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Walking Foot  A Walking Foot for a sewing machine is a special attachment that feeds the top, batting and backing through your sewing machine all at the same time. Normally, the feed dogs on your sewing machine grab the fabric next to them and pull it along, and then the presser foot secures the top fabric. In theory, both layers will go through at the same time. Much as they may try, feed dogs are a little more aggressive than air, and the result is that the feed dogs grab the fabric on the bottom, and the fabric on the top goes along for the ride, at a slightly slower speed. When you are stitching through two layers of plain fabric, there is a difference in the speed the fabric is being feed, but it usually isn't noticeable. When you are machine quilting through a quilt sandwich, the top fabric is separated from the backing by your batting, and much as they really want to, the feed dogs can't even begin to get all of the layers through at the same time. Enter the Walking Foot. A Walking Foot kind of bounces along. The feed dogs grab a little, but then the Walking Foot allows the presser foot to release pressure on the quilt sandwich so the entire sandwich can be fed under the needle at the same time. This does take a little extra work on your part, though, because left by itself, the quilt goes nowhere. You need to actively guide the quilt under the needle. How quickly you feed the quilt sandwich under the needle pretty much determines how long your stitches are. Feed it fast, and your quilt stitches will be long. Slow it down, and the quilt stitches get shorter. As wonderful as a Walking Foot is, its use is somewhat limited to stitching forward and backward - no side stitching here. So, it is great for machine quilt in the ditch but not for any fancy, meandering type of stitching. Happy Quilting! 
Penny Halgren
www.How-to-Quilt.com 
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