sixglides Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 I'm considering purchasing a walking foot for my sewing machine. My daughters & I are novice quilters. Are we biting off too much to try & quilt their log cabin quilts ourselves vs. paying to have them done? (which is out of our price range, really). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy loves Bud Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 That's what I do. It doesn't have that "perfect" look of a long arm, but I am very happy with the results I've had, and I'm getting better all the time. I find straight line quilting much easier than free-motion (you need a darning foot for that) but I hope to get where I can do free-motion well, also. I say go for it. It helps to practice on a handful of small quilt sandwiches before you quilt your actual first quilt. Here's a picture of a quilt I recently completed on my machine with a walking foot: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixglides Posted July 2, 2010 Author Share Posted July 2, 2010 Beautiful quilts!! Any advice to a newbie, other than straight lines? I also saw a wide variety of walking feet, from $54 to $175 for my machine. How do you know which one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 (edited) Beautiful quilts Amy ! Sixglides, I never pay to have mine quilted. I do it all myself on my own machine. I do not know how to do free-motion yet so it is all straight lines. You can choose to either stitch-in-the-ditch, echo the outlines of shapes, or use painters tape to make a grid of straight or diagonal lines to follow. My machine has an integrated walking foot built in to it so I don't know anything about buying one. Edited July 2, 2010 by laundrycrisis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 I started off quilting my quilts and only started sending them out (sometimes) a few years ago. Quilting is fun! If you're planning to do much quilting, a walking foot is important to get. I can't tell you which foot to get--I don't know what kind of machine you have! Ask at the store. You will probably want a mid-range one. I paid $100 for mine, because I have a high-end machine, but my daughter's more average machine takes a $30 foot. I would not advise you to pay over $80 unless you're planning to do a lot of quilting! Log cabins lend themselves well to quilting patterns that go diagonally across the blocks, if you don't want to quilt each. and. every. seam. For example if you arrange the blocks in a diamond pattern, you can quilt diamonds. Or zig-zags on a zig-zag pattern. Etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iquilt Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 I quilt everything on my machine with a walking foot except for larger than a Queen size. I am finishing a King quilt that will go to a friend with a long arm machine, but otherwise I finish my own quilts on my machine. I have a Pfaff Creative 7570 that I've had for 9 years now and a larger table to support the heft of a larger quilt. I just can't squeeze anymore room out of it for a King size quilt. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy loves Bud Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Beautiful quilts!! Any advice to a newbie, other than straight lines? I also saw a wide variety of walking feet, from $54 to $175 for my machine. How do you know which one? I have a midrange Janome machine and I think I spent aroudn $30 for my foot, but it's been awhile, so I'm not sure. Also, my walking foot came with a quilting bar, so you don't need to use tape to mark off your straight lines, the bar will keep a standard distance for you. I would recommend you find a dealer near you who sells your brand of sewing machine. They are typically very helpful and will guide you to the right accessories. I got my walking foot at our local Janome dealer. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixglides Posted July 2, 2010 Author Share Posted July 2, 2010 We're in a rural area & our one supplier says the $175 foot is on indefinate backorder. Was looking online, for a walking foot for a Bernina activa 145 S...and there are several options. I really appreciate all your help/advice!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 I have quilted queen sized quilts on my Bernina. I have a walking foot that my mom got me for my birthday. I don't know what it cost, but it is a Bernna brand foot. I mostly quilt free motion, though. I find it extremely relaxing. And it isn't hard. One thing I do to make quilting easier is to put my sewing table next to the ping pong table. The ping pong table holds the weight of the quilt and keeps it from pulling. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.