Free Motion Feet: Observations

Free motion feet can make all the difference in the success you'll have for various techniques.  Above, two of my favorite feet for my Berninas, the #29 plastic foot, and the #24 embroidery foot.  Each is perfect for various types of free motion quilting.

Both have a built-in spring so there is a gentle "hopping" action as the foot releases and then presses down as each stitch is made.  This not only creates an excellent stitch but gives you the feeling that feed dogs are working and you are not skating alone on the ice. 

If there is too much of the up/down action, decreasing the pressure on the foot with a control on the machine itself smooths everything out and will let you move the quilt more easily as well.  This works for thicker batts, excess puff you need to work in, bulky seams in pieced work.

Open toe or not?  I love my open toe foot for the precise type of quilting I do.  I need to see exactly where the needle is, where I am stitching over a previous line of quilting, if it is in the right place.  A closed toe would make it so hard to see these crucial points, and I would become tense and aching, hoping to hit the line or design point "just right."  A closed toe foot prevents this great visibility.  Tiny clamshells with a closed-toe foot are almost impossible for me, but easy with an open-toe foot.

However, if there are long smooth lines of quilting needed such as the spines/centers of feathers then I like the closed toe foot that seems to be designed to keep everything smooth and even, like an embroidery hoop around the needle.  It distributes the puff of the batt perfectly, and keeps the fabric from creeping along and forming little ripples between two line of opposite direction quilting. 

For stay stitching at the edge of the quilt or any straight line quilting done free motion in the quilt I love my closed toe #29 foot.  It makes the job easier.  But, as I quilt, I look ahead of the needle, not the needle itself.

Recently in my Paducah classes I saw the new Janome foot, below, photo by Ann Fahl and used with her permission. 

This foot comes with three options for the base, an open toe, a closed toe, and a large circular plastic foot with rings in it used as guides for spacing free motion quilting such as echo quilting.

What attracted my eye immediately to it was the built-in way to adjust it in the spring itself, on the foot itself.  Instead of adjusting how tight the foot sits on the quilt, you can easily change the foot itself to float more easily, to eliminate the hopping action, and glide instead, whatever you like.  It worked very well for those who had it on their Janomes.

Sometimes we don't realize the right tool will do the job better and make quilting so much easier and more relaxing.

Looking at these photos you can tell there is a more unobstructed view with my Bernina feet too. 

See what your machine has available.  Investigate.  Try out something new, or something you've had all along but is now in the back of some drawer.  And keep informed with what your brand of machine has available.  Sometimes, like the Janome foot, there is a new tool for you that is super. 

Visit your brand's website, join a forum online, go to your dealer and browse, but use your own best judgment about what will work best for your style of work.

Oliver likes the #29 foot best to kitty-hockey around the sewing room.  Sigh.

Keep quilting!  Your work gets better every day.

Diane

The Right Foot

Sometimes the right foot for free motion quilting makes all the difference in the end result.

Anyone who has read my books or taken my classes knows I highly recommend an "open toe" free motion foot. This foot lets you see directly, in an unbroken line, to the needle. You can aim with this foot. It is invaluable in doing detailed, precise quilting where each stitch counts.

However, there are other kinds of quilting that can be accomplished more successfully with a closed toe, larger foot, photo above. The Bernina #29 foot is included with most models for free motion quilting. It lets you see around and through it because it is clear plastic, is built with a nice spring bounce so you can "feel" the stitches as they happen, and works great for larger, allover designs. The size of it helps disperse the puff around the needle and keep distortion problems minimized. It is a great little problem solver!

However, because I rarely quilt those large allover designs my #29 foot languished sadly in my cabinet drawer. I discouraged students from using it. It strains your neck to peer into the tiny opening to see, for example, precise intersections that needed to be hit in Apple Core or Diane-shiko. I even suggested cutting an opening in the front to give you a visual doorway to the needle.

However! This past year I have found myself reaching for it many times for a few important jobs. In the photo above I used it for long straight lines in an undulating vine in a border motif. It controls the batting so well, flattens it down around the needle and disperses the puff beautifully so I can get even smooth stitches. The foot is doing so much of the work for me. I love it!

After those lines were stitched perfectly with this foot I switched to my usual #24 foot for the rest of the quilting.

I also love this bigger #29 foot for stay-stitching raw quilt edges down. It smoothly rides over batting edges too and controls the edge so this becomes an easy feat to accomplish. I was tired of getting batting caught in the toes of my open toe foot, the top part of the quilt moving along and getting pleats stitched in.

Any long lines, even long cross hatch grid lines, work best with this foot.

Every machine manufacturer has a variety of feet for free motion quilting. Check them out, try each one to see what it does best. It takes a moment to switch them out and I love having the right tool for the job.

Below, my trusty #24 open toe foot that I use for most of my free motion quilting. It gives me incredible visibility plus that open unobstructed view to the needle is invaluable for relaxed quilting, and precise quilting.

Below, some recent quilting where I used both feet successfully. The long curved lines were done with my new friend, the plastic #29 foot, and the remaining quilting was done with my old best friend, the open toe #24 foot.

I did not use the magnifier for the long lines. I like to see the "whole field" and just aim for a point for smoothness. It doesn't have to be in sharp focus. Indeed, the magnifier doesn't work that great for this kind of work.

However, when I did the close background quilting, or even the precise Diane-shiko, I did use the magnifier. I love it. I have one especially for my Bernina, but there are generics available for all machines if you have eye problems, or just want to see what you're doing a little larger.


Take some time to find out what feet you have, what are available, and what works best for each particular type of quilting.

Keep quilting! Your work gets better every day.
Diane