I have a confession to make.

One of my favourite sewing feet is one that I didn’t discover until recently. I quilted many a quilt without it! And now that I’ve discovered it, I don’t know how I lived without it for so long.

Photo credit: Janome.com

A walking foot is also sometimes referred to as an even feed foot. It is especially useful for sewing bulky items – like quilts, or tricky fabrics like fleeces, minky and even vinyl and leather. It has a mechanism that moves the fabric on the top along as the feed dogs on your machine move the bottom layer of fabric. The dual action of the feed moves your fabric through the machine at the same rate and helps prevent puckering and shifting.

I don’t know why it took me so long to discover this fabulous, albeit funny looking, accessory. I can even remember a sewing friend of mine asking how I did straight-line quilting if I didn’t use my walking foot.

Truth be told, I did it, but I was always frustrated with how my fabric puckered and didn’t lie flat.

One of the techniques I use most with the walking foot is stitching in the ditch.

And probably the second most often used technique for my walking foot is for sewing on binding. It’s especially useful with all that bulky fabric.

Many Janome machines include a walking foot. My Skyline S7 came with this one which is a bit different than the one I used on my previous Janome machines.

You can see how the metal piece in the back clips into place.

Note: I’m just pointing to the spot with my machine’s screw driver for reference. To lock this piece into place I just use my finger.

If your machine didn’t come with a walking foot, you can certainly buy an optional accessory to fit your machine model.  Your local Janome dealer can help you determine which is the correct walking foot for your machine.

If you use your walking foot at lot, like I do now, and especially if you are using  it for quilting with a lot of fluffy batting, you may need to provide a bit of maintenance for your walking foot to keep it clean and operating smoothly.

I find my walking foot accumulates a fair amount of lint over time. An easy way to clean it out is to get a pipe cleaner and just gently insert it in a few spots. This is generally enough to keep this attachment running smoothly.

Have you used the walking foot for your Janome machine? Anyone else a walking foot fanatic like me? What is your favourite use for it? If you having used it, are you thinking of using it now?

What’s your favourite foot attachment for your Janome sewing machine?