leggz48

This is the best advice......since you can't move the needle, just figure out how to place your fabric through. I've managed to identify a specific location ON THE PRESSER FOOT because I too don't want to have to remove any guides to get to the bobbin. Good Luck!

sewgray

I would start the seam with a scrap of material and butt your piece up to it. That way you don't start on the edge.
There are different names for this technique, but I can't think of any of them right now.

bearisgray

Originally Posted by Pat M.
If you have a machine that has a needle that can be shifted around, move it to the 1/4" site. I measure from the right side of the foot to the needle and then move the needle to where the 1/4" would be. Also, do you have any lined 3X5" cards? The lines are 1/4" apart and I use them for measuring where the 1/4" is. Put you needle on one of the lines and look at where you sewing should be.



This is the best advice......since you can't move the needle, just figure out how to place your fabric through. I've managed to identify a specific location ON THE PRESSER FOOT because I too don't want to have to remove any guides to get to the bobbin. Good Luck!

Or another way to say that:

Using a 3 x 5 lined index card -

If your needle does not move - or only has left, center, and right positions:
Put your needle on one of the lines
Note where the line on the card is to the right of the needle on the foot
That is where the edge of your fabric should be

If your needle position can be moved teeny amounts:

Put the edge of the presser foot next to a line on the card
Move the needle so that it comes down on the line to the left (if you are going for scant - then so it's a teeny bit to the right of the line.

After figuring out where 1/4 inch is on one of my machines, I just make a mental (or sticky) note to myself - I really don't worry about a 1/4 inch foot or marking my machine.

However - if your machine is feeding the fabric very wonkily - I agree with the others - there might be something wrong with how the feed dogs are operating.

If you are going

scrappingfaye58

One of my guild members spent an afternoon working with anyone interested in perfecting that elusive 1/4" seam... turned out, a major part of MY problem, was my PRESSER FOOT!!! It wobbled as it sewed, so no matter how careful I was, it was WRONG... I sewed on HER machine and my piecing was PERFECT!!! sooooo.... now, I use a different foot on my machine, and it is much better...

quiltmom04

This is my suggestion,too. I have a single needle plate for my machine, and it not only helps with the 1/4" seam, but in that annoying way it sometimes will pull the fabric in at the beginning of a seam. With the single needle plate, it doesn't do that anymore. But I have had to put a big read mark and use the label maker to make a "single needle plate" tag right on the plate, because I kept forgetting it was on there and broke LOTS of needles when I switched to a decorative or zig zAg stitch .

paulswalia

is your needle centered, or has it been moved left or right of center? If the fabric is not being fed evenly by both feed dogs, it would tend to pull to one side. could have happened during service!

BobbiG

Are you using a straight stitch throat plate? That's the one with the small neeldle hole. Also make
sure you are using a sharp needle.

MaggieLou

I let my fabric feed through my right hand and hold my left index finger next to the fabric as is goes under the presser foot. It seems to help keep a straight stitch. It could also be your feed dogs not working properly.

flybreit

How frustrating for you! There are a lot of good suggestions here and I am going to add two more (thought it was just one, but have already thought of another :-/ ). 1) since you have a shop to service the machine, check with them for their suggestions - tell them what is happening if you didn't do that when you had it in for service; 2) very helpful tip I learned in my last quilting class - reduce your PRESSER FOOT tension (not the thread tension) to 4 or 4.5 - it doesn't 'push' the fabric around and made a huge difference for me. Good luck!

ShirlinAZ

I have a top loading bobbin also, and I like to use painters tape in addition to my 1/4" foot. I positioned the painters tape, then used an X-acto knife to cut around the bobbin cover. Worked like a charm. The tape is always there without any repositioning.

Why do I use both tape and 1/4" foot, you ask? When using squares to sew HSTs I like up the corners on the tape and I don't waste time drawing diagonal lines. It really does work.