Sewing Machine Presser Feet – free handy printable guide!
Your sewing machine’s presser foot holds the fabric down against the feed dogs, but did you know that changing your presser foot can help your sewing machine achieve amazing things?
Sometimes a sewing pattern will tell you exactly which foot to use (like installing the zipper foot before you sew a zipper). But lots of times knowing how the feet that came with your machine work will help you use the right one for the job.
Here’s a handy guide for some of the most common sewing machine presser feet. Hopefully your machine came with all (or most) of them. Scroll down to the bottom for a printable version of this guide to keep handy all the time!
Zig-zag or all-purpose foot – Use for most utility sewing from straight stitch to zig-zag stitching.
Clear satin stitch or embroidery foot – the open toe and clear plastic allow you to easily see your stitches.
Zipper foot – used for inserting zippers. You can also use it to attach piping or decorative cording.
Invisible zipper foot – specialty foot with two grooves on the bottom that guide the zipper teeth.
Sliding buttonhole foot – plastic and metal sliding foot for stitching automatic buttonholes.
1/4 inch foot – used for piecing quilt blocks, sewing narrow 1/4-inch seams and topstitching.
Adjustable blind-hem foot – designed for easily stitching a blind hem and includes an adjustable guide for accuracy.
Walking foot – has a set of feed dogs to help feed multiple layers evenly without shifting. Wonderful for fabrics that stretch or slip easily. Learn all about how to use a sewing machine walking foot.
Download a printable version of my Presser Foot Guide to keep next to your sewing machine. The best way to get to know how each foot works is to use it!
Happy sewing,
p.s. Learn how to use your rolled hem foot, plus a video about using an overcast foot too!
Disclosure: some of my posts contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of those links I may receive a small commission, so thank you for supporting SewCanShe when you shop! All of the opinions are my own and I only suggest products that I actually use. 🙂
Thank you for this as there are often questions asked on other blogs as to what the mystery pressure foot is that someone has found!! Now I can just direct them to you great list!
Yay! Thank you. 🙂
Thank you for the foot guide. Merry Christmas❤️🎄❤️
I love this guide. Thank you. Merry Christmas and happy New Year.
Thank you for sharing this guide
I love your tutorials and guides, including this one. But your website drives me crazy. There are so many popups that it takes my computer several minutes to display your site. It’s so frustrating that I often just give up and close the window. Can you do something to cut down on the popups?
Thanks!
Hi Peggy,
I’m sorry about your experience. I know this is a problem and I’m in the process of switching to a new ad provider. Unfortunately, my current ad provider won’t let me out of my contract with them for another 2 weeks. So hang on – less ads are coming soon! 🙂
Caroline
Thank you
I have all these feet and don’t know when to use them, where to use them, why to use them and how to use them! Now I do. Thank you so much. Now I won’t be so frustrated when I sew. You are a doll!
Hi Caroline: I love your emails and website. I needed to sew two sides of a little fold up purse together but couldn’t do it by hand because of my arthritis. I needed to be able to machine stitch very close to the edge. I looked at the machine feet and decided on the "stitch in the ditch" foot, only I put the two sides right up to the guide and it stitched the smallest seam line ever. I was thrilled and now I have another use for this foot.
Thanks for your list.
Hi Thank you for making this post. I tried to download it but it went to an error 404 page. I saved it to my Pinterest page for reference.
Thanks for letting me know. I fixed it! 🙂