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Puckering on the backing with my walking foot

by Margaret
( Bournemouth)

I just bought a new Janome machine, mainly for quilting but the back of my quilting sandwich puckers badly.

My dealer has been very helpful-tried everything to sort the problem including phoning Janome and following the advice given.

Machine stitches beautifully except when quilting. It looks as though the bottom layer is being fed through more quickly despite using a quilting foot.

Is this a common problem? Tried altering tension, using longer stitch etc.

Any less obvious suggestions. My dream purchase is quickly becoming a nightmare-help please!

Reply

Arggghhh!!!! I feel for you!

Even though you clearly know your way around a sewing machine, I suggest reinstalling your walking foot, following the instructions that came with it literally step by step. If it's a new machine, there might be an extra step that your old one didn't have.

In particular, I'm wondering if your machine has a 'presser foot pressure' adjustment?

For my Viking D1 (which has this feature) I am instructed to reduce the presser foot pressure by about half to accommodate the thickness of a quilt. (I do a little test on a practice quilt sandwich every time before I start quilting and fine tune the adjustment if needed.)

The video below shows the effects of having this setting too high...



About 6 minutes into the video is where she shows how much difference changes to this setting can make on your quilt sandwich.

After you've completely re-installed the foot following the directions step by step, if it still doesn't work, see if you can't try the foot on a machine at your sewing machine dealer. Do this to make sure that the foot, itself, isn't broken. A walking foot will definitely wear out with use (I've gone through several). It will also confirm that you were sold the correct foot.

But they can also be broken. I know this, because I've done it. Early on, I installed the foot but had the fork underneath the needle screw.

Couldn't figure out why the foot wasn't moving up and down as I stitched.

Then I noticed what I'd done, but it was too late. I'd 'crunched' it under the needle screw and needed to purchase a new one. I've also pulled one out of the drawer, installed it and realized that it was broken...never was sure how that happened.

If the machine stitches fine without the walking foot, but puckers appear when it's installed, I'm thinking it's the foot and not the machine.

Let me know if these suggestions have helped.

To our readers, ESPECIALLY if you've got a Janome, what would you suggest to help Margaret? Just use the 'comments' link below to share your thoughts and experiences. Thank you!

Piecefully,

Julie Baird
Editor

Comments for Puckering on the backing with my walking foot

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Grannie
by: Anonymous

I also am having the same problem with my new Janome.

I have tried all the same solutions to no avail. Walking foot did not help. My machine sadly does not have the pressure foot adjustment, and I was not aware at the time I bought it. My old Janome did have and I was not aware that all the new ones did not.

I am going to contact my dealer and will probably see if I can replace it with some other machine. I hate to have to do this, I have two other older Janome that I love but needed to replace.

Very frustrating!
Puckering
by: Edina

I have also had puckering and uneven stitch lengths.
It was so bad I’ve had to unpick most of the quilt. I’m not sure I can face going through the turmoil again. Brand new foot for Janome sewing machine and correctly installed too.
Same problem searching for solutions
by: Anonymous

I'm having the same problems as described with my DC2101 with walking foot attachment. Very frustrating, still searching for solutions.
Puckering
by: Margaret

Puckering continued.......Shop I bought from were marvelous-decided the machine could not cope with the layers and gave me the full amount back which I put towards a new Janome 6600. Although an older model it seems to have the reputation of being a reliable work horse. Can't wait for it to arrive!

I tested one in the shop on my troublesome quilt and stitched it perfectly :)

From the Editor: Excellent News, Margaret! I've got my fingers crossed for you.

~ Julie
Thank you so much for your suggestions
by: Margaret-Bournemouth

I read the suggestions about curing the puckering problem with great interest. Thank you so much for responding. So far I have been unable to check out any of the suggestions as the machine has now gone away for Janome specialists to check over. They and the shop have really gone the extra mile working to fix the problem. I do have a pressure adjustment that I and they tried but I must admit that as the quilting foot was new, little attention was paid to it. It is possible that I had damaged or inadvertently attatched it incorrectly, but cannot check this until the machine is returned. At the moment we are waiting for a report from the company. The very helpful lady who demonstrates the machines wondered if it could be a problem with the material I was using. I am awaiting my first grandchild so had been working on very lightweight projects-baby quilts, tiny sleeping bags etc. Perhaps the thin backing material contributed to the problem? Anyone else experienced this? I am now trying to cope with loss of sewing machine withdrawal symptoms and trying unsuccessfully to find a life beyond sewing! I will keep you posted when I am reunited with the machine. Thanks again!

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