Stitch Length
 

What stitch length should I use when doing a straight stitch using a walking foot ?

doing piecework, or actual quilting? lots of people use their walking foot or even feed system for both.

I was once told that my stitch length is too short for piecing...so, I'm interested in hearing what others say. I was using a short length because the 1/4" seam allowance seem to fray a lot and I didn't want them to open up.

I use 2.4 stitch length - which is 2.4mm long - for piecing and with my walking foot for quilting. It holds together pretty well. It’s a bit of a pain to undo (which I do frequently). It rarely comes apart unless I’ve been rough with a piece or it’s had a lot of handling. I sometimes overstitch if the edge of two pieces have come apart - I did that 3 times on the baby quilt I’m making now.

I’m a beginner quilter though so wait for someone who knows what theY are talking about to reply but this works for me.

My machine has a walking foot built in so I've been using one for more than ten years and never thought about whether or not the stitch length should be different just because of the walking foot. Why should it be? I adjust stitch length depending on what I'm doing; a longer length when quilting and a shorter length when paper piecing. Sometimes I adjust because of the thread, but never thought of the walking foot making a difference. I'm interested in hearing from the experts on this!

Some sewing manual and some sewing machines with sewing advisors built in, will indicate what stitch length to use. For example, my Bernina 475 will automatically use a 2.5 length stitch for sewing construction, a 2.0 length stitch for piecing, and a 3.0 length stitch for quilting. I don't think using a walking foot would make much difference if you are doing the same thing. I do use a walking foot when quilting and yep, I just usually use a longer stitch for that.
My Bernina has a ? button that I can use to tell me what the stitch is and what it is used for. And I do have a separate quilting and utility menu to pick from.

Piecing 2.0. Quilting 3-3.5. Foot doesn’t matter.

I don't use a walking foot. I do use a 2.0 length for piecing and do hand quilting. I wonder if a 2.0 is the same for all machines. Seems like there'd be a chart of stitch length to number somewhere. I'll have to do a test and see if 2.0 is the same for all of my machines.

My machine has built in computerized settings, my 1/4" setting stitch length is 1.8. My needle centered is a 2.4 stitch length. I sometimes lengthen the center setting when FMQ to 2.8 or 3.0, depending on the color of the thread and the effect I am going for.

For piecing 2.0, for foundation paper piecing 1.5, for quilting with a walking foot 2.5 - 3.0.