Quiltingboard Forums - feed dogs - any feedback///knowledge?

Quiltingboard Forums (https://www.quiltingboard.com/)

- Main (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/)

- - feed dogs - any feedback///knowledge? (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/feed-dogs-any-feedback-knowledge-t69153.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holice

I always wonder about the quality of the free motion quilting with the feed dogs engaged. Appears to me that the feed dogs are pulling your bottom fabric one direction while you hands are trying to pull the fabric in another.

This is what I have always found, and I find that I have to fight against the feed dogs, and my shoulders get sore. I have a friend tht leaves her feed dogs up, and she lowers her foot pressure, and she does professional-quality work, it's beautiful. So I guess you have to find what works for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tooMuchFabric

The walking foot uses a combination of the feed dogs up and engaged, moving the bottom layer along, as the walking foot is "stepping up and over" on top to allow the top layer and batting to move along with the bottom layer; then the foot comes back down and the machine makes a stitch. This allows you to make essentially "normal" lines of stitching through the thick layers with minimal shifting.

The feed dogs lowered position is used with FMQ or free-motion quilting so that you can move the quilt around freely as one layer as you stitch.
.

Yes, what she said!!!