When piecing a quilt, one of the most important steps is to sew an accurate 1/4" seam allowance. To help us achieve this, most Janome sewing machines come with the 1/4" Seam Foot (O). Some just call it the piecing foot but this foot is useful for more than just piecing a quilt.
If your machine did not come with one, check with your Janome dealer as there's 1/4" Seam Foot available for almost every Janome sewing machine.
The original version of the Janome 1/4" Seam Foot (O) came with a metal guide on the right side to place the fabric against to help improve accuracy. As some users realized, however, they would rather not have a guide on the side in some applications. Janome listened to the feedback and released a new version of the 1/4" Seam Foot (O) without the guide.
For more information, the Janome Global Site has a Janome Bulletin on this which you may download and/or print to keep as a handy reference.
Regardless which machine model you have, (the exception being the Janome HD9 and predecessor Janome 1600P) the Janome 1/4" Seam Foot (O) is a snap on presser foot. How you set up your machine differs slightly depending which model you have. Some machines just have you snap on the foot using the standard utility straight stitch in centre needle position. Other models require you to select the 1/4" stitch which automatically moves the needle position to the right. For the computerized models, you can always adjust the needle position exactly the way you want to get the perfect generous or scant seam allowance.
For example, on my Janome Skyline S9, I need to select the Decorative/Quilting Stitches icon,
then, select the Quilting category,
then finally select the 1/4'' stitch, which in this case is Stitch #2. The "P" stands for Piecing. The stitch width automatically changes from centre needle position (4.5mm) to 8.3mm, which is 1/4" from the edge of the presser foot. The stitch length automatically changes from standard (2.4mm) to 1.8mm, which is a tighter stitch so we don't have to worry about the seams coming apart at the end. There's no need to backstitch, or lock stitch at the end to secure the seam.
However, the luxury of computerized machines means we can customize these suggested default settings.
You can see that the numbers at the bottom are highlighted in yellow, which means that I overrode the default settings of the machine to adjust the placement of the needle and the length to my personal preference. I can save these settings using the Favourite Stitch function, which is an option built-in to many computerized Janome sewing machines. When I go back to select this stitch, the settings will default to my personal preferences so I don't have to adjust the machine every time. Such a time saver!
Both versions of the Janome 1/4" Seam Foot (O) have very helpful 1/4" markings to help you align the fabric in front of and behind the needle, which is very helpful if you need to stop or start sewing 1/4". from the perpendicular edge of the fabric. The video below shows how to use it. For more presser foot videos, be sure to subscribe to the Janome HQ You Tube channel.
With or without guide, the Janome 1/4" Seam Foot (O) is your perfect companion for quilting or any sewing which requires a 1/4'' seam allowance. It's a terrific presser foot to use for Top Stitching! Play with the stitches and settings of your machine to find the ones which work best for you and your projects.
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