Machine Quilting Quick Tip-Barefoot is Best!

45 responses to “Machine Quilting Quick Tip-Barefoot is Best!”

1. I’ve always sewn barefooted, just seemed natural!

2. Funny reading your ‘shoeless’ suggestion. For as long as I can remember (at least 40 years) I have taken my shoe off and reversed the foot floor pedal when machine sewing. There is definitely more control from the heal than the toe.

   1. Me, too!! I always end up with shoes all over the floor in my sewing room!

      1. Sheree – I also end up with shoes all over under my machine… Hahahah. Sometimes one shoe ends up in the closet and another is … where???

   2. Heel … not heal!

3. I’ve always sewn barefoot unless you count the two pair of socks in mid-January! Now we’re teaching my 8 year old grand daughter to sew without shoes. She’s a natural!!

4. I always quilt barefooted for the very reasons you stated…better control of the foot pedal. Even when I go to retreats or take classes at quilt festivals…..I make sure I’ve packed a pair of socks in my supply tote.

5. Great article. I’m about to start FMQing a quilt and will be doing it barefoot. Having neurology my feet really don’t like wearing shoes anyway.

   1. I meant “neuropathy”.

      1. Jackson, I have neuropathy in my feet, shins. You gave me a good laugh ! Thanks…

   2. I meant to say “neuropathy”.

6. I’m glad I’m not the only one who takes off a shoe or slipper from my sewing foot before I start. I also take off one shoe whenever I do a workshop. I get some funny looks when I walk around with one shoe on, but it’s always worked for me . You can feel the pedal, and have more control.
   Thanks, Lori, for passing on the tip.

7. When I was young and vain I lived in 3″ heels. Imelda Marcos had nothing on me. At 30 I started belly dancing classes, and that required being barefoot. I soon realized the error of my ways, and have not worn heels in 25 years.

   I quilt barefoot all the time. As a matter of fact, I only wear shoes if I am going to drive somewhere. I am barefoot all year round, and have callouses that liken my feet to a goat’s (according to my husband). Even in the dead of winter I will run outside barefoot for quick errands (bird feeder filling, etc.). I admit to putting on boots if I am going to shovel snow or collect maple sap. Cold spring mud season and fall acorn season are about the only times I don’t enjoy being barefoot, but on principle I persevere.

   1. Arvilla, I keep seeing more things we have in common..!! A pleasure !

8. Nine times out of ten I am shoeless too!
   Lori, Thank you so much for sharing your expertise of FMQ – I have your Craftsy Classes and I have your “More Freemotion book – your first book will be “coming soon.” I thank you also for your commitment to always delve deep into FMQ by doodling. I am subscribed to your blog and soak it up everytime I read it. I love your inspiration!!!!

9. Wow, I’ve learned so much from Lori. I NEVER quilted shoeless until I attended a class with Lori in Oct. It seemed like half the class was quilting in just their cute socks 🙂 I tried it when I got home, and I’m now a committed shoeless quilter!! In addition to the precision, I can find the foot pedal without looking 🙂

10. Sorry, 🙄 but after after having TWO bouts of planter fasciitis I keep my shoes on and my feet warm…. since I stitch/patch/quilt almost every day for hours. However, I do not wear shoes when I exercise in my 25 minute morning workout, because Miranda Edmond-White, from Classical Stretch fame, says feet need to able to move and breathe…
    I enjoy reading and using your methods in my quilting… Great blog!

    1. I’ve experienced plantar fasciitis myself – it’s PAINFUL and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody! I stopped wearing high-heels all of the time about 20 years ago because my doctor told me wearing them shortens the ligaments/tendons or something, and that can make a person vulnerable to plantar fasciitis. Plus a physical therapist friend once taught me how to stretch properly and I haven’t had a problem since doing the stretches. He also told me that when a foot gets cold it can cramp (ouch!) but he said that’s a muscle cramp, not PF. Either way however, it really doesn’t make a difference; pain is pain, regardless whether PF or a muscle cramp – both really HURT, so I definitely understand why you want to keep your tootsies warm! I don’t like cold feet either and as I age and my circulation isn’t quite as good as it used to be. But I have a four-legged foot warmer. My hundred-plus lb. mutt likes to lie on top of my feet and he keeps them toasty!

       1. Yes, a dog would be a nice addition for warm feet., but we still travel too much…

11. Please revise suggestion:-) it is dark freezing cold winter. Quilting with warm wool socks on – Works best when they are dark pink.

12. The Barefoot Quilter….good name for a book!

13. When I was a young sewist and then quilter, my old foot pedal would heat up uncomfortably, so I would have to put my shoes on to continue my project. Yes, I think you get more control in your sensitive bare feet. Love your blog.

14. Don’t like going barefoot and my feet are always cold (I even wear socks to bed), but I do wear slippers with a flexible sole when I quilt. I’ll try with just socks the next time.

15. Lol. I’ve always been a barefoot babe (thus my gross feet). I HAVE to see barefoot, and prefer to kick my shoe off when driving as well.

16. As a nurse, I would caution that all scissors, rotary cutters, pins, etc. are far removed from the area so they do not accidentally fall and cut feet. Also be sure there are no stray pins on the floor that were dropped and missed. That’s why I wear at least slippers when I am sewing.

17. Sounds like you hit a nerve with the bare foot quilting tip. I, too, sew with at least one foot bare for the control. In a Quilt Fest class last year I noticed half the quilters had a shoe, or shoes, off.

18. Barefooted quilters, a lovely vision!

19. I am in the category of Shoeless Quilters. I have sewn and quilted without shoes for years. But I am too cold-natured to be barefoot! Must have socks or soft-soled slippers. The one exception is when sewing on my Featherweight. That small, hard button on the foot pedal requires shoes!

20. I have ALWAYS sewn barefooted. For the nurse’s comment on pins, etc. I keep a long handled magnet nearby for oftentimes sweeps as I drop stuff often.

21. Lori, I’ve always quilted and sewed without my right shoe on. Of course, here in central Wisconsin, in the winter, I always wear wool socks, and if need be, HEAVY wool socks! I also play piano without my right shoe on.

22. I wear slippers around the house in the winter and bare footed in the summer. I have always kicked off just my right slipper to sew even before I started quilting and automatically rest my foot on the slipper or the feet of my chair when not sewing (avoids accidents when you have your fingers near the needle although I now use tweezers or something else since seeing the x-ray of your finger!!)

23. Yup! barefoot or no shoes are the way to go! I wear at least socks in the winter!

24. I’ve quilted in my stocking feet since I first learned to sew. I slip off my shoes but leave them near the machine to put back on when I get up so I don’t step on a stray pin. My cat is in his glory when I’m sewing. He follows me into my sewing room because he just loves rolling around on my (sometimes stinky) shoes as soon as I remove them!

25. I’m a barefoot sewer too; it’s impossible for me to sew with a shoe or even a slipper on. But, every time someone in my family comes home from the hospital (unfortunately there’s been too much of that lately), they have those ugly “walking socks”, the one-size-fits-all (not) thingies with rubber dots on the bottom to prevent slipping on smooth floors. Well, with a little scissor action and some stitching on your machine, you can have a sewing sock that actually fits. And the little rubber dots help to grip the pedal without preventing your foot from feeling it. For me, they’re the perfect answer to wintertime sewing.

    1. Finally, a solution for all those hospital socks piling up in linen closet.. thanks!! This is being a fun blog today !! But fun is a staple here !

26. I’ve always sewed barefoot. I have more control on the footplate.

27. This made me laugh. I used to sell machines. There was a fellow that used to come in and try to get us all to take our shoes off. Told all of us his wife liked to sew in her bare feet. He was arrested for something nefarious in a shoe department soon after our encounter.

28. When it’s warm I sew/quilt barefoot. When it’s cold I wear slipper socks when I sew/quilt. I like the real thick cute ones with non-skid on the bottom.

29. I too sew without shoes. With my featherweight I actually only use my big toe which is needless to say BIG! LOL!
    I have enjoyed reading these posts.

30. I’ve always sewn in just socks or barefoot, that foot pedal just is easier to control that way.

31. I’ve been sewing with socks for years now and can’t/wouldn’t do it any other way. It’s so much easier to feel the power and control. It also forces me to be neater because dropped pins hurt! LOL!

32. hehe I come from the land of the bare foot. Bare feet around the home (and garden) is a common mode of transport for us kiwis. When I am at work at the quiltshop and have to sew in my shoes, I do struggle!

33. I really can’t sew unless I’m barefoot. Which is sometimes a problem when I’m taking a sewing class!!

34. I have been sewing for years with no shoes on and didn’t realize what a difference it made until I went to my first quilting retreat this year. I couldn’t sew with my shoe on so took off the shoe on the foot I sew with. Didn’t realize until then what a difference it made.

35. I have a T-shirt that says ‘I treadle fast and barefoot’. I do treadle barefoot, since treadle sewing machines were made for shorter ladies than me (my knees hit the drip pan). I’ve never liked wearing shoes when I am sewing. I only do it when I’m at a sew-in somewhere.