The only Presser Feet You Really Need

hey there showers welcome to Darton so whether you recently got a sewing machine or have been sewing for a long time the sheer number of presser foot options can be overwhelming and even intimidating do you really need a 52 piece presser foot kit well I'm here to tell you absolutely not there are really three essential presser feet that every home server needs to have and two more that would be very helpful to add to your tool kit everything else is not in necessity it is a nice luxury if you want to venture into specialty feet I plan to do a separate video on that later but today the ones I will be showing you come with most home sewing machines or are very easy to buy by the end of this video you'll be comfortable with using the five essential presser feet for your everyday sewing needs first the quick basics the presser foot sits between the needle on the throat plate of your machine and holds down the fabric it determines where the needle goes on the fabric and ultimately what your stitches will look like the first and most important presser foot is the all-purpose foot if you could only own a single presser foot and nothing else it would be this one this is the foot you'll use for two of the most common type of stitches the straight stitch and the zig-zag stitch what makes this foot so versatile is that the needle passage is wide and allows for the needle to go in different directions either up and down or side to side the all-purpose foot may look different depending on your machine these are both all-purpose feed from two different machines the right one is made of metal and a bit more sturdy as it is from a heavy-duty machine and the bottom is smoother for easy glide the great news is every machine comes with an all-purpose foot and it will be your best friend for almost all your sewing adventures contrast this with the second type of Furth the straight stitch foot as you can see the needle path is small and round and this foot can only be used for a straight stitch if you set your machine to zig-zag and leave this foot on your needle will hit the metal and break and that is not a pleasant experience it has small guide lines in the front and a smooth bottom this foot is best for sewing in a super straight line especially on slippery light fabric and multiple layers which brings us to the third important foot the Teflon or nonstick foot this one does not come with all machines it looks a lot like an all-purpose foot in shape and function but is made of Teflon material which is easy to sew fabrics like leather suede plastic or vinyl which tend to stick to presser feet and can be difficult so this type of foot would be super helpful when sewing especially vinyl or plastic and that is because of the smooth bottom but if you don't have this foot and you can't get one you can put a piece of tape cut to fit at the bottom of your standard foot to simulate the surface here I have used washi tape but you can use another type of tape to create a nonstick surface but preferably one that does not leave a lot of sticky residue behind when you take it off I've heard people like masking tape and painters tape or even clear tape so you can try which one whichever one that works for you the fourth type of foot that I think is very helpful is a buttonhole foot you can use it to make not just a buttonhole but any type of finished opening on fabric like for a drawstring for example once you choose your button you open it like this and put the button in this would set the size of the hole it also helps to stabilize your fabric with interfacing you should go on the wrong side of your fabric next you want to mark where the button will sit on the right side of the fabric mark the lowest part of the button and draw a vertical line toward the top at the center transfer the spot on the wrong side of your fabric and place the interfacing there take it to your iron and press sticky side down once you mark your fabric it's time to attach the presser foot using the metal bar just like a regular presser foot the button should be facing back once your presser foot is in place drop down the buttonhole lever and place it behind the front stopper or between the two Stoppers once your presser foot is attached it's time to select the type of buttonhole you want to make I've made my selection and now it's time to make the hole the most important thing is to line up the horizontal mark you made with the red mark on your presser foot and center your vertical line now you can start sewing you don't need to guide the fabric let the machine do its thing when it's finished sewing it will stop don't forget to do a test on scrap fabric because it is hard to remove these stitches if you make a mistake there's one last step and that is to open the hole but first you need to place a pin at the end so you don't cut too far you can use a seam ripper or a small scissors to make the opening now that we have our buttonhole made we can test it with paper mark your button placement at the center of the bun hole sew on your button it fits your button perfectly if you want to make a drawstring hole using this book here's how choose the size of your drawstring first interface the back of your fabric measure the width of your ribbon find a button or a coin with the same width mark the placement of your two openings on your fabric and Mark the bottom of the openings be sure to use an erasable marker because this is the right side of the fabric follow the same sewing directions like you did for the buttonhole and you have finished openings for your drawstring or ribbon which brings us to our last and essential presser foot the zipper foot the zipper foot has a right and left side so you can shift the needle to sew on other side it has a narrow front that lets you get really close to the zipper coil when you're sewing this foot is so important and so helpful when sewing any type of zipper whether it be invisible or a regular zipper you can position your needle on the right or left side depending on the direction you're sewing it also has this group underneath where does it work well can travel through contrast this with other types of presser feet that have a wide base that don't give you that advantage I'm going to show you an example of how you use this presser foot to sew on a standard zipper first mark where you want the bottom of your zipper to go baste your fabric together at half an inch or 5/8 inch seam allowance backstitch at the mark that you made and continue sewing at a regular stitch length as your seam open and put down your zipper with a coil side down right at the seam and baste or pin your zipper in place open the zipper and start sewing from the top down when you get to the bottom lift your presser foot close the zipper and continue sewing sew about a quarter to half an inch past the mark that you need lift your presser foot turn your fabric sew across the bottom counting the number of stitches will help you keep the seams even on both sides lift your presser foot again turn your fabric and continue sewing in the other direction you're sewing about a quarter inch away from the zipper when you get to the top lift the presser foot and move the zipper pull out of the way again and stitch the rest of the way and you're done now you can remove your basting stitch using a seam ripper but remember don't go past the bottom of your zipper go ahead and also remove your hand basting stitch well done you have just used your zipper foot if you want to know how to put on an invisible zipper check out my tutorial on that I'll add a link below now that you are familiar with the five essential presser feet stay tuned for future videos as we try fancier techniques and elevate our sewing game hit subscribe if you want to be notified of future tutorials and thank you for watching [Music]

Channel: DartandSew

Views: 21,578

Rating: 4.4285712 out of 5

Keywords: InShot, sewing tutorial, dart and sew, dartand sew, presser feet, swing machine foot, how to use a zipper foot, buttonhole foot, teflon foot, all purpose foot, sewing beginner, sewing machine, sewing for beginners, how to use a sewing machine, how to change a presser foot, sewing machine parts, what presser foot to buy, dartandsew, diy, sewing machine foot, presserfoot

Id: UTsIETua4S0

Length: 9min 55sec (595 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 17 2020