Right Foot or Wrong Foot?

I found this post over at Cluck Cluck Sew about the difference between sewing feet (foots?). Is everyone else just using the foot that came with their machine like I am? Or have I been living under a rock when it comes to the right or wrong foot to use? I figure if everyone is using the foot that came with their machine, it wont really matter in the long run, and all finished measurements will be the same.

Cluck Cluck Sew post, "It's all in the Foot"...

"One of those things that nobody tells you when you start quilting is how important the right foot is. When I started, I just figured that the foot that came on my machine was an exact 1/4” foot….when really the foot that came on my machine had a seam allowance from the edge to the needle of 3/8”. It doesn’t sound like a big difference, but believe me…when your making a log cabin block or anything with a lot of piecing…your finished blocks end up way smaller.

The one on the left came on my machine (a Bernina), the one on the right is a 1/4” patchwork foot I bought (with a handy guide on the side so you can pound a bag of Doritos and sew at the same time).

The stitches down below show the difference….the left is the 3/8” seam allowance, and the right seam is the exact 1/4” allowance. Pretty big difference huh?

Anyways…the point is, that most machines come with a foot with an allowance of 3/8” and not 1/4” like many believe. So when your making a pattern that calls for a 1/4” seam allowance, you might end up with some small and un-matching blocks and seams if you’re not using the right foot. I know this from experience(s)(s)(s).

P.S. For a long time I compensated for not having the right foot by bumping my needle position over to the right a couple of spaces. On my machine I could bump it from a O to a 2 and it was an exact 1/4”. But..make sure you measure the needle settings on your machine before you try it."