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Strange BearsMany many many years ago when I started making bears an experienced bear making told me to use a walking foot on the machine for easier sewing. I never did because at the time I sewed all by hand, which was mainly due to circumstances, I eventually just loved sewing by hand and the flexibility it gave me to sew anywhere and now "just do" for the sake of it.
However I am now thinking of doing more on the machine and have a bought a basic machine strictly for the mohair........it chatting to the technician in the shop I asked about a walking foot and we became so bogged down in the discussion of the pros and cons I eventually raced home and grabbed small samples of the different furs.......and we still couldn't decide as the pros and cons area bout equal.
So does anyone use one, tried one, have an opinion on one?...........................????????
Back Road BearsIt's great for machine quilting..... but for bears...... its an expense and nuisance I wouldn't invest in if I didn't already have one. I don't feel it produces a better result on mohiar. Does it make the sewing process any easier? Not in my opinion but I'm a "Keep It Simple" kinda girl and don't like to fiddle with anything I don't have to. 
I use both a computerized Viking and an old Featherweight... both work great with a regular old quarter inch foot! I think thats why I like bears more than quilting now..... no need to keep changing the presser foot, threads, tensions, etc. Just put the mohair in there and go!
That was my no nonsense, untechnical response to your question! :crackup:
Strange Bears
Daphne I love that answer.....I did take down some very thick plush fabric and a walking foot did seem to work better with that but as I very seldom sew with thick plush fabirc these days it didn't really seem worth it and I found the mohair worked well without a walking foot but as I have also rarely sown my bears by machine I just thought I'd get other opinions.
Hi Sandra,
I have a Pfaff machine and they have an inbuilt walking foot, called a intergrated dual feed system...not bulky like the normal walking feet, and it is permanently attached to the machine you just push it down if you want to use it..I just leave it set down...here's a link to a video of it.
Strange BearsHHMMMM thanks Denise but neither of them are a Pfaff. But you obviously find it helps in comparison to the old machines you used so I suppose I can say I have one for and one against.........
Past Time BearsI have one and use it, but only when I'm sewing quilting projects. It never occurred to me to use it sewing mohair. It is a real pain to put on and take off, but if I had one built in like Denise, I might sew with it more often.
Hi Sandra,
I have a Bernina sewing machine with a separate walking foot, it works much better on mohair than a normal foot, so I never take it off now, it seem to hold everything in place much better while you are sewing.
Benson BearsI test drove a Pfaff one a few years back and thought it was brilliant and vowed that when I upgrade my machine that's what I would get. But I gather that the integrated foot is heaps better than one that you put on separately. Kim's got the right idea, I only ever use my machine for bears these days, no time for "ordinary" sewing projects! 
Hi,
Thanks for bringing this little topic up, as when I bought my machine (Bernina) I enquired about the walking foot and was given the impression that it was only really used on things such as quilting as it enabled the thin layers plus the filling to be sewn together without any of them slipping in the process. But it sounds a good idea if it works for mohair too. If I want to hold any fabric "tighter", I have just been altering the control that puts more pressure on the presser foot. (I think most machines have these.) But I love "gadgets" , so if the general feeling is that the walking foot is helpful, then I may give one a go!!
Hugs
Marilyn 
EJ's CraftsThanks for the discussion on the walking foot. I have always wondered if it was worth the expense. I do quilts without one and just change the pressure on the foot. It works for me. I sew so many different types of fur and have pinned everthing to stay on track. After this discussion from all of you, I think I will forego the walking foot.
Strange Bearshhmm.........I must admit I'm getting very envious of those with a Pfaff............
When I started making bears I had almost no sewing experience so I listened carefully to the advice of the salesperson at our local sewing shop. And she suggested I try a walking foot. So I bought one, hooked it up (after she showed me how to do so) and used it for a year or more with a lot of success -- it feeds the fabric through so nicely and evenly! No slipping at all.
But then, frustrated with straight pins, I started using alligator clips to hold my pieces together, instead, as a way of combatting the same slipping that a walking foot helps alleviate. Those clips make the use of anything but a ZIPPER foot impossible.
I know, I know; it's weird to sew bears with a zipper foot, right?! But it works great! (Hmmm... I THINK that's a zipper foot, by the way; I've never actually installed a zipper. lol...) I just stitch right past the clips, zipper foot basically on the "left" side of my work, without having to remove the clips as I go. Works a treat, as some of my Brit friends might say.
For those who have no idea what I'm talking about -- we have a lot of newer folk here of late -- here's a picture of the alligator clips I use instead of straight pins. So do many others here. They're totally slip-proof. (The pic is something I worked up a while ago to illustrate some point or other; excuse my laziness in not reworking it just now!)
Dances With Teddy BearsI've never even heard of a walking foot. 
But now I'm way curious. I need to investigate.
Thanks to TT, I use alligator clips. Always! They are wonderful!!! I have 3 different sizes and tons of each.
I couldn't live without them.
Is this site great, or what!!! :dance:
Wow, thank you Shelli for all that info. I love the sound of those alligator clips too, especially if it removes the need for all the tacking. Are they the sort used by electricians or am I thinking of something else?
Hugs
Marilyn
Strange Bearsyep.........you have to love TT..............ask one question and end up with a whole different set of options to solve the issue you had never even thought of......I have used alligator clips but hadn't thought of using the zipper foot..........VERY logical though now that it's been pointed out......DUH.....just let me go bang my head on the wall a few times.........
Dances With Teddy Bears
I buy my alligator clips at Radio Shack. I've also found them at Home Depot.
Yup, they're the kind electricians use. I like the ones with the rubber handles, easier on the fingers. And I remove the screws that come in them.
They should be sold in the sewing department. They'd sell like hotcakes! :lol:
PS
I just snapped a pix of the little ones I use, since they're sitting right next to me.
They measure about 1 3/8 inches.
Thank you! I agree with Sandra, everyone on TT is so helpful! You learn something new every day!! Right ...... I'm off on an alligator search!! 
Hugs
Marilyn
Opos, sorry... I've been busy with family visiting over the Thanksgiving holiday; didn't get back to this thread 'til now.
I use the electrician type clips from Radio Shack myself. I bought a giant ton of them and they're awesome for slip-free holding of hairy mohair bits. Mine don't have the little plastic thingies on them (as you can see in my pictures) but they're otherwise the same.
I'm pretty sure Laura Lynn Matthews was the one who turned me on to alligator clips in the first place, but I tend to be kinda a dunderhead about remembering stuff like that. Just want to TRY to give credit where it's due, thought; it wasn't an original idea of mine, for sure!
