Sewing Machine Feet Guide {Top 10 You Need}

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Use this sewing machine feet guide to make your sewing faster, more accurate and easier. There are a huge amount of presser feet on the market and while they all perform different tasks, you only really need 10 of these in your sewing kit that you will use on a regular basis.

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SEWING MACHINE FEET GUIDE

I’m sure you have quite a few sewing machine feet that came with your machine. Why not try them and see how much it improves your sewing.

A little extra time taken to get the right foot and needle in your machine can make your project turn into a professional-looking item you will be proud of.

Snap-On vs Screw-On

Depending on the brand of your machine, the 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.

Sewing Machine Feet, Sewing Machine Feet Guide — Sewing Machine Feet Guide

What are the Best Sewing Machine Feet?

The best sewing machine feet to start sewing with are –

All-purpose foot
Rolled hem foot
Zipper foot
Blind hem foot
Overlock foot
Teflon foot
Gathering foot
Buttonhole foot
1/4 inch foot
Ruffler foot

The first 4 in the list most likely came with your machine and the last 6 can be purchased either individually or in a kit. Out of all these feet, my most used one is the Teflon foot so take special note of that section.

1. All-Purpose Foot (Universal Foot)

All machines come with an all-purpose sewing machine foot which is used for straight stitching and simple zig-zag on a wide variety of fabrics.

These can also be called 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

2. Rolled Hemming Foot

A hemming foot (sometimes called hemmer foot) 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

3. Zipper Foot

This foot enables 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 zipper foot. One thing they all have in common is that the needle slot is to the left or right and not in the center as is 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:

4. Overlock (Overedge) Foot

Most modern machines are able to create an overlocked edge for knits and wovens. This foot will help bind the edge neatly.

The edge created by an overlock foot is slightly different for that from 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:

5. Blind-Hem Foot

The blind hem foot or hemmer foot has a metal sewing machine feet guide to create accurate stitching for your invisible blind hem.

Further Reading: How to sew a blind hem

6. Teflon foot (non-stick foot)

This useful foot glides over leather and vinyl fabrics without sticking. I use a Teflon sewing foot 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, they 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:

7. 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 this sewing machine foot is 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

8. Buttonhole Foot

The look of buttonhole feet do vary a lot from brand to brand but its 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 are from my Janome machine.

Further Reading:

9. 1/4 inch seam foot

This foot will give you a perfect 1/4 inch (6mm) seams.

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

10. 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

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.

Sewing Machine Feet Guide {Top 10 You Need}