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Text, photos and video by Tom Hintz
Posted – 5-12-2019
While doing our Review of the Singer ONE I used a Singer Walking Foot that I purchased at the same time. I have learned to appreciate walking feet in all sorts of sewing, not just with big piles of layers. But when using the Singer Walking Foot, I was having a hard time making straight lines of stitches, particularly near the edge of the fabric as when making a seam.
This difficulty became markedly worse when the number of layers being sewn changed. I know this is not an every-day occurrence but in my sewing, it happens more often than I expected. While using my Distinctive Walking Foot, I hadn’t noticed this change in difficulty. Consequently, I have left the Distinctive Walking Foot on my machines for everything but the initial stage of making zippers. With the Singer Walking Foot, I had to change back to the normal presser foot whenever I was sewing less than three layers of fabric, to maintain a straight line of stitches particularly near the edge as when making seams and overcasting an edge. This is just frustrating more than injurious to the sewing project. With the Distinctive Walking Foot, no such issues were encountered.
With the Distinctive Walking Foot and Singer Walking Foot next to each other there are few visual differences. Both have similar presser feet, and both have dual rows of plastic teeth for moving the fabric. The Distinctive Walking Foot presser foot is a little longer than the Singer Walking Foot. Notice in the images that I snapped off one side of the Distinctive Walking Foot presser foot to allow sewing closer to a zipper in a few of my FlyingRC.net Protector Set designs. Both walking feet use an operating bar that “captures” the needle retention bolt. The mounting lugs on both walking feet are similar in design and are at the same height, accommodating low-shank style machines.
The mechanics of both walking feet are enclosed in plastic housings. Again, both are similar in size and shape. Neither design poses an obstruction or other problem during use. While the Distinctive Walking Foot has been used a bunch more, the Singer Walking Foot shows what appears to be a residue of lubricant on the top of the mechanics housing. The black color of that residue can indicate wear among the metal parts though I cannot feel any binding or looseness of the Singer Walking Foot mechanism.
I should note that I tried both the Singer Walking Foot and Distinctive Walking Foot on my Janome 4120 QDC machine with identical issues as seen with both on the Singer ONE. I cannot see a difference between the two walking feet that explains the difference I get in use. However, that difference is consistent for me when doing identical sewing tasks. The Distinctive Walking Foot version was easier to use and be accurate with putting a line of stitches where needed. The Distinctive Walking Foot cost $29.99 (12-29-2017) while the Singer Walking Foot sells for around $19.00 (5-12-2019). I realize a $10.00 difference is not insignificant but for those who do a lot of sewing as I do, not having to swap out presser feet so often is worth the $10. Also, the easy accuracy I get with the Distinctive Walking Foot is meaningful as well. I’m not the best there is at operating a sewing machine so any advantage, no matter how small makes a difference in my finished products. I know the “you get what you pay for” adage can get old but, in this case, I think it is appropriate.
Janome 4120 QDC Sewing Machine Review
Distinctive Walking Foot Review
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