. New foot did not come with it and I never did find any place that could replace it. I have a new machine now and so I just don't use the old one with a walking foot. Solved my problem. I hope you figure yours out. Good luck.
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Thanks for all the good advice! I never did get time to quilt today, but plan on it tomorrow, and will take a very good look at the whole set up, and make a couple of phone calls.
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I think I got this figured out! Yay! I indeed have the correct foot for my machine, so that much was okay. I discovered it was more "pilot" error during the pivot.
Without the walking foot, whenever I pivot in sewing, I lower needle all the way, then lift the presser foot for the pivot. Pretty SOP, I know. But, with the walking foot, I found that I can't lower the needle all the way... about halfway seems to work. It still holds everything in place, just the needle is totally all the way down, KWIM? What was happening when I DID lower it all the way down, the walking foot was forced out of where it screws onto the machine, when I lifted the foot up to pivot. I discovered that about halfway leaves enough room for the walking foot attachment the room it needs. Hope that is clear. I only bothered to write it all out because I've never heard this problem before (I've been sewing for over 20 years!) and thought if anyone else was befuddled with their walking foot, it may be the same little detail throwing them for a loop. |
I am glad that you figured it out. I might suggest that you get a longer screw for the needle holder. They do sell them just for these situations! Enjoy the process! Luann
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Luann, thanks for that... I was wondering if they sold them longer!
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