When I picked up that first vintage machine, Beauty, and stitched on her I realized that I missed my 1/4" foot. I did purchase a new one but because the needle isn't adjustable and didn't fall in the centre of the foot, the 1/4" seam was off.
On my other 'old' machines I was lucky in that the zig-zag feet that were included happened to be a 1/4" from the needle. That works really well for sewing patchwork seams but of course, one needs to pay attention to how the fabric is feeding under that foot. I always test any method for a 1/4" seam by sewing together (3) 2" panels and measuring the resulting 'block'.
In the accessory box of the 185 'green machine' there was a seam guide. This little metal bar is screwed onto the bed of the machine and can be adjusted to the desired position to act as a seam guide. I actually found this very helpful and it worked well, allowing the fabric to line up with the edge as it is moved forward by the feed dogs. I'm sure I can attach it to some of the other machines as well and I love that all these Singers can share some parts.
I also picked up this magnetic seam guide from Dritz. It is only a few dollars and has a strong magnet to allow it to stay put on the metal needle plate or bed of a metal machine. Of course, I never wanted to use one of these gadgets on my new sewing machines because of the computers on board. I didn't want to take the chance of causing any problems with the mother board or electronics. However, the magnet is perfectly fine to use on the vintage machines because they are completely mechanical and because the bed of the machine is metal, it 'sticks' really well!
I tried this seam guide out on my FW 221 and it worked like a charm. If you are gentle and make sure not to knock it out of position it really helps to keep an accurate 1/4" seam all the way along - without having to keep your eyes glued to that right edge of the presser foot. If you have a non-computerized machine I would totally recommend this very affordable sewing aid. It's worth the couple of bucks.
What is your favourite way to achieve that 1/4" accuracy? Do you like a patchwork foot, guide or no guide, painter's tape, seam guide, or post-it notes? Comment and let me know your preferred method!
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