In last week's post I went through the key parts of the sewing machine that you need to get familiar with as a beginner sewist. See that post here. This week, I thought I would write about the five presser feet that I use the most and that I think as someone starting out with sewing, you should make part of your sewing kit!
One point to make before we get into it is that you should always use the presser feet associated with the brand of sewing machine that you own. Don't try and use presser feet from one branded machine with a different one, as that may not end well!
Standard Presser Foot (above)
This is the one that I use 80% of the time. Its just the basic, all purpose foot that comes already installed in the machine and works for most sewing projects. It can accommodate both a straight stitch and a zig zag stitch and is like the 'work horse' of presser feet! A lot of sewing tasks can be accomplished with this foot and in the beginning you may not need to deviate from this one for a while. However, as time goes on and you progress with your sewing, you may want to start inserting zips, sewing button holes or working with more difficult to sew fabrics and if that's the case, then more specialist feet are required...
Zipper foot (above)
The basic zipper (or zip) foot normally comes as part of the additional feet in your sewing machine accessories box and this type of foot allows you to sew a standard zip onto a garment or a cushion or toiletries bag for example. Its very narrow and has cut out sections on both sides through which the needle sews, meaning that you can get very close to the teeth of the zip without actually sewing over them, something that the normal presser foot would not allow you to do. Although its called a zip foot, it can also be used for sewing piping into a seam or a special trim, for example. Really anything that requires you to sew very close to anything that is raised or embellished.
Concealed zip foot (above)
Next on the list is another foot for sewing zips but this time its for concealed zips (mostly found in clothing). This is a really clever little foot which has two grooves or channels underneath. The teeth of the concealed zip sit in one of channels (depending on which side of the zip you are sewing) and guide the zip through, allowing the needle to get millimetres away from the teeth, through a hole in the top of the foot. This ensures that when the zip is installed and closed, its invisible!
Adjustable Buttonhole Foot (above)
The fourth sewing machine foot that I think is fairly essential if you want to make clothes is the buttonhole foot. This is a strange looking contraption but is very handy to make professional looking button holes on shirts, dresses, trousers etc. You can put the button that you want to use into the top of the foot, adjust the gauge so the button fits snuggly inside and then set it to work to sew the perfect size buttonhole for your project all on its own - magic!
Walking Foot (above)
The final one of my pick of sewing machine presser feet is the walking foot. The main benefit of this foot is that it has its own set of feed dogs underneath, which, in conjunction with the sewing machine feed dogs, help to ensure that both layers of fabric move through the sewing machine at the same speed and stops them slipping against each other. I usually use this foot when I'm sewing two different types of fabric together. For example when sewing lining into a garment, the lining is usually much lighter weight than the main fabric and can have a tendency to slip, so a walking foot helps to keep both layers together evenly along the length of the seam. Its sometimes also a good idea to use a walking foot when sewing with knits for the same reason. The dual feed dog action helps to move both layers of knit fabric at the same rate and this can prevent it puckering or stretching out.
So these are the most used feet on my sewing machine but there are so many more, all with special functions that assist with different sewing tasks. I'll plan to do another similar list with more specialist feet in the future but in the meantime, let me know which is your favourite sewing machine foot in the comments below!
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