The B 790 and all its amazing features will be adorning my sewing table sometime this weekend.
There are New Features to explore, such as the stitch creator, and that new bobbin system.
There is a new stitch count to raise.
And, she needs a name.
Stay tuned!
Happy Quilting!
Teri
PS – Now you all know that I love working with rulers on my home sewing machine. I’ve seen their potential in the domestic sewing machine world for years.
There’s been a lot of chatter about the BERNINA Ruler Foot, #96. BERNINA is not officially releasing it yet, they are redesigning it for the home sewing machine user. There’s a problem with the height of the foot and potential for the needle bar to hit it, with some force, when the foot is in the highest position. If you’re like me, and I know a lot of you are, instead of using the hand wheel to drop the needle into the quilt to pick up the thread, I tap the heel of the foot pedal. This sends the needle down with some force, that has the potential to cause some damage. This damage will not be covered under warranty.
It’s for this reason that I, personally, wouldn’t purchase and use an aftermarket foot for the machine.
The further chatter has included the question, “why would BERNINA be worried about my machine?” Well there are so many reasons. The one I’m going to focus on for now is two-fold: one on the business end, the other on the consumer relationship end. First the business end: they know that the consumer is wanting to use rulers on the home sewing machine and they have taken the time to do the testing with the foot for all possible outcomes. The possibility for real damage to the machine exists and BERNINA, therefore is taking the proactive approach to saying we don’t recommend this, and here’s why.
The second part is relational, if BERNINA chose not to make us aware of the potential damage to the machine, we then, as the consumers would be really ticked off with the company should a whole lot of us purchase the Ruler Foot, use it and then, in some weird, freakish way, damage the machine. As much as they can, BERNINA wants to maintain a good relationship with its consumer base.
It’s never easy for any business to maintain a good relationship with its consumer base however, in this case the company is trying to do so. I have to give them kudos for taking the time to do the testing before hand. For my part as the consumer, this little bit of education and a little personal experience are going a long way to Waiting for a ruler foot that will work with the domestic sewing machines. The personal experience comes in the form of sitting at my machine and going through the steps to bring the bobbin thread up. I had the #24 foot attached, and used the hand wheel to drop the needle down to pick up the bobbin thread. I did this on purpose to see where the needle bar stops and why there would be any concern at all. With the foot was in the highest position, the needle bar comes right to the top of the #24 foot. If I’d used the foot pedal with the #96 foot, the needle bar would have hit the top of the foot with some force.
So, I’m waiting. Impatiently, but I’m waiting.
Me too! Can’t wait until they come up with a foot for rulers 🙂
Add me to that list! I *really* want a Bernina foot for ruler work! I thought about buying the #96 and being careful, but everyone forgets something now and then, and I’d hate to take the chance that I’d damage my machine through carelessness.
Like Christa and Sandy, I too am anxiously awaiting the ruler foot. I’m using the Westalee foot and really like it (they caution about the needle bar hitting the foot and I have yet to hit it), but it doesn’t work well with the TopAnchor templates because of the thickness. Please use your connections with Bernina to urge them to get that foot tested and on the market soon! Thank you.
Good morning Sylvia. Thank you so much for the comment. BERNINA certainly knows of my desire for the Ruler Foot, they do need to know of your desire for the ruler foot as well. I’d encourage you to either email or call customer service and let them know of your need and desire for a ruler foot. They want to see that it’s more than just me.
Happy Quilting!
Thank you Terri. I did email Customer Support to plead my case. Westalee Designs is having trouble keeping up with demand for their foot and templates and I believe Bernina needs to hit this market while it’s hot.
Perfect!