We spoke to Brother Sewing Machine’s Stuart Stamp to find out what their most popular sewing machine feet and accessories are and what they do so you can decide which ones you need to add to your collection. Below you will find feet that will help you quilt, piece more accurately, sew zips, do decorative stitching and handle tricky fabrics like vinyl, leather and velvet.
Free motion embroidery foot
Product number: XE1097001 RRP £19.99
If you are keen to try free motion quilting or free motion embroidery this foot is the one for you. It has a large opening on the front of the foot gives you wide visibility in the needle area. Ideal for free-motion and outline quilting.
There’s a handy video which shows you how to install, and use the Brother free motion embroidery foot.
Free Motion Grip
Part number: FMG2 RRP £19.99
Perfect to use in conjunction with the foot mentioned above the free-motion grip keeps fabric taut and allows you to move your fabric or quilt in any direction and avoids the need for hooping. You place your hands on the handles of the grip and use it to manoeuvre your fabric under the needle.
Narrow Zipper Foot
Product code: XG9145001 RRP £14.99
With the Narrow Zipper Foot, you can achieve virtually perfect finishes due to its sleek design that allows it to sit along the edge of your zipper. It gets you much closer than other feet do plus it has smooth sides so the zip won’t catch. You can also use it for sewing piping, binding or trims, anything you need to get up close to when stitching.
Its small size means you get increased precision and visibility, plus the needle can be used on the left or the right of the foot.
Quarter inch piecing foot
Art. No. XC1944052 RRP 14.99
Speaking of precision, the quarter inch piecing foot helps you to obtain an accurate seam when patchworking. I also find it comes in handy when top stitching bags or top stitching near your zip when making pouches. What’s more this foot also has markings to let you sew an accurate 1/8 inch seam too. If you prefer a guide on the edge of the foot you need Art. No. XC7416252.
Non Stick foot
Part no: XC1949052 RRP £14.99
The non-stick foot is designed for use hard to handle fabric that may otherwise stick to the presser foot such as leather or vinyl. It allows the fabric to feed through evenly without sticking to the foot so it doesn’t cause drag.
Roller Foot
Part no: XG65751001 RRP14.99
Another option for sewing those tricky specialty fabrics such as vinyl and leather as well as elasticized material. Multiple rollers on the non-stick roller foot hold fabrics with appropriate pressure and enables smooth sewing. It also comes in handy for those fabrics that tend to shift when you sew, such as silk or velvet. Any fabrics which may stick or get drag when being sewn with a normal foot are perfect for sewing with the roller foot.
There’s a video guide for you:
Ruffler foot
Part code XG8039001 RRP £65.99
Although it may look a little scary there’s a whole range of things you can do with this foot. You can create ruffles and pleats in varying depths and fullness, evenly spaced tucks and gathers for home decor pillows and curtains. You can also make great trims when sewing ribbons with this foot. The single hole needle plate makes this foot perfect for ruffling lightweight fabrics as well.
There’s an excellent video showing you several different things you can do with this foot.
Candlewicking foot
Part code XG6769001 RRP £14.99
This foot is useful for sewing the candlewick stitch as decorative stitching on clothes and quilts. If you are stitching onto a single layer of fabric it is best to add stabiliser to the back before you start.
There is a deep groove in the sole of the presser foot which enables you to create beautiful decorative stitching without it being crushed by the foot. It is quite open at the front to give you a clear view of your stitching.
More information and an instructional video can be found here.
Walking Foot
Part. No. XC2214052 RRP £34.99
The walking foot feeds multiple layers of fabric through at the same speed. Making it ideal for quilting, and for bag making. It has an open front so you can see where you are stitching, perfect for stitch in the ditch quilting. It is also great for using when you are matching prints or plaids as it will feed the fabrics through evenly to ensure precise pattern matching. For more ideas on what you can use this foot for visit our getting the most from your walking foot guide.
Please note there are a few different walking feet available for the Brother Machine, the type you require will depend upon your model. See this page for more details.
Also available is a quilting guide that attaches to the walking foot to help you sew parallel rows of stitching. The item number for the guide is XC2215052
Binding Foot
Art. No. XC1955052 £14.99
Binding is one of those things that many of us do not like sewing. Doing it the traditional way means sewing one side with your machine, and then painstakingly hand sewing the other side whilst trying to keep your stitches invisible. With the binding foot you can attach both sides of the binding at once, by machine, no hand sewing necessary. A great time saver!
There is also an adjustable version of this foot that allows you to sew different widths of binding. It’s product number XF7243001 (£24.99)
Blind Stitch Foot
Horizontal Art. No. XC1957052 Vertical Art. No. XC1976052 £14.99
This foot allows you to create a blind hem on a variety of fabrics. As the name would suggest a blind hem is a non-visible/barely visible hem. It’s perfect for curtains, bottom hems and anywhere else you don’t want your stitching to be visible. There will be a slight dot of thread visible on the right side of the fabric for each stitch so it’s recommended you use a matching thread that blends in to achieve the invisible stitch effect.
Bi-Level Foot
Right XH2012001 Left XH2023001 both £14.99 each
This new foot from Brother is perfect for top stitching uneven or thick seams (such as denim, tweed etc). I can see this would come in very handy when bag making as you often end up with several thick layers to top stitch. It would be handy for dressmaking with bulkier fabrics as well.
To see the bi-level foot in action take a look at the video.
Clear View Foot
Horizontal Art. No. XC1958052 Vertical Art. No. XG6595001 £14.99
This clear plastic foot gives you increased visibility of your needle and the stitches it is doing. Making it perfect for top stitching and decorative stitching as well as applique. It will help improve your precision.
Adjustable zipper and piping foot
Art. No. XC1970052 £14.99
This foot can be adjusted so your needle is right at the edge of the foot, either on the left or right side, allowing you to stitch right up against the edge of a zip or piping cord. It would also be useful when top stitching very near the edge of your fabric.
Brother also sell a piping foot (Art. No. XF2860001) which straddles the piping cord, holding it securely in place as you sew. £14.99
There’s a video which shows you how it works.
Stitch Guide Foot
Art. No. XC1969002 £14.99
This foot has a metal piece which protrudes to the right, with markings on it every 2mm. This allows you to maintain an accurate seam a fixed distance from the edge. It works for sewing both straight and curved lines and is another foot which will help improve your precision.
There’s a video showing how you can use this foot to keep your stitching lines an equal distance apart.
Gathering Foot
Art. No. XG6589001 £14.99
This foot simultaneously sews and gathers 2 layers of fabric at the same time. It’s great for attaching skirts for bodices, making ruffled skirts, adding ruffled details to clothing etc. As well as being handy in dressmaking you can use it to add ruffle detail to bags, cushions, aprons etc.
Note that the gather foot is different from the ruffle foot which we featured in our previous article, that foot produces much more dramatic ruffles. A good feature of the gather foot is it can gather one piece of fabric whilst sewing it to another piece of fabric that it keeps flat during stitching.
There’s a comparison of the ruffle foot and gather foot here.
All of the feet and accessories mentioned above can be purchased through your local Brother dealer (use their dealer locator to find yours) or online via stockists including Sew Essential, Jaycotts and Exeter Sewing Machine Company. You can also view the full range of Brother Sewing machine feet and accessories on the Brother website.
