"Perfect" 1/4 inch foot - Singer 237
 

What I think is kind of interesting/amusing -

The "all-purpose foot" - which is the only one that came with some of the Singer 237's that I have - is the one I use for that "perfect" 1/4 inch seam - as long as I have the needle at the center position setting.

The Singer 237 is an early 1960's machine that is considered a Plain Jane machine - but I am fond of them.

that's so great to have the perfect 1/4"

Even my Bernina 1/4 foot is not accurate. You would think all pro expert brands could have an accurate 1/4 foot for their machines.

you have to take into consideration how the fabric is fed through the machine...

i would be willing to bet that if any six of us used the same machine with the same foot and the same settings, that maybe two of us would end up with "exactly" the same seam allowance.

I agree with you here but I will say that I get the same exact 1/4" with the zig zag(all purpose) foot on all my vintage zig zag machines.

Cari

Good for you. My two piecing machines have very narrow feet. a Singer 301 and a Singer 15 clone made by Montgomery Wards. The other person who sews in our quilt group uses the foot on a Singer - probably from the 80s and it's wider than a 1/4" which is why we can't work on the same quilt. I just adjust the screw on metal dam I use to get my 1/4" to match hers, but I'm not sure I want to train my brain that that is a 1/4" when it's wider.

That's one reason that I prefer to play "beside" rather than "with" when assembling things.

I was just going to post on this! Last night my friend and I got together to sew strips together for a huge 9 patch she is making. I have a Singer and she has a Janome. We both tested our 1/4" and they were way off! Our general purpose foots were within a thread width or two, so we went with that!

What works for us is that I do the cutting and she does the sewing. She's better at staying in one place than I am. Another who refuses to sew, presses and is our gopher (go get me ---). This week we will be working on two separate quilts so it won't be an issue. Another person puts in the ties - these are prayer quilts so they need ties for the congregation members to tie as they pray for the recipient.