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What Quilters Need To Know About Using Walking Foot

For those who have already been using a walking foot for quilting, you know well how these tools can be for the job. For those who have not known about this, I highly recommend buying one. So far, it has been one of my best investments as a quilter.

What A Walking Foot Is

A walking foot

This foot is known by a few names, the most popular are walking foot, even foot, or a quilting foot. It has another set of feed dogs to guide the fabric through the sewing machine at an even pace. This foot is useful when you have to sew a few layers of fabric together.

For quilting, it helps to keep the three layers, the top, the batting, and the backing together when you quilt. Another function of this foot is that you can use it to sew gentle curves or quilt in the ditch.

A walking foot and the best sewing machine for beginners are the right pairs to quilt just anything you want. For a sewing machine like that, read this article Which is The Best Sewing Machine For Beginners to choose a good beginner sewing machine.

What To Use The Walking Foot For

1 - Straight Line Quilting

Bunching and puckering are common issues in quilting. The main cause of them is when the feed dog pushes the bottom layer, a regular foot tends to keep the top traveling in the opposite direction. A walking foot can greatly reduce the chances which these problems happen.

The extra set of feed dogs on a walking foot will balance out the forces and keep all the layers to be guided through the sewing machine at the same pace.

2 - Sew Extra Long Seams

A universal presser foot guides the fabrics through the sewing machine unevenly. This is not a problem for short seams because the imperfection cannot be seen with bare eyes. However, when you sew extra-long seams, the mistakes will accumulate, and when sooner or later, they will show and become a real problem.

There are a few places where you cannot avoid sewing these seams, for example, backs, borders, and sashings. In this case, use a walking foot to feed the fabric evenly through the sewing machine. If you want to be extra careful, use some pins to hold the layers together.

3 - Binding-Attaching

For most quilting projects, the last step will be sewing the bindings on. It means you will have to attach two layers of binding on a half-finished project that has already had three layers of fabrics.

As with when you quilt with three layers, a walking foot will guide the whole thing through in an even speed so that you can avoid creating gathers and puckers.

4 - Whenever You Feel Needed

Like I said earlier, a universal foot does feed the fabric through the sewing machine at an uneven speed. So why do you not use your walking foot all the time to make sure you avoid this problem?

With a walking foot, you may think of buying a cheaper sewing machine for beginners if you have a tight budget, as the foot has helped with so many tasks already. If you do not know what your choices for these machines are, read these Top Picks Of The Best Starter Sewing Machine For Beginners Under $200 to find out.

What To Remember When You Purchase A Walking Foot

Sewing machine brands manufacture their own walking feet

A walking foot cannot go with any random sewing machine so make sure you check your sewing machine model before buying. Some models also have a foot like this in their accessory set.

Sewing machine brands manufacture their own walking feet that go with sewing machines for beginners from the same brand or products from other brands.

In case you cannot find one that is perfectly compatible with your basic sewing machine, a generic one might work. However, to pick a foot of that kind, you need to know exactly if your beginner sewing machine has a low-shank or a high-shank. See the manual and find out.

If you quilt a lot, you can consider purchasing a walking foot that has a channel guide attachment, which can be useful when you sew parallel lines.

If you need to do a lot of stitching in the ditch, a walking foot with an open toe is what you want. This tool lets you see where the needle will penetrate the fabrics.

What If A Walking Foot Breaks?

This foot can break like any other tool if you use it constantly and for a long tie. If you sew in reverse, the whole foot can be damaged. The plastic part can be broken and the bottom part can come off. For any problem that involves the metal parts, you may need to replace the foot, but if just the plastic case is damaged, buying a new case will do.

How To Maintain The Foot

When you clean and maintain your beginner sewing machine, do not forget to do the same for your walking foot to keep the dust from getting inside. Just like the machine, the foot needs to stay in the best shape, even the best basic sewing machine needs regular maintenance and so does the foot.

For some information on these entry level sewing machines for anyone who needs it, check this guide Best Entry Level Sewing Machine For Beginners for more detail.

When the foot has constant problems or it is something you cannot solve yourself, take it to the local dealers to be serviced.

Here is how to maintain a walking foot on your own:

-Unscrew the screws and take the plastic case off. Take pictures of each step if this is the first time you do this task so that you remember what part goes where.

-Oil the pivot and then push the pivot level down and ensure that the spring can pull it back up easily.

-Pull the forked level out and add a drop of oil to the space.

-Check the silver bearings to see if they can be tuned properly. If they are not, the arm under them may be bent. To solve this problem, you can bend it back.

-Turn the foot upside down and see if there is any wrong. If not, start to assemble the foot back together.

Now that you know the basics of sewing machine walking feet. For more guides on sewing machine parts as well as which is the best sewing machine for beginners, visit CraftsSelection for the latest updates.