JTink
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VA USA
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Date: 11/2/12 8:42 AM I have a Kenmore 18221 and am thinking about purchasing a walking foot. I do my own machine quilting for purses and totes. I'm not a quilter , but can get by with this sort of thing. I have heard that a walking foot is very helpful when sewing the "sandwich". I have never been able to get the bottom and top to come out even after I've done the quilting. My question: Is there a certain type of walking foot that I should use? I've been on line and found walking feet for this machine, but there seems to be different types. I'm super tight with a dollar and don't want to go into a lot of expense. Any suggestions? |
PattiAnnJ
 
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Date: 11/2/12 11:11 AM Choose according to the type of shank on the sewing machine the foot is intended for; high shank, low shank or slant shank.
I prefer a foot with an open toe and wide needle opening so you can move the needle position (if the machine has this option) and zig-zag stitching.
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hazelnut
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Date: 11/2/12 1:05 PM JTink,
Hi, how have you been!  I don't quilt either, but puchased the walking foot for my 16231 (which I believe is almost identical to your SM) to sew knits without stretching out the hems...and it works great BTW. When I ordered mine from Sears, there were only 2 types available, one for horizontal bobbin and one for vertical bobbin machines. You could purchase just the Wfoot or, for another $5 or 10, get the Walking foot with the quilting bar, the "stitch-in-the-ditch" foot, the darning foot and the clear plastic open-toe craft foot - I purchased the 4 in 1 package. If you have the top, drop-in bobbin, then you need the Walking foot for horizontal machines. My WF has a large open toe. I've only used it once to sew 2 different fabrics together (slippery nylon and fleece) and it worked nicely once I got the presser foot pressure set correctly. However, I have no idea how much more helpful it would be for sandwich quilting. Hopefully someone else does.
Don't know if Sears still sells them, but the # on the box was: 20 6702. It would be a pity if you had to pay more for the Janome foot, but perhaps they have more options.
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ETA here's the link Kenmore WF and wow! it's almost doubled in price. When I purchased mine it was $29.95 for the set and the WFoot alone was Either $19.95 or $24.95 - can't remember, so getting 3 more feet, (esp. 2 feet that I thought I would and *do* use) was the better choice. Someone must be selling it for less - can't believe the price went up that much in less than 2 years! I'd definitely be waiting for some sort of sale - I can see why you are questioning the need (and which one) before purchasing.
Hmm, I also see that they are still selling the Wfoot alone for $20 and with the bar for $25, so I *really* don't understand why the WF package jumped up so much in price. 
-- Edited on 11/2/12 2:04 PM -- |
JTink
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Date: 11/2/12 6:55 PM Thanks ladies. I've been trying to justify purchasing one of these. I've been sewing for so long with out all the "speciality" feet and feel like I'm wimping out when I do purchase one(like the rolled hem foot fiasco) |
Miss Fairchild
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Date: 11/2/12 7:42 PM A walking foot is more than likely the most expensive foot you'll ever own. I have one for my Singer slants ($25+), one for my Janome ($20+) and I've seen then for Berninas at $45+. ------
"We don't impose our rhythm on Nature. The key is to respect and live within Her." Jean-Charles Boisset, Winemaker
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AminaHijabi
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Date: 11/2/12 11:29 PM Its totally worth it. What's really great is the Janome convertable walking foot set. It has guide for stitch in the ditch which is really nice. You have a low shank horizontal hook (horizontal bobbin) machine. And your machine takes Janome feet. Very worth the price. |
HowSewBlogger
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CA USA
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Date: 11/3/12 0:10 AM JTink,
I am not sure about the type of walking foot appropriate for your machine, but I have a walking foot and it works very nicely. I had mostly used it for sewing knits, but recently, I made a baby quilt where I used it. (I am not a quilter normally.) I tried quilting the "sandwich" with the regular foot, and the layers didn't line up at all, not even close. When I ripped out the stitches and quilted the "sandwich" with the walking foot, it made a HUGE difference.
I think I would have tossed the quilt project out of frustration had I not tried using the walking foot on it.
I find the walking foot to be quite useful. ------
http://howsew.blogspot.com/ |
PortlandMaine
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ME USA
Member since 1/29/11
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Date: 11/3/12 0:19 AM I had a walking foot once and it worked nice
- but, It made a lot of noise and that bothered me at the time -- I still used it, but wanted to bring up the noise part in case you are sensitive to noise.
------
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sewgramma
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WA USA
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In reply to PortlandMaine << 1 member likes this.
Date: 11/3/12 1:47 AM Oh, I know what you mean about noisy walking feet. The one for my Bernina is noisy & also big & clunky....works great though. You said you had a walking foot once...so you don't use one now? If not, how do you avoid puckers when quilting your sandwich? I'm a total newbie at quilting & have only made a couple of them. I've just done channel type quilting so far & have had trouble with some puckering even with a walking foot. Oh, maybe I missed it somewhere, but maybe you FMQ so you don't need a walking foot. I wanna know your tricks dude! |
PortlandMaine
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Date: 11/3/12 2:23 AM Hey you -
I had a walking foot on my first Viking - then had a few Pfaff's with IDT and did lots of channel quilting with those machine and the IDT engaged!
I dont use a walking foot on the Grand Quilter - its the only machine I have now - I still channel quilt sometimes -- I find If the foot pressure is a little lower than usual there are less top puckers - and if the quilt is supported well so the machine is really just moving the quilt across the feed dogs instead of having to pull the quilt though the machine -- does that describe a difference?
I also usually support the quilt weight by putting a table beside my chair on the left when I quilt ..
I also notice that doing a good press helps -
For keeping the bottom good -- well, good feeding helps -- I dont really pin -- (though Im sorta starting to pin baste) .. and fibers that are like fibers sorta cling together - that helps keep bottoms flat --
I liked the feeding on all of the machines Ive had -- 9mm and SS -- I cant say I notice a huge diff --
I hope any of that helps?? Its 230am here -- Im sleepy! ------
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