Monday, April 13, 2009

What is this?

Pardon the dust.

I have to pull the bed away from the free arm of my sewing machine in order to get to the switch that lowers and raises the feed dogs for free motion quilting. On the inside of the body of the machine is this. It has a large embossed + and a - and a dial movable with a screwdriver that can be set to either or left in the (I assume) neutral position between them. What is it? My guess is it's presser foot pressure, but why is it here? Am I way off? And if I am, where is THAT adjustment done? Any thoughts?

Oh, and I found a few minutes yesterday afternoon to finish the quilting, then cut and attached the binding after supper. Maybe I'll have it done by Tuesday after all. Stay tuned.

6 comments:

Sheila said...

I have a Janome and that dial on mine, in a similar place, adjusts the tension of the bobbin. In a class with Harriet Hargrave we were learning machine applique and this is where we fiddled bobbin tension to be able to use invisible thread on the top. It's very sensitive; play with it at your risk, and remember where you started or take a picture! My presser foot pressure is adjusted with a black dial on the top of the machine, underneath the lid. Let me know if you need a picture. What machine are you using?

QuiltingFitzy said...

I totally forgot that I had a dial to lower the feed dogs and had been using the little "cover-up" element to go over them. D'oh! I found the adjustment, but also see that it has adjustments that look like button hole adjustments. My instruction book is a waste, so I'll be curious to see what you find out. I have the Janome QC6125.

Warty Mammal said...

What model/make of machine is it? Maybe we can find some info online. Although it sounds like Sheila and QF have some ideas.

Sara said...

I have that same thing on my machine and have no clue what it is....

Vicky aka Stichr said...

QF is right about the instruction book being a bust! I sure wish I had a pressure foot adjustment, and if I do where are youuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!

I have a Pfaff.

Haven't a clue with that thing is either.

i know. helpful.

Zazzu said...

Dorothy - my Kenmore has this exact same dial and the instructions call it a "feed balancing dial". I'm not sure what messing with it would do, as I've never adjusted it myself.

Here's what some guy named Bill Holman said about it...

"Feed balancing is for one or both of two purposes. The first is so that, when a machine buttonholes doing one leg using reverse feed, the two legs are of equal density. The second is so that, on machine that have stitches where the feed motion goes in and out of reverse, the stitches are in a proportion that will give the desired appearance."

Hmmm...I'm still not messing with it.