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Monday 6 June 2016

Thinking about some new feet.

I hear good things about a Walking Foot and they had them recently on the Sewing Bee.
I'm looking to buy one from a reputable supplier (not cheap chinese import) and just wondered what the main pluses would be of having one? This would be for my normal sewing machine which is a Janome Memory Craft 4000,
The one I am looking at is this one which I'm told by the seller will fit my Janome machine.


I'm also looking to get a binding attachment for my Janome Coverpro 1000 CP as this seems to make attaching binding and FOE easier for some people. Does anyone have any tips on what to get (particularly with a picture of the attachment itself?)
The two main styles I have seen look like this


Is one preferred to the other?

Thanks Ruthie
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Updated to add that the Janome Coverpro apparently needs the specialist foot. It looks like this.


These are available but are about £89 each which is a lot of money!

6 comments:

Fiona V said...

Hi Ruthie,
The feet you've pictured look like they are for a standard sewing machine, not a Coverstitch one. Check out Debbie's Coverstitch information on the Stitches and Seams blog, she has a heap of really useful videos and hints. I do have a couple of binders for my Janome CPX !000 and I love the finished result - but be warned I have found it to be a steep learning curve to get the result I want. As for a walking foot for your standard machine - go for it! Mine is hardly ever off my machine - I use it for everything I don't need a specialised foot for.

patsijean said...

Hey, Ruthie,

Fiona is correct regarding the sewing feet. I am not familiar with the coverstitch binders, I do have one, but the learning curve is steep. The binder foot for the sewing machine, pictured just below the walking foot is a foot I am very familiar with. I used it quite often when binding necklines on tops, sleeves, pant hem for my pj's. I leave one seam open, bind the edge, sew the seam and trim. Not quite couture in technique, but the results are wonderful. Perfect every time. I love making my own binding for this technique.

Jenni said...

Walking feet are a good investment. They give you both top and bottom feed so stop layers slipping. I use mine mainly for quilting but have occasionally used it for garments. Quite honestly the lack of frequent use on garments is more from forgetting to try it than from any lack of usefulness. It lives in its own box away from the main feet storage so gets overlooked. Bit of a knack to getting the foot on the machine. On my machine you have to locate the arm onto the screw on the side of the needle assembly before wiggling the foot shank into place but it always goes on..... eventually.
I can't comment on binders but will be observing your progress with interest in that area as I often wonder how useful one might be.

Gabrielle said...

You've probably already proceeded with the feet you want, and I can't say anything about cover stitch machines, but I have a Janome Memory Craft sewing machine and I have that walking foot and it is well worth the investment. It sews slippery fabrics so beautifully, and does a brilliant job joining a slippery to a not so slippery fabric (with the shiftier fabric underneath). Oh and it's also fine for regular sewing! I tend to keep it on most of the time - I change it over for a more basic plastic foot when I need to be able to see the fabric underneath, and otherwise just change over for zipper feet or an edge stitching foot.

Eva said...

Have you purchased one of the feet? I got my walking foot half a year ago and just cannot understand what took me so long. First, if you are sewing wovens together, eg. straight side seams, you don't need to pin. And I use it for knits- lowering the foot pressure is not that vital anymore and again, often no pinning required. When topstitching knits (eg.at neckline, with ribbing attached) no more wavy seams. Worth every cent.
The binder: if you attach tge binding to, say, the neckline with a binder, it is done on the ooen farment. So one shoulder seam is still open, you sew on the binding, shoulderseam is closed. It is done in RTW but not everyone likes it. Attaching the binding is easier when you spray a little bit of starch onto the band. I use a binder a lot on my sewing machine, but for kids clothes only. Not sure if I would buy one for the coverstitch, becazse of tge shoulder seam finish.

Eva said...

Have you purchased one of the feet? I got my walking foot half a year ago and just cannot understand what took me so long. First, if you are sewing wovens together, eg. straight side seams, you don't need to pin. And I use it for knits- lowering the foot pressure is not that vital anymore and again, often no pinning required. When topstitching knits (eg.at neckline, with ribbing attached) no more wavy seams. Worth every cent.
The binder: if you attach tge binding to, say, the neckline with a binder, it is done on the ooen farment. So one shoulder seam is still open, you sew on the binding, shoulderseam is closed. It is done in RTW but not everyone likes it. Attaching the binding is easier when you spray a little bit of starch onto the band. I use a binder a lot on my sewing machine, but for kids clothes only. Not sure if I would buy one for the coverstitch, becazse of tge shoulder seam finish.