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Built-in walking foot or walking foot attachment?
WThe question often arises, what to choose? Let's figure it out.
ELet's start by understanding how these mechanisms work.

InHow does a machine feed fabric without a built-in walking foot or a walking foot attachment?

TThe presser foot holds the fabric, and when the feed dog moves, it advances the fabric.



NIn the diagram, the green fabric will have a slightly lower feed speed than the red one. The feed dog teeth grip the bottom fabric, while the top one slips a little because the top layer moves due to friction between the layers, and is also slowed down by the presser foot from above.

OFrom this, we get uneven movement speed of the layers and their displacement.

TThis effect is noticeable when working with large items, on "difficult" fabrics: silk, leather, on materials with a clear small pattern (a check, for example).
IAn integrated walking foot or a walking foot will help avoid such displacement.

InHow does a walking foot work?

OIt repeats the cycle of the lower feed dog, the teeth of the feed dog rise, catching the fabric - the foot lowers and presses all layers of fabric to the teeth of the feed dog, while moving synchronously with it, advancing the fabric evenly, the cycle repeats.
You can imagine the movement of the feed dog and the foot as an ellipse.

Vbuilt-in feed dog - performs a similar function, but is driven by its own motor. Therefore, in some machines, its mode can be additionally configured for a specific project, increasing or decreasing its speed relative to the lower one.

I So, we've covered the similarities, let's look at the differences.
VThe integrated transporter can be used with many feet, which provides variability in work and the ability to choose the most suitable foot for a specific task, for example, a foot for jeans, a foot for zipper insertion, a foot for patchwork, etc.

PIf necessary, the integrated transporter can be switched off with one movement, which will take much less time than connecting the walking foot.

RThe working area of the integrated transporter is smaller than that of the foot. In some tasks, this can lead to uneven feeding of fabric layers. The walking foot has a larger area, the pressure is distributed more evenly, and the foot does not sink when using thick batting.

Vbuilt-in transporter mostly moves the top layer, leaving the middle layers with less control. The walking foot, by pressing against the feed dog of the lower transporter, moves all layers of the product.
EIf you are working with only a few layers, or thin sandwiches - the built-in transporter will be quite sufficient.

EIf there is no built-in transporter in the machine, then purchasing a walking foot will greatly help in working with complex fabrics.

RIf you work with dense, thick fillers - consider a walking foot.

PWhen choosing a foot - be sure to pay attention to the stitch width of your machine and choose the foot accordingly.