I recently bought a 1/4" pressure foot. Love love love it! I have a Singer Pro and a Brothers 1/4" pressure foot fit my machine and was $16.00 at local Shappley's store.
I did try the methods of mole skin, post it note strips, etc to mark a 1/4" line. My seam(s) still varied just enough to cause the piecing to be 'off'. Accurate cutting and accurate seam allowance will make your experience much more enjoyable. Good luck with your first quilt. Beware: quilting is addictive :) Something else I learned: the ending portion of my seams were vearing to the right....I learned to keep my free hand on the material until all of it passed under the needle. Amazing what a difference this made in the seams. |
I always use the 1/4 inch foot with a guide. I've thought about buying the "Little Foot" but paying over $20 for a little piece of plastic is rather expensive.
|
Originally Posted by charsuewilson
(Post 5887764)
You don't really need a 1/4" foot. You just need to know where the 1/4" seam allowance. You can mark your machine with a piece of tape or something else, including a pen. I do have a 1/4" foot for one machine, but not the other.
I use the Perkins Perfect Quarter Inch Seam Guide (a short yellow ruler) to set the measurement for the scant quarter inch on my machine. Cheers, K |
I still use blue painters tape
|
I also have purchased the 1/4" foot, while it can be helpful, it can cause a train wreck at the end of your seems. Not enough foot to hold the material, when I use the 1/4 I have to use my seam ripper or chop stick to make sure it feeds at a 1/4 inch at the end of the seam. Lots of good ideas here!
|
I love the 1/4 inch foot with guide. I have one for all of my machines. I make perfect seams, no problem. I would recommend one highly. Welcome to the quilting world. Have fun. Another thing I would highly recommend is June Tailor's Shape Cut rulers. The Shape Cut rulers make cutting strips so easy and very accurate.
|
Happy to see this question and will try some of the suggestions.
|
Thanks everyone.. I think I will go ahead and buy the one wit a guide and go from there.. They are both the same price with or without the guide so wanted to order the better one! :) .. I realize everyone is different, but I will try!. Thank you for all the ideas.. I am sure I will use them all along the way!
|
Originally Posted by stchenfool
(Post 5889628)
I believe your best foot is the regular foot on your machine. Marci Baker uses Qtools, Corner Cut 60 and Sewing Edge - this product is amazing. More accurate and much less expensive than 1/4" foot. Good luck!
|
Originally Posted by mcfay
(Post 5887583)
I have sewn garments and interior decorating for years. I got use to making the wider seams and even using a regular foot with the 1/4 markings I found I was still making the seams too wide for quilting. I bought the 1/4" foot with the guide from Amazon and I LOVE it. I don't sew too much with pins but when I have to use a pin I try and put it in from the left, that way I can pull it out closer to the foot than when I put it in from the right.
The only thing I don't like about the foot is I have a top loading bobbin and I have to raise the pressure foot to take the plastic cover off the bobbin case. I have no problems going over seams because I turn one, one way and the other one the other way. That keeps the seams from being too thick and lets them match more. |
Mine does have a guide and I love it!!!
|
I would definitely get the one with the guide. I couldn't piece without mine!
|
The 1/4" foot really improved my seams, but I'm thinking I'm going to add Jan's method in addition to it, in order to have the guide start farther to the front than the foot does alone. I love that it's stuff I have around the house and that will not mar the machine bed or create a sticky mess to get off later. Just coincidentally you could use it to jot down handy reminders about the order to sew some blocks or just a tally of your progress. Thanks, Jan!!!
|
This is the machine and set-up that I have too! But, I use my extension table and it also has the markings. I use the foot with the guide and then "bump" my needle over six "clicks" to the right for a scant 1/4" seam. The needle will still go through the single-hole foot with not problem.
Originally Posted by Amythyst02
(Post 5889191)
I use the 1/4 with guide and it does a great job of keeping it straight. But my machine also has the markings for the 1/4 on it, which I use as well. The markings on the machine are much longer than on most machines. [ATTACH=CONFIG]398103[/ATTACH]
You can see the markings on my machine from this picture. I don't think any other machines have this ... but I could be wrong too. |
Your walking foot should be a quarter inch foot. Put it on your machine and lower the foot to the bed. It should be one quarter inches. If it is not, go the the manual that came with your machine. It should list all the additional feet you can get.
|
All times are GMT -8. The time now is 10:18 AM. |