I’ve been seeing a lot of ads for a presser feet kits around the internet and thought it might be helpful to have a list of the most commonly used presser feet. You can buy kits for up to 32 different presser feet and I’ve even got a 15 piece kit from Amazon before. But do you really need all those feet? What are they even used for?
Here are the most commonly used feet:
All-Purpose foot: This is the standard foot for, well, everything! It’s the standard foot that comes with all machines. Some are all metal and some have clear plastic on the front to allow you to see the fabric underneath. This foot is great for a wide variety of fabric, but I find it most useful for woven (non-stretch) fabric.
Zipper Foot: This handy foot helps you sew on zippers by allowing you to stitch much closer to the zipper than you with an all-purpose foot. An invisible zipper foot helps with stitching in invisible zippers (as the name implies ;)!)
Walking Foot: This is my most used foot, besides my all-purpose! This foot helps the fabric to be feed evenly though the machine without stretching or shifting layers. Great for knits and when quilting layers.
Overcast Foot: There is pin on this foot that helps prevent puckering when overcasting fabric. This foot is helpful when finishing the raw edges of wovens with the overcast stitch.
1/4″ Foot: Mainly used for quilting to keep 1/4″ seams but it can also be used to help with topstitching!
Rolled Hem Foot: This foot rolls the edge of the fabric for you while you sew, creating a narrow hem. I like using this foot for thin wovens, as it creates a nice hem. These feet come in different sizes that creat different size hems.
Button Hole Foot: This foot is for machines with 1-step automatic button holes. You adjust the opening to the size of your button and the machine takes care of the rest! 1-step button holes are one of my favorite features on sewing machines.
Button Foot: Used to keep buttons in place while sewing them on.
Blind Stitch Foot: To be used with the blind hem stitch to make a nearly invisiable hem. I like to use on dress pants and skirts for a cleaner hem.
Cording Foot: This foot keeps cording in place while being sewn on. Great for all kinds of decorative cording!
Bias Binding Foot: I don’t have this foot yet but I’ve like to have it! This foot feeds bias binding right onto the fabric to help you stitch it quickly and easily in place. There are two different types, one feed fabric that is alread folded and the other fold the bias tape as it is feed through the machine.
Ruffle Foot: I know this is quite an odd looking contraption but it can be a huge time saver if you sew a lot of ruffles! This foot pleats the fabric right before it’s sewn together. Some types of ruffle feet are adjustable for different size pleats.
If you are confused about how to use a certain foot, I high recommend searching for a video on YouTube. There are a lot of great videos that will show you how to use them.
While you may never use every foot on a 32 piece kit, if you can find one at a good price you should go for it! It’s a great way to try new techniques and new features of your sewing machine. Some machines will work with universal presser feet but others, such as Bernina, require a specific kind. There are many kits available on Amazon, just make sure they will work with your machine. Here are a few sets I recommend:
*Affliate Links
*Image Courtesy of Amazon and SewingPartsOnline.com
