I may have mentioned before that I enjoy free-motion quilting. One aspect of that is ruler work, which has only relatively recently been widely done on domestic sewing machines, though longarm machines have had the capability for quite a long time. The problem has been that availability of specialized feet for this technique simply weren’t available for domestic machines at first; the foot must be 1/4″ thick, and it should also be 1/2″ in diameter, with the needle centered for accuracy. Not quite two years ago, Bernina introduced their version of the ruler foot (#72), and I’ve been in love with it ever since.
If you click on the photo above, you will see that the foot has a little gold-colored “wheel” that allows the foot to be adjusted to barely skim the surface of the quilt sandwich; the spring above that is to allow for that adjustment (this is not a “hopping foot”). The adjustment accommodates different thicknesses of fabrics and batting and makes accuracy so much easier than it would otherwise be. Visibility is great, too, with marks both inside the foot and outside for ease of judging where the needle will hit.
Of course, having the foot is only the beginning; rulers that are 1/4″ thick are also necessary. Thinner ones may slip under the foot, breaking the needle and possibly causing damage to the machine. Experimenting with different rulers is really fun, and I’ve amassed a reasonable collection at this point, which is what made it necessary for me to make this. 😉 The ruler you see me using above is Lisa Calle’s ProMini, which is really useful.
