mea12

I have a wonderful 403 but have never tried to FM on it. I wonder if anyone has used this machine successfully for that purpose and should I be concerned that the slant needle would be problematic at all? I have been down-sizing my vintage gals and am now left with 3 favorites..this 403, and 2 FW's one of which I will probably sell. My 6600 has been getting tired lately. Not sure I want to buy new for this purpose because i'm now sending the big ones out...and I find i can do quite a lot with the machine's decorative stitches along with tying or big-stitch. I guess if i were to try FM with the 403, would i just use the darning foot that came with it or is there something better ?? THANKS ALL for advice!

bkay

I recently bought a darning foot at an estate sale for my 401 and started to play with FMQ. I've not accomplished anything yet, as piecing is taking most of my quilting time. I posted on VictorianSweatshop.com and someone there uses either a 401 or a 403 for FMQ.

I'm interested in responses you receive.

bkay

Irishrose2

I like my slant needle 301 for FMQ. I feel I can see where I'm going better than with a low shank 15. The 301 has a vertical bobbin which feeds the bobbin thread well. I'm not sure about the 400 series. Minus - the vertical bobbin holds less thread. I use a big plastic foot, but am interested in trying a small metal one that came with my other 301.

OurWorkbench

Sorry, I don't FMQ, but I do a lot of research and reading. Most say the the horizontal bobbin is not the best for FM. I've read that the 301, which has a slant shank, has a vertical bobbin and the feed dogs drop, is good for FM but does not have a large harp space. I tried some darning on a 301 and I really liked the slant shank for that purpose. I used the beehive spring that goes around the needle rather than a FM foot.

You might want to check out Singer 401 Help Needed as there have been some that have been successful but not with the instructions in the manual. You might want to check out post #11 at Looking for sewing machine to do free motion quilting?

bkay, I thought I remember something about FM on one of the 400 or 500 series on VSS, but I couldn't find it. My "google fu" has been failing me lately.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

mea12

Thank you all so much for replying! Sounds like I might just at least try the 403 but not have high expectations...I appreciate the links, Janey..helpful and thank you!!