Sewing Machine-foot must haves!

Of course there is! Here's an example listing:
3 pcs Domestic Sewing Machine Foot Presser Rolled Hem Feet For Brother Singer | eBay
The smallest size is 3mm and I must say it works wonders for me (just not on curves - trying to sew curves with this one is my own personal hell)
I would also recommend an overlocking foot if you don't have a serger. Great for preventing seams from fraying.

 

I like a stitch-in-the-ditch foot for top-stitching really close to the edge, and for getting beautiful tiny pin-tucks sewn neatly and evenly


Teddy

 

1) A quilting foot with a single hole throat plate. The quilting foot is especially made for 1/4" seam allowances. The single hole throat plate helps in preventing the fabric being sucked down at the beginning of stitching a seam, but make sure your needle is in the center position or it will hit the plate and break.
2) A ruffler/pleater foot contraption, if you like making frills and such this impressive looking foot is great especially if you have to gather 27 feet of fabric strips to make a frilled ballgown. It's not a necessity but a nice gadget to have.

I have to admit I'm addicted to presser feet for my sewing machine, I have quite the collection!

I personally make my hems by hand I find I have more control that way.

 

Same here (unless there will be trim around the hem, in which case the machine stitching is hidden by the trim)

I love my quarter-inch foot for doll stuff too. Exact seam allowance every time.

Teddy

 

Resurrecting this thread to ask if anyone can recommend feet for an old singer ( screw on type attachments not snap on) ( links or pictures most welcome )

I know I need something narrower than my usual one (not much space to manoeuvre with that one) but I’m struggling to know what kind I need as all I’m finding are the snap on ones.

Also does anyone have any links to tutorials on how to use any of these feet too? My sewing lessons at school stopped on just a basic foot.

 

@Blubell : Don't know if this could help, I have an old handcrank singer that use common low-shank screwed-on feet.

I think you need to determine what edition of machine you have and Singer have published some pretty helpful manuals. Singer Sewing Support. Find Manuals, Accessories and FAQ's

Once you have determined what kind of machine you have, you will probably know if you need low-shank or high-shank feet. Most domestic machines use low-shank feet.

You can buy the adequate feet on specialty shops like this one Vintage Singer Sewing Machine Hand Crank Attachment Original Genuine Simanco | The Old Singer Shop but I found that ebay often has less expensive options, for comparison : low shank screw sewing machine feet: Search Result | eBay Sometimes, there are even sets, that could be even less expensive.

I don't really use that much feet (as a beginner who occasionally sew basic stuff for 1/3 size, so I use the basic foot, the zipper foot, the rolling hem foot, occasionnaly the ruffler foot. I don't sew a lot of synthetic, but if you do, a zig-zag foot to avoid fraying edges would be nice, but zig zag on a handcrank is pretty uncomfortable, so I just use anti-fraying glue and lining, lol)

I would say that the feet you need depends on what you want to sew? What kind of clothes do you want to sew?

 

Hi it’s definitely a low shank screw on foot. I’m going to be making boy clothes for 1/3 size ( I will also be sewing for 1/6 but I think I’ll do that by hand )
I struggled with the regular foot to sew the seams neatly. My machine does do zigzag. I don’t think I’ll be making many ruffles - it’s mostly the seams I need to sew close to the edge and needing to finish them off nicely somehow so they don’t fray.
I’ll take a look at the eBay link.

 

It would be interesting to see what everyone thinks^^

Overcasting foot? How To Use An Overcast (Over Edge) Foot | Sewing Bee Fabrics

Narrow edge foot? Narrow Edge Foot w/IDT – Seams Sew Easy (seams-sew-easy.com)

 

I use my overcasting foot all the time for neatening the raw edges of seams, once they're sewn, and for preventing zig-zag on finer fabrics from scrunching the fabric up along the line of stitching.

I think I have a narrow edge foot, but have never used it.

I use my quarter-inch foot all the time as that's the "standard" seam-width for a lot of doll clothes pterns - unless your pattern is a coomercial one form the big-theree of pattern companies (Simplicity, Vogue, McCalls) which tend to default to the full-sized garment standard of five-eighths of and inch.

Stitch-in-the-ditch foot is great for topstitching very close to the edge, and for making tiny, doll-sized pintucks.

Rolled hem feet of various sizes are also on my frequently-used list.


EDITED TO ADD: I forgot to include:
Walking foot - great for fabrics that don't stay in place well, like velvet, or thicker/bunchier fabrics like fleece
Zip foot - I don't do zips (never got the hang of them despite 40-odd years of trying) but I use my zip-foot for getting in cliose to the edge of piping cord for stitching it in place (I get better results with a zip foot than with an actual piping foot)

I'm considering gettign and elastic foot and a decorative trim foot, the former because it stretches the elastic for you (something I find a right old faff to do manually) as you're sewing it on, the latter because it holds and feeds the fiddley little trim in the right place for the stitches to catch it.

Teddy

 

Thank you

 

I can’t find a stitch in the ditch that fits my machine. Or a quarter inch one. I might just be being dumb. My machine foot is the kind that wraps around the main stem and screws on - vintage Singer so the snap on feet won’t work.

 

Hmm...they may not have been a thing back when your machine was made. I'm not sure when someone came up with the ideas for them and they started to be available, and which brands introduced them first.

I just had a quik look on eBay, and while I could find loads of zip foot, rolled hem foot, pleater and biasbinding foot listings, I coudln't see any for stitch in the ditch or quarter inch.

Neither are essential, but if they were avialable they'd make some sewing jobs easier.

Teddy

 

You might be able to find quarter inch feet by looking specifically for feet sold for quilting, since that's generally the seam allowance on quilts.

If you're looking for ways to finish seams and can't find the feet, you can use pinking shears and/ or fray check. TBH, on most doll clothes if I'm using fabric that will fray easily, I'll treat the edge before sewing them, or if it's a very finicky fabric, before i cut them out.

If you're struggling with your seams, it can help to draw out the stitching lines on the fabric and match those, then sew following the marked lines rather than relying on the edge of your pieces to get the seam allowance, especially with smaller things like doll clothes.

 

For vintage Singers, what comes up when uypou search for quilting feet is either ones with a guide for sewing evenly-spaced lines of quilting, or ones for binding the edges of the quilt - I think the specific quarter-inch foot may be a newer thing that the vintage Singers predate.

Teddy

 

I’ve made another shirt today (not quite finished ) and really struggled with the hem for some reason. Just could not get it right. I think partly because it’s so hard to see what I’m doing with the foot I have on there now.
Also I need some advice on reverse stitch - how do you do it so it doesn’t all bunch up and get stuck?

 

Thank you. I’ll give that a go with the seams. I’m ok on the straight edges but anything curved is difficult.
I’ll have a look for quilting feet too.

 

That’s what I was finding and was then confused about how that would help me haha. I did see that it’s possible to order an adapter to be able to use snap on feet. Would you recommend that ?

 

It may be that your machine needs to be serviced, but you could try checking you have the right size needle for the thickness of fabric you're using - for thin cottons I'd use a 70 or 80 needle.

EDITED TO ADD: Also, try reversing before you reach the very end of the seam.

Teddy

 

That's worth a try, if the adapter works you could use the snap on feet and that opens up a wider range of options.

Teddy

 

Yep it’s the right size needle. Everything else works perfectly. The reverse works fine in the middle of a line of stitches but gets stuck at the beginning and end which is why it may be my technique rather than a problem with the machine.

 

Try using a folded scrap of fabric (or a couple of scraps stacked on top of one another) as a leader and another as an ender for your row of stitching (start sewing on the leader, butt your actual fabric up to the edge of it and sew straight onto the actual garment fabric, then sew off the end of the seam onto the ender) - to help your machine avoid the transition from fabric under the foot to no fabric under the foot. It's an old quilter's trick. It might help the machine not eat the start and end of the fabric when you reverse. You can use the same leader and ender scraps multiple times before they get so clogged with stitching you have to switch them out for new ones.

Teddy

 

I did try reversing before I got the the end but it seems if there isn’t a lot of fabric left to go, it doesn’t feed through properly.

 

Oh that’s an awesome idea!! I’m going to try that tomorrow.

 

Then it might be that the machine needs to be serviced, OR that the fabric is simply too thin for reverse to work wel at the end and start of a seam - if using a leader and an ender doesn't help, you might have just not fo the reversing. If it's a seam that will have another seam crossing the end of it, then there's no need for reversing, and if its ot going to be crossed by another seam, leave a long tail of thread at the end and sew it in by hand to secure it.

Good Luck!

Teddy

 

I’ve just realised I’ve been using a zig zag foot as that’s the only one that came with the machine. I have a normal straight stitch foot on one of my other machines ( I have 4 machines for some reason - 2 are really old singers- one a handcrank and one a treadle which I haven’t quite got the hang of ) so would it make a difference to swap it out? I have ordered the adapter and 1/4 inch foot but of course that will take a few days to arrive.
I’ll try using the leader and ender method too and thank you for the advice about not needing to finish it if the seam will be crossed with another one. That’s most of them so that helps a lot ☺️ I also read yesterday that small parts such as collars could be sewn out on a larger piece of material and then cut so I’m going to try that method today too. I also found a rolled hem foot( is that what it’s called?) for £1 on eBay so bought that too. Will the cotton be thin enough for that? I used to have a whole box of attachments for my handcrank singer but I have no idea where they’ve gone. Lost in a house move I guess along with lots of fabric and sewing stuff from when I used to make cloth nappies.

 

It's worth a try, but then you'd need to change it back again to sew zigzg. I tend to stick with a zigzag foot so I can do both straight stitch adn zigzag without haivng to swap feet.

It should be, I do rolled hems on lots of weights of cotton and other fabrics. Look on YouTube for demos of using rolled hem foots if you're unsire of how they work.

Oh that's a shame - I lost a crate of my childhood books that way.

Teddy

 

Yep will definitely be watching YouTube videos. I was always intimidated by using the different feet so I never even tried before.
It’s possible the fabric is in the shed as there are a few things there so at some point I need to order a skip and have a big clear out but I need to wait for my daughter to help me with it. Actually I wonder if the extra feet are with handcrank machine as that had storage and my main one doesn’t.

 

Fingers crossed for that!

Teddy

 

Look what I found!!! Yay!!! I have no idea what some of these are though so have numbered them and require your superior knowledge

B39F276F-3AB3-4AE3-BA09-365B6D3A012F by Katarzyna Antosiewicz, on Flickr

I know the ones that are labelled obviously.
1. Cloth guide. No idea how it works. One is an old vintage singer part, the other is newer. No idea how this is supposed to work.
2. ?? Same as 7 I think just a different screw
3. Rolled hem foot but no idea how to tell what size
4. Adjustable cording foot.
5. ???
6. Darning foot
7. ??
8. ??????
9. I think this one is a zipper foot?
I can look at YouTube for how to use all these but I don’t know what some of them are called even

 

Yes, 9 is the zip foot.

Number 5 looks like it might be for applying binding or bias binding around the edge of a quilt (possibly could apply it to other things as we - you'd need to try it out)

If i were you I'd do a search for "vintage singer foot -pedal" on eBay and compare the pictures on the listings to your items in order to figure out whihc ones they are, then you can search for instructins or you-tube videos on how to use them.

Teddy

 

Oh good plan!! I really want to know what that huge one is

 

Ok on doing some investigation
2 and 7 Adjustable hemmer foot
5. Binder foot
8. Tuck maker

Off I go now to YouTube to find out how on earth these work.

 

So this is I think the equivalent on my old singer to the stitch in the ditch you mentioned @Teddy
It joins 2 pieces of fabric together right at the edge. You can also use it to make cords or attach ribbons and lace. C7AB2555-5032-476E-B4B2-200554C63B30 by Katarzyna Antosiewicz, on Flickr

This is the YouTube tutorial I watched about it

 

Nope. The stitch in the ditch foot isn't for joining thing, it's for keeping in line when sewing along an already-sewn seam (in the "ditch" between the two pieces of fabric once the seam is pressed (it's a patchworking/quilting thing). If you run it along the pressed edge of a seam however, you can use it as a guide for top-stitching realy close to the edge or making narrow pintucks along a fold.

Does you machine allow you to alter the needle position to one side or the other? If not, a stitch-in-the-ditch foot probably wouldn't be any use to you. Sorry, I didn't think to ask that before.

Teddy

 

Oh I see. Would this be helpful for keeping the edge straight?
Low Shank Sewing Machine 1/4

My main machine does have needle positions. I’m just curious how they managed this in the past before the actual stitch in the ditch foot was invented?

 

Thast's the quarter-inch foot! You found one!!! Well done!

Like they did anything in the past - by not doing it the lazy way and not relying on a fancy tool where they could pracctice until they were skilled enough to do it without. Some people still do it without the stitch in the ditch foot (or the quarter in foot for even seams).

Teddy

 

Hurray!! That foot is on its way to me ☺️
Gosh it must take hours and hours of practice to have that much skill. I’ll happily use any tool I can get lol. It’s hard enough to sew a bigger seam and keep it straight.