What is a Walking Presser Foot?
A walking foot for a sewing machine is essential for upholstery tasks, especially automotive, marine, or aviation work. Unlike standard machines, it has two separate moving feet: the needle foot, which moves with the needle, and the presser foot, which moves independently. This setup helps hold multiple fabric layers securely in place, ensuring that materials don’t shift or misalign during sewing.
The walking presser foot has an extra set of feed dogs that feed fabric evenly from the top and bottom, reducing strain on the machine and evenly feeds fabric layers through the machine, helping prevent shifting and puckering, especially with bulky materials or multiple layers, which is common in quilting and bag-making.
What does a walking presser foot look like and how is it installed?
To install it, place the movable bar on the top of the foot over the inner screw of the machine, then secure it as you would with any other presser foot. This setup ensures the foot moves properly. Follow below given steps to secure the walking foot to your machine -
- Unscrew the presser foot holder screw and remove any existing feet and holders from the machine.
- Place your walking foot underneath the needle area. The 'forked' arm of the walking foot should line up with the needle clamp screw.
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Position the walking foot so that the connecting fork fits over the needle clamp screw. This permits the fork to move up and down in sync with the needle, resulting in more equal feeding of the cloth.
- Screw the walking foot into the position where the presser foot holder was previously attached. Tighten it securely.
- Turn the handwheel gently towards you to ensure that the walking foot is in sync with the needle movement.
Using walking foot for quilting
The Bernina walking foot has its own set of feed dogs (tiny teeth) that work in coordination with the machine's built-in feed dogs beneath the needle. When the machine's needle moves up and down, so do the upper feed dogs, pulling both the top and bottom fabric layers. As the needle raises, the walking foot's feed dogs engage, causing the cloth to move ahead along with the machine. This synchronised action maintains the fabric layers aligned, preventing slippage and moving. The walking foot is particularly useful for sewing materials that tend to shift, such as thick quilt layers, vinyl, or leather.
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