I haven't used a straight stitch plate in over 40 years. None of the machines I've owned came with one, and I just didn't think about buying one. But I have seldom had a problem using the zigzag plate for narrow seams. The problem comes from the edge of the fabric being pushed down by the needle at the beginning of the row. I just hold both thread ends firmly for about the first 3 stitches. And I am one who would probably forget to change the plate anyway, as I frequently forget to change the foot!

Happy sewing.

I didn't even know that straight stitch plates were available - I read about it here and ordered one for my Husky Sapphire off of ebay yesterday. My beginnings get chewed up sometimes also and I am too lazy too use leader scraps to start with.

Pete "Where do you get the needles by the 100s? " I am in the UK, so I get them from a shop in Bedford, but I did a search for you and found them on Amazon.com at a ridiculously cheap price! http://www.amazon.com/Organ-Sewing-M...achine+Needles

BTW the make is Organ which I have found to be equal to Smeltz but at a fraction of the price, as you see :)

Which model do you have?
Mine is a 2056 and it has both plates, but I don't know about the feature you speak of.

When I am piecing, I use the straight stitch plate, just keep it on my Bernina all the time for piecing. Although, I did break a needle the first time I used the straight stitch plate, now, I am careful to adjust the default setting so I don't break a needle.

My old machine only had a zig zag plate and I never bought a straight plate. I recently bought a Janome Horizon that has the automatic switchable plate. Having the straight plate makes such a big difference when piecing. No more machine eating the pieces at the beginning. Don't know how I lived without one. Now that I have used one, I would definately recommend getting one if you piece.

Only own zig zag so that's what I use.

My Bernina 830(new addition) came with only the zigzag, but in my "dealing" I asked for, & received the straight stitch plate as part of the purchase price. Whenever I use the straight stitch plate, I put a sticky note at eye level as a reminder to change the plate.

My machine only came with one plate. I bought the straight stitch plate and mainly only use it for FMQ. I was breaking a lot of needles because I forgot to change it back. I painted the edges of the straight stitch plate with bright pink nail polish to remind me what plate I have on. It has helped a lot.

Same here. I mostly use the single needle plate, because I mostly piece and FMQ. I did have to buy it separately for my 2170 Pfaff and my old Pfaff. But after forgetting to change the plate and breaking needles when I switched to a decorative stitch, I had to mark the needle plate with a big white label from the label maker that says" SINGLE NEEDLE PLATE" . Sometimes it helps me to remember; sometimes I'm so used to it I STILL forget. But I love the single needle plate so much, I'm willing to risk the broken needle!