What Is Presser Foot In Sewing Machine?

Wondering what’s the use of the various types of presser feet in your sewing machines. This post will introduce you to the different types of sewing accessories and their uses.

What Is Presser Foot In Sewing Machine?

It is a fixture in your sewing machine that holds the fabric in place as the cloth is fed through the machine while sewing it. It helps keep the fabric flat so that the material does not rise and fall while the needle moves up and down during the stitching process. These attachments will differ based on the type of fabric used; for instance, thicker materials that are used in quilts, you might need a specialized attachment called the walking foot. Most sewing machine feet will come with two toes to hold on to the fabric from either side of the needle.

Most of the seasoned seamstresses will agree that it is indeed a task to have this attachment changed. Have you also faced similar situations where you have called for help to dismantle and fix a new sewing foot? Well, this tutorial will also take you through a technical session on how to fix this attachment on your own. Let’s learn more about this sewing attachment and the purpose of using different presser feet for various sewing projects.

Snap-on Presser Feet vs. Screw-on Presser Feet

Presser feet broadly fall into two categories based on the way they are fixed to the machine. It depends on the make of your sewing machine.

• Snap-on presser feet is easily detachable from the machine by the press of a button. Changing Snap-On presser feet is an easy task and will not require any detailed instructions.
• Screw-on presser feet requires detaching from the machine by undoing the screws using a screwdriver.

What Is A High And Low Shank In Presser Feet?

This refers to the height of the presser feet or the shank. More than 90% of the sewing machines come with a low shank. For those sewing feet that cater to thicker materials are usually seen with a high shank. Only the user can tell what type of shank their machine has, or the vendor should be able to guide you better on this.

What Is A Presser Foot Used For?

The functionality of this attachment is not limited to getting your stitches straight. It comes with a host of other functions such as for different types of stitches like zig-zag, zipper stitches, to give an excellent finish using the hem lines, create button holes, and so on.

What Are The Different Presser Feet?

You can choose from a wide assortment of sewing foot to help you with different types of stitches. There are more than 30 different types of sewing foot attachments you can try.

1. Straight Stitch Presser Foot – is the most common one that is used in most sewing machine models. It is the basic version of all the different types that help with your everyday sewing needs, and yes, it helps you with the straight stitch.
2. Zig Zag Presser Foot – This all-purpose sewing foot can be used for your regular stitches; you can also sew decorative stitches using this general and all-purpose foot.
3. Piping or Zipper Foot – if you want to sew zippers perfectly close to the zipper teeth, then this is an absolute necessity for the sewist in you. You can sew to both right and left of the zipper teeth. You could also add piping using these sewing feet.
4. Hemmer Foot – Want those even hem lines on your sewing projects? Then the hemmer foot is just the thing you will need. You can add an excellent finish to the fabric end in a curling way. This is especially useful when the fabric frays a lot; the edges of the fabric are guided to curl in to give a perfect hem line. In the hemmer foot, you will find two variants, one that comes without a groove to give a flat hem and the regular one that gives you a round hem.
5. Button Hole Sewing Foot –   Are you tired of having to make the button holes all by your hand? Not anymore, this sewing foot can make beautiful button holes without much hassle.
6. Button Sewing Foot – You can sew buttons to fabric easily using this foot. The transparent foot gives you a good view of the button, and also it adjusts the zig-zag stitches to sew down the button perfectly.
7. Embroidery Foot (Open Toe) – Create decorative stitches and embroidery using this wide opening sewing foot. The opening will help you see the embroidery clearly so that you can get your designs the way you want it to be. Open toe sewing foots that are of plastic make are even better to get a more unobstructed view. These sewing foots can be sung in machine applique, topstitching and quilt making, etc.
8. Quilting Foot – This presser foot can be used in quilting for sewing with the ¼ inch and 1/8-inch seam allowance. You can find the markings on the sewing foot to get the seams accurate from the edge. It is also called as the piecing foot.
9. Gathering foot – This can be used to gather the fabric and to stitch it to form layers. It is ideal for use in a lightweight material. Attaching gathered fabric to other flat fabric, creating beautiful ruffles and gathers are some of the functionalities of this presser foot.
10. Applique Stitch Foot – Is a short presser foot, which is about ¾ of a straight sewing foot. The small size makes it easy to sew embroidery patterns, and the transparent foot gives a better view to make your sewing easy.
11. Satin Stitch foot – These are similar to the applique foot just that they are a bit longer than the former. This foot has a grove behind that will allow raised threads of satin stitches to pass through easily.
12. Stitch Guide feet – This presser foot has a scale so that it can make equidistant parallel stitching easy. It is also known as gauge presser foot and has markings ranging from 1/8 inch to 13/16 inch. These are ideal for your heavy fabric like quilt materials.
13. Edge Joining Foot – This sewing foot makes stitching at the edges easy and accurate. You can use it to sew accurately along the seam line. It is an excellent tool for topstitching and can also be used in joining. You can create beautiful decorative stitches between the trims and the fabric edge using this sewing foot.
14. Blind Stitch Foot – This presser foot is used to make blind hem stitches on pants and skirts so that the stitches are not visible from the right side of the fabric. Henning done this way is much easier than the one you do use your hands.
15. Walking foot – It is the one we use for sewing many layers of fabric. You can use it in quilt making, sewing bags. It is s great tool for all your patchwork sewing jobs. The foot holds on to the many layers of fabric and does not shift much, giving you cleaner stitches. It is also known as a feed foot.

The one we discussed above as some of the most common presser feet that sewists, apart from these you will also come across Teflon foots for hard materials, ruffler foot for ruffles and pleats, braiding foot to stitch braids or sequin chains onto the fabrics, double welting foot, Bias tape binding foot, and cording foot.

How Do You Fix The Presser Foot On A Sewing Machine?

Have you been overwhelmed by the thought of having to fix a sewing foot? Well, if you have a screw-on make, it does make the task difficult. The Snap-On version is much easier, and you can change the sewing foot in a matter of seconds.

So how do we go about changing a presser foot in a screw-up presser foot set up? Here is a guide on how to do it. Before attempting anything, first, move the hand wheel towards you to keep the needle in the highest position.

1. Remove the sewing foot that is in place already. You will also have to remove the presser foot adapter
2. Now raise the sewing foot to separate it from the metal bottom. In a Snap-On set up you can press the red button near the presser foot to release the sewing foot. However, in a screw-on type, you will have to unwind the screw that is most times very tightly bound. You can use some elbow grease to ease it a bit before attempting to unscrew it. Place the sewing foot you just removed in a safe place for future use.
3. Now use the same screw driver to remove the sewing foot adapter.
4. Hold the sewing foot which you want to attach and raise the lever. Now hook the foot around the shank or presser bar.
5. Adjust the foot to get it to the lined with the hole, then insert the set of screws. Fasten the screws tightly.

Now you can use any presser foot with ease after going through our tutorial. Write to us about your sewing experience and also let us know if our tips helped you.