Fit Your Free Motion Quilting Foot to Your Sewing Machine

Over the last twelve years, I’ve championed breaking your free motion quilting foot (also called a darning foot) so they work better for free motion quilting.

I started modifying darning feet when quilting with a Juki TL-98QE sewing machine. I had to break the base of that metal darning foot open in order to see where I was quilting. With a solid base and the darning foot hopping up and down on the surface of the quilt, I was picking out more stitches than I put into the quilt.

Since then, I’ve fixed and fitted at least a hundred free motion quilting feet. We’re going to learn step by step how to attach a darning foot and how to fix it to make quilting easier. Jump ahead to the part you most need to see:

Do I have to Use a Free Motion Quilting Foot?

I truly think it’s the darning foot that gives quilters more problems than anything else with free motion quilting. Unfortunately this is the foot we must use. Here are a few common questions about these quilting feet that you may be wondering:

• Can you free motion quilt with a regular foot? No, a regular sewing machine presser foot will squish your quilt against the feed dogs. An applique foot might help you make nice satin stitches, but won’t allow you the freedom to stitch a design like Stippling.
  
• Can you free motion quilt with a walking foot? No, using a walking foot on your sewing machine helps you do another style of quilting – walking foot quilting. This style of quilting and the designs you can stitch with it are fundamentally different from free motion quilting.
  
• Can you free motion quilt without a foot? Yes, some quilters do this, but I don’t recommend it. A free motion quilting foot helps stabilize the quilt and lets you know where the needle is landing. Without a foot on your sewing machine, it’s very easy to stitch through your fingers.

When I originally wrote this post in 2011, darning feet and free motion quilting were a lot less popular. Now in 2023, this machine quilting style has exploded and many sewing machines come with a darning foot included!

We’ve also seen some significantly improved darning foot designs. Janome offers a (affiliate) beautiful Convertible Darning Foot with different bases you can swap out. This convertible foot can be an open toe free motion foot, closed toe darning foot, and even a ruler foot too.

Ruler feet are another fun option, especially if you want to try ruler quilting or free motion quilting templates. More on these new quilting options in just a bit!

How to Find a Darning Foot For Your Sewing Machine

You might be stuck on the beginning of this whole step – trying to find a darning foot or free motion quilting foot that will fit your sewing machine. I know from experience, finding a darning foot for certain sewing machines can be challenging. Here’s a few tips that may help:

1. Run a Google search of your Sewing Machine Brand + Model Name and Number + Feet. Example: Janome Horizon 7700 Feet.
   
   You will likely pull up several sewing machine part websites that carry lots of feet for your specific sewing machine. You do need to be specific with your machine brand and model number to be sure you’re getting compatible feet.
   
   
2. Once you find a listing, and you’re sure it’s for the correct machine, check if the feet include “high shank” or “low shank” in the title. If they do, you’ll quickly know your machine is high or low shank and you can order the generic free motion quilting foot we’re using in this tutorial here.
   
   If you only find “Singer Darning Foot” or “Viking Quilting Foot” or “Bernina Quilting Foot” – this is a sign that your machine requires brand-specific feet. Less expensive, generic feet are not an option for you in this case. You’ll need to order a darning foot either from your sewing machine manufacturer, or from a dealer that carries these presser feet.
   
   
3. It’s also good to be aware if your sewing machine has a previous version. For example, I’ve been looking at putting a vintage Brother 210 in my treadle cabinet, but there are newer Brother 210 machines that will be easier to find in search results. I’ll need to be careful to make sure I’m getting feet for the older version of the Brother 210.

Closer Look at a Generic Darning Foot

Even though we have better darning feet available now, this inexpensive darning foot is still very common. We’re going to break this foot to make it work better for free motion sewing. Everything we do to improve the foot will improve our quilting ability!

The first thing we need to change is the long bar on top of the darning foot. This bar hits the needle bar every time the needle moves up. When stitching fast, the bar will clank against the needle bar, making a really loud noise.

Unfortunately to make pretty stitches with this darning foot design, you’ll have to run your machine pretty fast. Most beginning free motion quilters aren’t comfortable quilting that fast.

The movement of the foot base bouncing up and down constantly can also be distracting. It’s harder to see your needle and harder to concentrate on your free motion quilting design. Let’s fix this part of the darning foot so the foot stops bouncing and becomes a stationary free motion quilting foot.

Improve Your Darning Foot = Improve Your Free Motion Quilting

The fix is very simple: bend or break the top bar off your darning foot.

The bar across the top is designed to go over your needle bar. When the needle is up, the foot is pulled up with it. When the needle drops, the foot drops too – way too low on your quilt and squishes it.

This means the foot will hop up and down on the surface of your quilt, making it quite difficult to see what you’re doing. It also means your quilt is going to be hard to move, except when you’re running the sewing machine really fast.

So the best solution is to get rid of that bar, which I do by bending that top bar back with a pair of needle nosed pliers.

But once the top bar is bent back the foot is going to rest in the low position on your sewing machine. Remember that’s the position that is squishing your quilt badly.

How to Get Your Free Motion Quilting Foot to the Perfect Height

To fix this we now have to insert a rubber band or ponytail holder on the top of the foot. Place the rubber band between the spring and the bent metal bar so the foot is lifted slightly. I find 4 loops of a rubber band in this area does the trick:

Once you get the loops in place around the bar, just twist the excess rubber band around on top so it’s out of your way.

Now here’s the important part – every sewing machine is slightly different. You need to fit this darning foot to your home machine and make sure it is lifted to the right height. Put the foot on the machine, then place a quilt sandwich underneath. Lower the free motion quilting foot and slide the quilt around.

The foot should move smoothly over the surface of the quilt. You should be able to move the quilt freely and without it getting hung up or squished by the foot.

But it should also not be so high that you can see space between the foot and the surface of your quilt. You know the foot is too high if you start quilting and suddenly your thread starts breaking constantly. This means the foot is allowing the quilt too much play and it’s bouncing up and down and breaking your thread.

It’s a happy balance and can be adjusted using that rubber band. If you need the foot to be slightly higher, add another loop to the top. If you need the foot to be lower, take a loop away.

Skipping Stitches? Your Darning Foot is Probably Too High

Getting your darning foot to the right height is a major troubleshooting issue!

• Too high of a foot and you may experience skipped stitches and thread breaks. The quilt has too much space and bounce, which increases the friction on the thread and needle.
• Too low of a foot and you will have a harder time moving – it’s getting the stuffing squished out of it!

This step will require a bit of tweaking on your sewing machine. Put the free motion quilting foot back on your machine and slide a small quilt sandwich underneath. Use a real quilt sandwich with backing, batting, and quilt top to achieve the correct thickness for your project.

With the free motion foot in the down position, slide the quilt sandwich around. It should feel easy to move with two hands, but not so easy the quilt will bounce around under the foot.

For beginners, I suggest keeping the darning foot slightly lower than you think. This way, you’ll have a little more control over your quilt and be less likely to skip stitches or break thread.

Once you’re 100% happy with your darning foot height, wrap any leftover rubber band or ponytail elastic around the top part of the foot like this:

While this isn’t the most elegant fix to your free motion foot, it does WORK and that’s what matters.

How to Make an Open Toe Free Motion Quilting Foot

We’ve significantly improved this cheap darning foot. It will glide over your quilt, keeping it in place without pressing it down on your sewing machine. It will give you just enough space to move the quilt without too much space, which can cause skipped stitches.

But there is one other thing that’s wrong with this foot:

The base is a solid oval shape. Yes, it’s clear plastic, but it’s nearly impossible to see through when free motion quilting.

I want to see my needle clearly. This makes a really big difference when travel stitching. To quilt lines exactly on top of another, I need to be able to see every stitch. With an open toe free motion quilting foot, I can see my needle and stitch more accurately.

To fix this part, use jewelry clippers and clip open the base. To smooth out any rough edges, I use a nail file. A bit of sanding and Viola! We’ve made ourselves an Open Toe Darning Foot, perfectly adjusted for your sewing machine!

Video – How to Attach a Darning Foot and Fit it To Your Machine

It’s one thing to read about making these changes, but another thing to see it in action. Watch this video to see how I attach this darning foot to my sewing machine and then modify it one step at a time:

More Options for Free Motion Quilting Feet

In 2011, we had limited choices for free motion quilting feet, as I mentioned in the start of this tutorial. These days we have a lot more options!

Ruler Feet are a new style of darning foot, usually designed to hover over your quilt. They usually have a high, closed toe base, and yes, this limits your visibility.

But the advantage of using a ruler foot is being able to quilt with rulers or free motion quilting templates. This will give you even more control over your quilting design.

Ruler quilting is a new type of free motion quilting. You can switch between using the ruler and using other free motion quilting designs. So long as you have a ruler foot attached, quilting with both styles will be seamless!

Here are a few free motion embroidery foot options, including my favorite Deluxe Foot Kit available from my quilt shop:

I love how free motion quilting continues to evolve and grow. This is such a wonderful quilting style and so much fun to play with on our home sewing machines. Do you have questions about fitting your free motion foot to your sewing machine? Get more help by sharing your questions in the comments below.

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day