Bobbinalong

I saw the Silesian system being demonstrated at the Festival of Quilts, Birmingham, UK this year and was tempted.

The 5" frame with the straight/curvy ruler and the meander insert came home with me, aswell as the low shank foot for my Janome 4800. So far, so good...... On the first attempt I pulled out an old orphan block and immediately stalled when I met the first seam (admittedly my seams may be better pressed these days) when the seam was 'encouraged' under the foot it jumped a little, making a couple of large stitches. As previously mentioned, most on line demos use a plain sandwich and don't tackle this issue.

Now I've read around this a little, I notice that an adjustable foot might be the way to go. Does anyone manage with a non adjustable foot or will I have to bite the bullet and invest? In the meantime I will keep practising.

I appreciate and help you can give.

rryder

Before I got my adjustable Janme foot I got so tired of moving the Westalee foot up and down on the shank that I began compensating by doing the following at thick intersections: 1. Take a stitch, manually raise needle (being careful to hold ruler and fabric in place. 2. Raise foot ny using either the knee lift or the hand lever, 3. Move fabric slightly (equivalent of 1stitch length), 4. Lower presser foot, 5. Take a stitch. 6. Repeat 1-6 until you are past the high spot. This was actually quicker than adjusting the Westalee foot each time I encountered a high spot. The Janome foot is much quicker since all you do is turn a thumb screw to raise or lower it.

I believe that both Juki and Bernina now make a ruler foot that has the thumb screw. Worth checking out.

Another option when dealing with a quilt with lots of bulky seams is to use a hopping ruler foot (that’s what is on my Sweet16), but I’m not sure anyone is making them for domestic machines.

Rob

cindyb

Do you have a link as to where you bought the non hopping foot? I so want to do this - but, I'm a little afraid of it.

coffeecozy

The versa tool would be a really good ruler to start with because you get a nice sized curve as well as a straight line with helpful ends and an angle. Like Angela's rulers it is a comfortable size to hold onto and keeps your fingers a decent distance from the needle, something I found helpful when I first started because there are so many things to pay attention to.

Irishrose2

I started my foray into ruler quilting. I used the Versatool for straight lines on a table runner. I used the curved ruler that came with the Westalee foot for an orange peel design on a king size quilt. The ruler snuck under the foot a few times and the foot is set as low as it can get. I assume that is a 301 problem, not a ruler problem. For me the CG rulers will be better because they are thicker than the Westalee, but I can use the Westalee if I'm observant.

Bobbinalong

Thanks for the reply Rob, I'll give that a try when I next practise. I got sidetracked with sewing string blocks today, you can't stop at just one can you?

Kassaundra

I bought it on amazon, not sure of the exact seller but it looks just like this and is the same price range. https://www.amazon.com/FQTANJU-Darni...oot+for+rulers

It can't be adjusted like Rob talks about, but my in expensive domestic machine didn't seem to mind it

TeresaA

I would definitely NOT start with a straight line ruler, unless you just want to practice, because straight lines are most easily doable with a walking foot as you already do. The straight line rulers were designed for longarm quilters that don't have a feed mechanism. They were downscaled to DSM's but I think they aren't needed there.

I would get something with a slight curve or clamshell. Or, get one of the spirograph type rulers if you can find a design you think you would use a bunch. Choosing a ruler is really more about how YOU would use a ruler than anything else. It depends on what you're trying to do.

rryder

Actually, using a straight ruler and your ruler foot is easier and faster than using a walking foot for straight line quilting since you don’t have to turn the quilt and you can use the marks on the ruler to keep your spacing accurate without having to do any marking once you’ve got the first line down. I use my straight line ruler more than any of the others for ruler work.

it’s also easier to learn to use your ruler foot if you start with a straight ruler since there is a little bit of a learning curve to ruler placement since your needle is 1/4” away from the edge of the ruler, and itks also easier to learn to keep the foot against the ruler if you start with one that has a straight edge.

Rob

quiltedsunshine

I'm using my Westalee rulers and Westalee ruler foot on my Bernina, and haven't had the same problems that Rob has. I tighten the foot down to its lowest setting and just go. The feed system on a Bernina is different. The feed dogs come up and goes down perpendicular to the needle plate surface. Most other machine feed dogs come up and down at an angle. That might be the difference.