Tutorials: Machine Quilting

Walking Foot Quilting

What do you use a walking foot for when quilting?

Many quilters think that you use the walking (even feed) foot for ditch stitching and nothing else. I use it for several processes in the quilt:

Ditch stitching the top to the backing (lining) through the sandwich
Attaching the binding
Straight line or grid quilting
Continuous curve quilting
Free form cables

What should I look for in a walking foot?

A walking foot is designed to move (feed) the top fabric under the needle at the same rate as the feed dogs are moving the bottom fabric, eliminating puckering or pleating.

The space between both the foot feed dogs or sliders and the machine feed dogs must be equal or this won't happen.

You MUST buy the correct foot for YOUR machine brand and model.

A generic foot may not match the feed dogs in your machine and you won't achieve what you need to happen.

To top

Attaching the binding

If you attempt to attach a binding to your quilt with a utility foot, then the top will slide along as you sew, and the quilt will be puckered underneath the binding when you turn it back. If you apply the binding with the walking foot attached, then you should avoid this problem.

Straight line or grid quilting

Sewing a grid across the quilt surface can be a trap for unwary players, without the walking foot attached to your machine. Pulling along the rows is a result that you want to avoid.

Many walking feet have a guide arm which attaches so you can quilt in set distances from the previous row, for a grid or line pattern.