LGJARN52

Lately I've taken to straight line quilting with my walking foot and having problems keeping the line straight even with the distance bar being used. That metal bar that is suppose to keep my distances at an even width seems to move making everything wonky. Ordered a new Janome Walking Foot and it doesn't have the metal bar for distance, so that was a waste of money. It's been suggested that I super glue my bar in place, but then I can't change it to a different distance for another quilt. Even tried Frog taping it in place and it's still a little wonky. How to do you keep your lines in place?

patricej

the bar from the old walking foot probably fits on the new one.

straight-line quilting is the one time i don't mind the extra step of using a ruler to draw lines with air or water soluble marker.
or ... sometimes i use painters' tape.

if you are more coordinated than i am you could also try laying a ruler down on the quilt to follow as you gol

LGJARN52

patricej....the new walking foot doesn't even have a place to insert the bar! I've tried drawing the lines and when I have to stop (needle down) and start up it jumps a stitch or two to the side. I think this one just hates me!

cashs_mom

It takes practice to get things right. I've learned that I have to start on with everything in place and not move the quilt so that doesn't happen.

b.zang

I tend to follow the lines in the quilt - aka stitch in the ditch. For other straight-line quilting I use painter's tape to keep my lines straight. I only use the spacer bar when quilting something small.

Maybe you want to invest in one of those lasers that point straight out from the needle.

Mkotch

I do a lot of quilting with my walking foot and have found that my needle jumps a stitch or two whenever I stop. So I try to stop at a seam. That seems to work for me. Don't forget that when it's all quilted and, perhaps, washed, your quilt will crinkle up a bit and hide those jigs and jogs. I mark with green Frog tape and also blue wash out pen most of the time. If the background is dark, I use a gray chalk pencil that rubs off. Enjoy!

Onebyone

I use my walking foot to quilt. I use Crayola Ultra Washable markers to draw the lines, every color has washed out. I use a straight line ruler to draw the lines made by Swanson Tool Company. The width is 2 " and I have the 4ft and 6ft one. It makes the drawing of the line so fast and very straight. Home Depot and Lowes use to sell them about $2 per foot of the ruler. They are bright yellow metal. I lay the long ruler in the center of the quilt and mark both sides if I want 2" width. then I flip the ruler over and keep marking to the edge. Start from the center line and mark the other side. Diagonal quilting is the same way, corner to corner.

LGJARN52

Onebyone.... I have metal yardsticks from Harbor Freight that I use, one is 1 " and the other is 2". I also use Crayola washable markers with the fine tip to mark my quilts. My problem is the walking foot itself, for some reason it wants to "scoot" over a stitch or two when I stop, if I don't notice it right away and keep sewing I have several feet of stitches that I have to rip out. Nothing I've come up with as of yet seems to correct the problem. Maybe I simply got a bad walking foot?

Onebyone

It's odd the Janome brand would do that. Do you have a shop nearby that you could demonstrate what it is doing when you sew with it? I never use the bar so can't help with that.

RedGarnet222

Maybe the screw that holds the bar in place isn't making the right contact to hold it in place. The bar should stay stable enough to keep it from moving about. I am not sure if you can take a walking foot in to have it examined. While the fabric is out of the machine does the foot wiggle about? Try looking at it with a magnifying glass to see if something is not aligning up. There are a few tiny bars and screws in most walking feet. Maybe one is crooked? Bent? I don't know your foot enough to know what could be making it not work right.
Another thing you could try is seeing if the shaft bar that holds the foot is not functioning right. Try regular fabric and a straight sewing foot to see how the straight line looks sewing regularly.
I hope you can determine the problem. It is frustrating to have a foot suddenly act up.