The new foot (on the left above) is different. Oddly, my fancy quilting machine didn't come with the spring free-motion quilting foot (it has 2 FMQ settings, sensor and spring, but only the sensor foot is actually included - weird! I had some early problems with the sensor setting (though I now think I should give it another try) so I grabbed the spring foot from my old Pfaff and just used that. The other feet are interchangeable, and this one seemed to fit ok. But the new one has several differences (I'm thrilled with the extra visibility this one allows, and the other advantages of an open toe) and I now wonder if the wrong spring foot has been part of the problem with breaking needles. Plus, the open toe means that if a titanium needle bends again, the foot doesn't go across the front where it would get hit and broken, so I'm willing to try another. I can't wait to try out the new foot!
I'm just disappointed that in the heat I forgot to ask while I was there about getting the improved take-up lever and needle threader retrofitted, since they've never been satisfactory (nowhere near as good as what is on my old (1999) Pfaff, which work perfectly) and while I was googling the other night, I found there are retrofits available - which should be free, since they're fixes for a manufacturing defects. The top thread pops out of the take-up lever far too frequently. This is hardly surprising, since instead of being a moulded shape, it's now just a hook (and incidentally, also harder to thread, since it doesn't come quite as high in the machine). And once it's out of there, stitching comes to a nasty halt. As for the current needle threader - it doesn't pop through the needle eye easily, and needs an extra manual push to get it far enough through the eye to actually grab the thread and pull it back through to thread the needle. The old one was so much better. I can't think why they changed either!
I have the open toe foot and just love it. The one thing is to make sure ever now and then it's screwed in tightly. More than once the foot has popped off as the screw loosened. I just had my machine retrofitted with the new take up lever. I did a little embroidery and worked great, did some regular sewing and all was good. Haven't tried the free motion quilting, hopefully this weekend.
ReplyDeleteI have both tose feet, and mostly use the one on the right - my dH has cut out the centre of the front of that - and it stands up well and I now prefer that one if I am quilting on the Pffaf.
ReplyDeleteComing from a manufacturing engineering side point, the reason for the change would have most certainly been cost cutting. I see so many changes go through on cars where the old was better, but engineering design just push these things through because they have to get a bottom line figure and simpler parts are cheaper to manufacture. Even when it clashes with manufacturing and makes the part more difficult and more costly to fit! Obviously this one is a mistake that has cost them in the long term. I still can't believe your machine didn't come with a darning foot. I think I will stick with Janome...
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