Sewing Machine Feet Guide, All the Presser Feet You Need

Sewing machine feet, also called presser feet, help guide fabric through the sewing machine for different sewing techniques and fabric types. Using the correct sewing foot can improve stitch accuracy, make difficult fabrics easier to sew, and create more professional-looking sewing projects. This sewing machine feet guide explains the most useful presser feet for beginners, quilting, zippers, hems, gathering, leather, and specialty sewing techniques.

I’m sure you have quite a few sewing machine feet that came with your machine. Why not try them and see how much they improve your sewing? A little extra time spent getting the right presser foot and needle in your machine can transform your project into a professional-looking item you will be proud of.

Learn more about beginner sewing tools in the complete sewing tools guide.

What are Sewing Machine Feet?

Sewing machine feet are removable attachments fitted beneath the sewing machine needle to hold fabric in place while stitching. Different presser feet are designed for specific sewing techniques such as zippers, rolled hems, quilting, gathering, piping, and sewing difficult fabrics.

Snap-On vs Screw-On Feet

Depending on the brand of your machine, the sewing machine feet may be snap-on or screw-on. Most modern machines use the snap-on method making it fast and easy to change feet. Older machines tend to have screw-on feet which attach to the machine with a large screw. While they take a couple of seconds longer to put on, they are still very easy and you should feel confident switching feet.  

Essential Sewing Machine Feet

These are the most commonly used sewing machine feet for everyday sewing projects.

All-Purpose Presser Foot (Universal Foot)

All machines come with all-purpose sewing machine feet which are used for straight stitching, decorative stitches and simple zig-zag on a wide variety of fabrics. These can also be called a general purpose foot, straight stitching foot, standard foot, or a multi-purpose foot.

If you have an old-fashioned machine with just this one foot you’ll be able to sew 90% of sewing projects successfully. Having fancy gadgets is not necessary to sew beautiful garments and projects and this will be your most important sewing machine foot. Further Reading: How to Sew a Seam

Zig-Zag Foot

This is another name for the all-purpose sewing machine foot, which can be used for both zigzag and straight stitching. It has a wide toe to enable the needle to move from side to side in a wide zig-zag motion.

Zipper Sewing Machine Foot

These types of sewing machine feet enable you to sew close to the edge of zipper teeth, piping, and bulky edges. Most zipper feet allow you to position the needle either to the left or right of the foot. The photo below shows several different designs of the sewing machine presser foot for zippers. One thing they all have in common is that the needle slot is to the left or right and not in the center as usual.

You can get specialty feet for sewing invisible zippers, but even these can be sewn successfully with a regular zipper foot. When you are starting to sew, just get the basics and built your kit as you grow in experience and confidence.

Further Reading:

• How to sew a zipper
• How to sew an invisible zipper
• How to sew an exposed zipper
• Cushion cover with piping

Buttonhole Foot

The look of buttonhole feet does vary a lot from brand to brand, but their purpose is to create smooth and perfect-looking buttonholes. Buttonholes can also be created by zig-zag feet, like the clear plastic foot pictured below.

The long white buttonhole foot automatically sews to the correct length buttonhole since the button is placed in the back with a spring mechanism. These feet are from my Janome machine.

Further Reading:

• How to Sew Buttonholes
• How to Sew a Button with a Machine

Blind-Hem Foot

The blind hem foot or hemmer foot has a metal sewing machine foot guide to create accurate stitching for your invisible blind hem. Further Reading: How to sew a blind hem

Invisible Zipper Foot

While you can sew an invisible zipper with an all-purpose foot, an invisible zipper foot will enable you to get much closer to the teeth. This makes the zipper even more invisible! The foot has a groove on the underside that will slide over the teeth.

Hemming and Edges Feet

The following sewing machine feet are used to create hems and neat edges.

Rolled Hemming Foot

A hemming sewing machine presser foot (sometimes called hemmer sewing machine feet) is used to sew a narrow rolled hem on fine fabrics and sheer fabrics. It turns the hem and sews it in place all at the same time so saves you a lot of time in pressing. See how it has a curved front edge to turn the hem.

The rolled hem foot is best used for straight hems rather than curved hems. Common sizes include the 1/8 inch (3mm) and the 1/4 inch (6mm). Further Reading: How to use a rolled hem foot

Edge Stitch Foot

Edge stitch feet come with a guide that allows you to sew in the crease of seams accurately. This is a great sewing machine foot for quilting.

Overlock (Overedge or Overcast) Foot

Most modern machines are able to create an overlocked edge for knits and wovens. These sewing machine feet will help bind the edge neatly. The edge created by an overlock foot is slightly different from that of a serger. A serger will cut the raw edge before sewing whereas the overlock foot does not cut. This means it is important to trim the raw edge immediately before sewing to prevent fraying.

Further Reading:

• Seam Finishes Without a Serger
• How to Use a Serger
• Overcast Stitch

Binder Foot

The binder foot or binding foot attaches bias tape (bias binding) to the raw edges of the fabric. It is best for straight edges.

Sewing Machine Feet for Difficult Fabrics

Using the correct presser foot for difficult fabrics makes an enormous difference. Here are the most commonly used sewing feet for fabrics such as leather, vinyl and heavy denim.

Teflon Presser Foot (Non-Stick Foot)

This useful foot glides over leather and vinyl fabrics without sticking. I use Teflon sewing machine feet a lot for sewing Lycra and other difficult fabrics and even keep it on for regular sewing in place of an all-purpose foot. Since they are made of a plastic-like substance, these types of presser feet do wear out a little, and I replace mine every year or so. You can see the one in the photo below is well-loved.

Further Reading:

• How to sew leather
• How to sew Spandex

Roller Foot

A roller foot has a rolling bar in the front and back to enable it to glide over leather and vinyl.

Walking Foot

A walking foot is useful for sewing quilts, leather, and lycra fabrics as its up-and-down movement means it doesn’t stick to any fabric and releases any puckered fabric. It is an essential presser foot for when you are sewing multiple layers of fabric as it will feed them through the feed dogs evenly.

Gathering and Decorative Machine Feet

Ruffler foot

The last item in my sewing machine feet guide is the ruffler foot. This fancy contraption is amazing for pleating and gathering all kinds of fabrics. Like a gathering foot, it can ruffle and stitch to a flat piece of fabric all at the same time. 

Further Reading: How to use a ruffler foot

Gathering Foot

This handy foot gathers lightweight fabrics as you sew. It can even gather and join fabrics at the same time. If you do gathering regularly, it will save you so much time. The main thing to remember is that these sewing machine feet are for light or thin fabrics, and it only creates gentle gathers. If you want a gathering foot for thicker fabrics or deeper gathers, then look at the ruffler in the number 10 spot.

Further Reading: Gathering foot tutorial – how to gather quickly

Quilting Sewing Machine Feet

Quarter Inch Foot

This quarter inch seam foot will give you a perfect 1/4 inch (6mm) seam allowance. You can purchase them with or without the extra guide on the side. The foot with the guide is great for topstitching flaps on bags and clutches.

Further Reading: How to topstitch bags

Darning Foot

Darning feet (Free Motion or Embroidery Foot) can be used to repair rips as well as to free motion quilt.

Pin Tuck Sewing Machine Foot

The pintuck foot has grooves on the back of the foot to space the tucks. It is used in conjunction with a twin needle to sew small evenly spaced pin tucks.

Where Buy Sewing Machine Feet

Save money and purchase your sewing machine feet in a multi-pack. These packs will fit most low shank machines and can greatly increase your sewing enjoyment, quality, and productivity. I have found that the generic kits found on Amazon and eBay are actually quite good. Just don’t lose the labeling and packaging as it can get a little confusing when you have 30 to 50 loose feet and you need to identify them all.

How to Choose Sewing Machine Feet

The best sewing machine foot depends on the fabric type, sewing technique and the stitch being used. Beginners usually only need an all-purpose foot, zipper foot, buttonhole foot and rolled hem foot. Most machines come with these as standard. Specialty feet can then be added gradually for quilting, gathering, leather, piping, and decorative sewing.

Most Useful Sewing Machine Feet for Beginners:

Sewing Foot	Best Use
All-Purpose Foot	Everyday sewing
Zipper Foot	Zippers and piping
Walking Foot	Thick and slippery fabrics
Rolled Hem Foot	Narrow hems
Buttonhole Foot	Automatic buttonholes

Common Sewing Foot Mistakes and Tips

Using the wrong sewing foot can cause uneven stitching, skipped stitches, puckering, and feeding problems. Matching the sewing foot to the fabric and sewing technique will help create smoother more professional-looking results.

Common Mistake	Tip
Fabric sticking	Use a Teflon foot
Uneven feeding	Use a walking foot
Wavy hems	Use a rolled hem foot
Crooked topstitching	Use an edge stitch foot
Poor zipper stitching	Use a zipper foot

Sewing Machine Feet FAQs

Pin for Later

Sewing Machine Feet – In Conclusion

Using the correct sewing machine foot can improve stitch quality, fabric control, and sewing accuracy for a wide variety of sewing projects. From zipper feet and rolled hem feet to walking feet and quilting feet, each presser foot is designed to make specific sewing techniques easier and more professional-looking.

As your sewing skills grow, adding specialty sewing machine feet can greatly expand the types of fabrics and techniques you can sew successfully.

• Part 1 – Best sewing tools for beginners on a budget
• Part 2 – How to choose sewing scissors and cutting tools
• Part 3 – Sewing machine feet guide
• Part 4 – How to choose sewing machine needles
• Part 5 – Tools to mark fabric for sewing