Bernina needs a ruler foot

[Judith A.]

I got the 97D foot several months ago. It took about 4 months for my dealer to get it too. The 97D is a fantastic foot. It is my favorite foot to sew patchwork now.

I don't have the new ruler foot for quilting. I hope those of you who have the ruler foot can post reviews of it and any tips.
Thanks! Judith

[Geneva C.]

I went to my local Bernina dealer last month when Sybil (730) was smoking. I was going to buy the 57 foot, but the fix it man said the 97 was better, so I bought it. I like it a lot. Is the 97D different than the 97? I guess I have a good Bernina dealer here in little Podunk tri cities!

Geneva

[Chantalida C.]

Hi Carroll, the difference between the 97 and 97D bernina foot is : you can with the 97D use the dual feed of your machine if you have a 7 or 8 Bernina serie. The D after the N° of the foot means dual feed. I hope it helps. If you wish more informations about Bernina feet, go on Youtube, I am sure you will find the information you are looking for.
Chantal

[Judith A.]

Hi Geneva,
Chantel explained it well.

Also, both the 97 and the 97D have a separate seam guide that attaches to the bed of the machine.
The foot is designed to also do 1/8" seam allowances well.
The guide is adjustable for more seam allowance choices.
Google "Bernina 97D" and Bernina 97. There are videos that explain it better than I can.

What I know for sure is that I get more consistent 1/4" seam allowances with my 97D.

Judith

[Teri L.]

Just a personal note on the slowness of getting product from BERNINA:
it's all slow coming into the country right now because of a work slow down on the ports on the west coast.
Which, from what I've heard, is starting to happen here on the east coast.
BERNINA has no control over the work slow down.
The work slow down is having an effect on a lot of companies. We may find a lot of stuff that gets harder to find over the next while until the work slow down ends.

Teri

[Geneva C.]

Thanks everyone for the explanation on the Bernina feet. I have a 730 which isn't a dual feed, so that it why it was so easy for me to get a 97 foot! I do use it all the time and especially like the thing that attaches to the bed of the machine.

Geneva

[Debbie W.]

I bought the new 97 foot for my Bernina Artista 200, which has the 9 mm wide stitch length. It is obviously not made for a 9 mm stitch because once you attach the guide to butt up to the foot, the guide winds up on top of the feed dogs...which is not good! You'd think they could have told me at the store where I bought my machine and the 97 foot :angry: !!!

[Chantalida C.]

Hi Judith, if you wish more informations about the ruler foot, there is a demo on You tube the name of the web is PATSERN. Patsy Thompson, CRAFTSY teacher, is making the demo.
Chantal
from France

[Judith A.]

Chantal,
Thank you!

[Lorna B.]

Oh how odd, Debbie. I thought the whole point of the 97 was to deal with the 9 mm wide machines. I'll go have to go back and read more about it.

[Rita C.]

In the youtube Bernina video for the 97/97D foot they recommend a straight stitch plate and to engage the Dual Feed if you have the machine with the 9mm wide stitch capacity. So it looks like it is not as straight forward as just getting the 97 foot.

[Debbie W.]

Even though I can't use the guide with the 97, I do find that the foot sturdier than the original 1/4" foot. It seems to feed the fabric better. I don't know if that's mind over matter and I'm trying to justify spending the $60+ on something that is doing only a portion of what I bought it for. I do prefer if using the straight stitch plate, too, but I'm bad about forgetting to change it when I need to applique. Many needles have gone to their final resting place that way!!! This has nothing to do with the foot, but I have also found that leaving the needle down and butting your fabric up to it really keeps the fabric from being chewed up. I haven't needed to use a leader scrap when I do that. I saw that suggestion recently, but I can't remember if it was on TQS or not.

[Lois B.]

I don't have a Bernina but I do have a machine with a 7mm needle opening and I struggle with getting a straight 1/4" seam. If you look in the Bernina video for the #97 foot you can see that the feed dogs never get to help pull the fabric through until the fabric is beyond the needle and some of the feed dogs are completely to the right of the pressor foot where they cannot possibly engage the fabric. My Janome is the same way. No wonder we have wonky seams. Using Sally Collins suggestion of putting the fabric all the way up to the needle helps sometimes. I need to do more checking on single needle machines where the feed dogs are closer to the needle even in front of the needle hole. I think that allows the feed dogs to help out start to finish. No wonder Bonnie Hunter is in love with her vintage machines.

[Lois B.]

Although my (ahem) modern Janome has a 9mm slot throat plate with the wider teeth setting that this entails, I don't have too much trouble using the 1/4" foot. However when doing my first miniature quilt last month, I ended up using my old treadle which is a straight stitch only and I found it much better for feeding the fabric (starting & stopping was interesting - it probably needs a good oiling, and a lot more practice :whistle: but it did feel good to work on)

Sorry really don't know about Berninia's and I have rather lost track of all your different feet and do-dads - Lois I guess you had better carry on with looking for a treadle....

[Geneva C.]

I have no problem using the 97 with the wide dogs. I didn't notice that the right feed dog was partially covered by the 97 attachment until it was mentioned here. If I'm sewing a 1/4" seam, the right feed dog doesn't really engage all the fabric anyway. And I did start using Sally Collins' tip about ending one piece before putting another piece up to the needle to sew. This has helped with having the ending and starting pieces not wig outward. Which is exactly what Sally said!

I always use the red stitch width button to make sure I don't try to use something other than a straight stitch with my single hole plate. I've said some mean things to Sybil when she wouldn't make the zig zag stitch, but I always apologize once I realize it was my (operator) trouble!

Geneva