Problems with Foot #57?

[Anne B.]

I bought a #57 foot, and am disappointed because it doesn't make a scant 1/4 inch seam. Instead, it's a very full 1/4 inch seam.

A friend of mine had the same trouble, and found that by tightening the screw on the back of the foot and thereby moving the little fence on the right closer to the edge of the foot, she was able to reduce the seam allowance.

The screw on my foot, however, is already as tight as it will go, and I can't seem to change it.

Has anyone else had this problem? Has anyone found a solution? Has Bernina just gotten sloppy, maybe?

Anne in Vancouver, Canada, dismayed at the wide seam allowances I'm getting

[Pat G.]

Hi Anne,
I was disappointed in the Bernina 1/4" foot also. I get a larger 1/4" than I'd like, too. As I read your post, I wondered if moving the needle over one increment to the right would give us that scant 1/4. I'm going to try it. My Pfaff 1/4 foot does a much better job and the little rudder guide is nice and thin.
Pat

[Teri L.]

Here's a question: when feeding the patches under the foot are you lining up with both the edge of the foot and the quarter inch on the plate? This looks like the fabric is under and slightly to the left of the edge of the foot. Oh goodness I hope that makes sense.

Teri

I'll try and take photos and post them on my blog later today.

[Teri L.]

You could buy a #37 and grind it down some to make a scant 1/4 inch seam.

[Anne B.]

The #57 IS the #37 foot, with a little fence added on the right.

I have no problem with my #37 foot, except that I have to be vigilant about watching the edge of the fabric. The idea of the #57 is supposed to be that you don't have to watch as carefully--you just butt the fabric up against the fence.

I have an old 730 Bernina, and it doesn't have as many needle settings as the new ones, so simply moving the needle to the right isn't a solution. (It would give me about an 1/8 inch or 3/16 inch seam.) Besides, the whole point of buying the special feet is so I don't have to move my needle.

Is anyone else having this trouble, or did my friend and I just get lemons?

Anne in Vancouver

[Anne B.]

I know what the #57 foot is, I have a couple, and I understand why it was produced. I was just suggesting the #37 shaved off as another option. And here is another suggestion, purchase a seam guide.

[Anne B.]

Seam guides are great! You can adjust them to get the exact size seam you want, and then just zip strips of fabric through as fast as you can go--no watching the side of a foot to make sure it stays consistent, the guide does all the work for you.

Pat in Rockport, TX

[Judy M.]

As I understand it, the #57 foot cannot be used with the 9mm feed dogs. I had to take mine back and exchange it for a #37. I'm not too happy to hear that these special feet aren't very good. I'm spending all my time working on my machine quilting (not doing very well, either!) and haven't done any piecing on my new Bernina to use my #37 foot. I guess there's just no miracle machine--except my little trusty Featherweight!!! :lol:

[Teri L.]

I just went to Bernina's website for some information on the foot. They recommend this for difficult fabric in use with the straight stitch plate. It's just like the 37 with a seam guide. I'll post some pictures tomorrow for you.

Two things 1) it took me a couple of quilts to really get the hang of using this foot so that I was more accurate in using it and 2) this is one of my all time favorite feet for sewing, I switch between this, the open toed embroidery foot (#24) and the walking foot for everything I do in the process of quilt making.

I'll add this based on Judy's comment on quilting - it took me about 150 hours before I was really comfortable at my machine quilting, it took about another 50+ hours before I was really consistent in my stitches. There's a moment somewhere in there where things just click and machine quilting just makes sense.

Happy Quilting!
Teri

[Cheryl K.]

I use a 37 foot and find that it gives a sharp 1/4" seam. I use it for topstitching as well as piecing quilting. Just make sure to not have fabric exposed on the right edge of the presser foot. Since I have had success with the 37, I didn't feel the need to get the 57.

The plastic seam guide that comes with your machine can be helpful if you are wanting to "speed piece" long strips, etc. But I basically am just careful as I let my fabric feed under the foot and as I sew.

The straight stitch plate is also great for when piecing especially for 9mm machines.

[Cheryl K.]

I usually use the #37 foot and the straight stitch plate. I discovered a little mark on the front of the plate that is a quarter inch. I guide the fabric just a little to the left of that mark and I get a scant quarter.

[Anne B.]

Getting the seam guide is a good idea. Dunno why I never thought of that. But still, I think the #57 should do what it's supposed to.

Am I getting grumpy about this?

Anne in Vancouver

[Teri L.]

I just finished posting photos on my blog about that quarter inch foot. The biggest difference I see between the #37 and the #57 is the guide on the edge of the foot, which should aid in keeping things accurate.

Teri

[Anne B.]

I just finished posting photos on my blog about that quarter inch foot. The biggest difference I see between the #37 and the #57 is the guide on the edge of the foot, which should aid in keeping things accurate.

Teri, that's the ONLY difference between the 37 and the 57.

And the problem is that the 57 is LESS accurate than the 37, because the fence is not snugged right up against the edge of the foot.

Thanks for posting your photos. That's how I use the 37, too.

Anne in Vancouver

[Betty J.]

I have both the 37 and 57 and I love them both. I use the 37 for straight piecing and the 57 for curved piecing (like the Bernina video suggests that's on this site) and a few other applications. I have no trouble getting the exact 1/4" with both feet. You might want to take it back and ask them to look at it. It might be defective. I use the straight stitch plate with these two feet. I even do zig zag stitches with this set up up to 1.0 mm wide. I've even used the 57 for applique this way, running the guide along the edge of the applique--it worked fantastically. Hope you can get this solved. It's a good foot for lots of things.