You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out....

The Sewphisticuts weren't doing the Hokey-Pokey the other night, but there were many feet being "put in" as attendees compared the many sewing machine feet they all had.  From Singer Featherweight to Viking embroidery machines, we had a collection of old and new machines, which gave considerable variety of feet to look at and try.  Pat had just two feet with her newly adopted machine, while Judy had.....lots!

Some of the feet for Judy's Bernina

As we compared notes (and feet), we found that we all had that utility foot that pretty much stays on the machine all the time.  Beyond that, of course, was the zipper foot, button-hole foot or attachment, and the single-hole foot for sewing very lightweight fabrics such as sheers.  Some of us had edge-stitchers and hem-rollers, rufflers and darning (free-motion) feet.  And several of us had feet that mystified us - what they were for or how to make them work.  We saw firsthand how little standardization there is for machine feet - every brand puts its own twist on the foot design.  No two zipper feet were the same across all our varied machines.  Sadly, this is what makes it almost impossible to hold a generic class about using machine feet.  But by pooling our knowledge, we figured out a few feet and learned how to get full use out of some of those funny little attachments that came with our machines.


Judy helped Peggy figure out the various settings for the ruffler foot which can be a bit daunting.   Some trial and error is needed to find the correct balance for your fabric and the look you want.

Peggy learned how to use her ruffler foot

The gathering/smocking foot results

As we experimented with the different feet and evaluated results, we also discussed potential uses.  Once you know you can easily make ruffles or join two finished edges with a decorative stitch, don't you go looking for a project to use that skill?  Perhaps that will be a challenge for a future meeting!

Linda tried out a foot to join two edges.

The interesting result

Next month's meeting is scheduled for March 13th:  the topic is  "What can a serger do besides an Overlock stitch?"  Our April 10th meeting will be about proper ironing techniques.