Sewing Machine Presser Feet ~ Part 1

I recently purchased a box of 32 different presser feet for my sewing machines. It’s been on my wishlist for awhile now & I finally granted my wish! Ha! I thought it would be fun to do a series on what all those feet are for.  I’ll be including some feet I already had in my stash as well.  There are so many different kinds of presser feet out there, so maybe this will help clear up some of the confusion.  I know I will learn some things as well!

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All the Feet

I bought this particular set because it had several feet I’d been eyeing already.  Presser feet can vary greatly in price depending on what you want/need & what kind of machine you have. I have seen them at $100 & up! This set of 32 was only $17.99 & since I have Amazon Prime, 2-day shipping was free – yay!  : )

The main complaint people had with this set, is that the foot description on the back is in Chinese most of the time.  I lucked up & got one with an English & Chinese description!  That being said, there are plenty of helpful links & pictures in the comments to help figure out what’s what.  I also noticed that the 1 star reviews were usually about fit.  They were mainly for Janome, Kenmore, & Pfaff machines.  Pfaff is not listed as a machine they fit, but Janome & Kenmore are in the list.  It seems there is a problem with the needle hitting the foot on these machines.  I used the snap on ones with my Brother BX2925PRW {link is similar} mostly & I did test a couple feet on my Singer Heavy Duty.  Both worked fine as long as I adjusted the needle position accordingly.

For Part 1, I’m taking a look at standard or straight stitching feet & edge stitching type feet.  The feet to the left of the white line came with my machine {the Brother} & the feet on the right came with the set above.

For this post, I will test out each foot to see which is the best for the scant 1/4″ seam all quilters want most!  Also, please make sure your needle is in the right position when changing out or testing feet.  It could break your needle or cause other damage.  Not that I’d ever know why that would happen…. ; P

Straight Stitchin’

I’m starting with the feet that are mostly for standard straight stitching.  The feet that came with the set have some odd names, but I’m listing them as they are listed on the box.  The price is what I found for the feet, individually, on Amazon. From the left I have:

1. Standard or Zigzag J foot {$4.06-came with Brother sewing machine}
2. 1/4″ metal patchwork quilting foot {$11.97}
3. Straight stitch foot {$13.65}
4. Guide stitch foot {$12.88}

It helps to put a ruler on a foot if you are unsure of what the notches indicate.

I lined up the edge of my fabric with the side of the foot after measuring.  This is foot #2 from the list above & here is how my seam measures up:

Works fairly well for a scant 1/4″, but it’s harder to maintain at faster speeds.  I’m a speedy sewer!  : D

Here’s the seam for foot #3 in the list above:

It’s right on 1/4″, not a scant 1/4″. Next up is my original J foot that came with the machine, #1 on the list.  I used this for many years before picking up a 1/4″ foot of any kind!  If I stitch with my fabric edge on the left edge of the last notch, it holds a 1/4″ okay.  Not the best way to do it!

Here’s what that seam looks like & better picture of the foot:

Again, it’s dead on 1/4″ & not the scant 1/4″ most quilters talk about.  The last foot, #4 on the list, has an extended leg with notches to help guide spaced stitches.

The very end is about 1″ from my needle when it’s set to the far left.  The notches are spaced at 1/8″ increments.

Edge Stitchin’

Feet designed for edge stitching usually have a bar or metal plate that the “edge” rests against to help maintain a distance.

Today I’m looking at the feet that would help maintain a 1/4″ seam & stitch in the ditch.  These will be shown beside the seam, which “seemed” like a better set up after I did the first set!  Haha!  Anyway, the first one up came from the set of 32.  It’s listed as an Edge Stitch Foot {$11.99}.  Here’s what the seam looks like:

This is barely making it past the 1/8″ mark, so it’s a little to scant!  It’s really better for garment sewing, but it could work well on quilts with smaller pieces to keep the bulk down in the seams.

Next up is another foot from the set, the 1/4″ piecing foot guide {$9.99}.  It lives up to it’s name, because it’s exactly 1/4″.

This is another foot that came with my machine.  It’s a “G” foot, which is an overcasting foot {$11.95}.

I discovered that butting the fabric edge against the bar gives me a seam that’s slightly under 1/4″.  A scant 1/4″, dare I say?

The last two feet work best for stitching in the ditch or maintaining a slim 1/8″ from the edge of the seam.  The top foot is called a Patchwork for Edge Joining Stitch Foot on the back of the box set. The stitches on the yellow were done with this foot.

The “R” foot on the bottom came with my machine & is called a blind hem foot {$9.99}.  I stitched on the blue polka dot with this foot.  It’s not technically for this, but it does work!  To stitch in the ditch using either foot, I just change the needle position to centered.

I wonder how many times I said “feet” in this post?  Anyway, I found out that not all 1/4″ feet are created equal & just cause a foot says it’s for one thing, doesn’t mean it can’t be multipurpose!  What did you learn?  : )

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