Many attachments comes with your sewing machine.  Most of the time, they are laying in the accessory box for years.  All these attachments can save you a precious time when using them properly.  And they are VERY easy to use !

They are easy to install and makes tremendous sewing tasks in few minutes.  Many seamstress are bringing special sewing works they cannot do to professional seamstress without knowing they already have the right attachment to do it !  Using these attachments will save you money, no need to bring your work to a professional shop: You will be the Pro !!

I will show you the basic attachments.  If by mistake you don't find them, be sure they are available in any serious sewing shop.  All these attachments does not require high technical skill.  They were made for the average seamstress and were manufactured specifically for your machine.   In the case you would have to buy some of them, be sure to mention the foot shank type of your machine.  The 3 shank types are: LOW SHANK, HIGH SHANK and SLANT SHANK.  The LOW shank as well as the HIGH shank are found on any makes, including many Singer's.  The SLANT shank is found only on selected Singer models.  If you are not sure, bring your regular stitching foot to the sewing shop when buying any attachment.

THE SEAM GUIDE - Instead of putting layers of tape on the bed of your machine, use the SEAM GUIDE with its thumb screw.  It was designed to as a guide for straight stitching when making wide hems, deep tucks or seam widths which are greater than presser feet allows.  It is attached to your machine's bed as illustrated. 

THE ADJUSTABLE CORDING FOOT - This practical foot is used to allow a heavy or bulky substance (such as a zipper) to ride close to a stitching without the danger of needle placing into a cord or into the link of a zipper, bending or breaking the needle.  This attachment can be placed either to right or left of machine needle by loosening its screw and moving it to the right or left. 

WELTING has no secrets with an adjustable cording foot.   Welt being stitched to material enclosing the cord is made in one operation.  Nice upholstery welting jobs are done this way and you can save expensive costs by doing it yourself.  Actually an average upholstery shop charge as much as $1.50 per inch to do a welting job, material and trimmings are extra!

THE GATHERING FOOT - The dream of the professional seamstress!  How to obtain beautiful gathers on expensive clothing?  This is an attachment to obtain professional gathers on a single thickness of material by controlling the lenght of stitch and tension.  It is a boon to the sewer wherever gathers are being used on a single thickness of material or as a trimming..  Substitute the gathering foot in place of regular sewing foot.

To obtain a beautiful finish, set the machine stitch for regular sewing, set tensions snug.  Lengthen the stitch for a greater amount of fullness, check fullness and appearance of gathers on a scrap of self material to determine your requirements.  By adding a quilting guide, you can achieve accurate spacing between gathering rows.

THE QUILTING GUIDE - So much depends upon accuracy in stitching especially when successive rows are used for decoration, the quilting guide is used to act as an accurate guide for any stitching which is spaced wider apart than the presser foot allows.

Many quilting guides can be attached along the regular stitching foot, some others can be inserted in a slot fitted on the presser foot shank.  Set forked holder at the desired angle, so that the quilter may not rest too heavily on material to be quilted.  For quilting such thick goods like silk cushions, the hems should be tucked deeply inside and the bottom must be placed uppermost.  Stitches must be spaced widely.  If cheesepattern fabric is used for surface, the finish is quite beautiful with even and wavy effect.  

THE BINDER - This nice attachment is used to make bound edges with tapes, etc.  To use the binder, replace regular presser foot with it.  To make bound edges with ordinary binding, insert it to the mouth of the binder until it reaches point directly beneath the needle.  Next, insert material to be bound likewise.  Lower presser bar and proceed to sew.

To make French creases, sew likewise, except that the material is placed beneath binder so that tape is sewed on the material.  By practicing on scrap material, you will be able to achieve professional results just like factory made garments.

THE EDGE STITCHER - Edge stitchers can be attached to the machine like any other feet.  They can be snapped in place in the case of a multi-attachment shank, or individually with the presser foot thumb screw.  Slots and holes usually numbered from 1 to 5 are used to joint fabric, lace, tape, together.  Slots No.1 and No.4 are convenient to joint cloth and lace as illustrated. 

In joining tape to cloth, insert the tape into hole No.3 and cloth into other slots.  Deep slot No.5 can be used for French seaming.  For joining tape to underwear, apron, children's cloth, etc. insert tape into slot No.1 and clothes into No.5.  A better finish will be obtained by folding the edge of upper side material (except lace and tape) before sewing, which is to be jointed on the other fabric.

THE ADJUSTABLE HEMMER - This marvelous attachment can save you time and will create professional wide hems in matter of minutes.  It can makes hems from 3/16 inch and up.  Install on machine by replacing the regular presser foot.  To use scale in hemming, loosen screw (B), adjust (A) until Index (C) comes to the desired point, then tighten screw.  Fold edge of material, insert it under metal scale as illustrated.  To make hems wider than one inch, the metal scale (A) is unnecessary.  Loosen screw (B) and draw metal scale (A) obliquely forward to the left, tighten screw before sewing. 

THE WIDE HEMMERS - Basically the same as the adjustable hemmer, the wide hemmers are able to do nice hems with preset widths.  They usually comes in set of four, which will finish hems 1/4, 3/8, 5/8 and 7/8 inches in width.  By using the set, material can be hemmed, finished and stitched without the need of measuring, creasing or basting by hand as when stitching with the regular presser foot.  Any of the 4 hemmers set usually snap in place with the adapted shank but some comes with their individual shank. 

Take the fabric in both hands, the right hand in front of hemmer and the left behind it.  Insert the right edge of material in the scroll of hemmer, draw it back and forth a few times, so that the fabric could be fed completely into the scroll of hemmer.  Lower presser bar, begin sewing gently by guiding material with thumb and forefinger.  When making curved hems of flannel and other thick materials, guide material with left hand carefully. 

THE NARROW HEMMER - In using narrow hemmer, the usual width of crease-over is 1/8 inch.  This attachment is used to finish hems neatly by creansing them threefolds.  To attach narrow hemmer foot to the machine, raise needle to its highest position, remove regular presser foot and attach narrow hemmer and tighten screw.  For general hemming, cut the right corner of material to be sewed diagonally, prepare the material so that it could be rolled easily, then insert it into the scroll of hemmer.

Pull out the material to the point just beneath the needle, keeping it scrolled.  Then lower presser bar and sew 2 or 3 stitches slowly and carefully, holding the beginning of the hem between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, sew in order that the edge of material could scrolled nicely by adjusting and the sewing result will be as given in the illustration.  Be careful not to feed too much or too little material into the hemmer. 

When hemming and sewing on lace are wanted in one operation, proceed to make a hem in the same manner as explained.  A good idea is to unwind the lace from its package so it will evenly feed into hemmer.  Insert edge of lace or trimming (be sure right side is down) in slot at right of hemmer.  Make sure needle pierces it close to the edge just above turned edge of hem.  Begin to stitch, leading the lace edge into hemmer's slot with right hand while guiding the material being hemmed into the scroll of hemmer with the left hand.  To apply lace in the "French Manner", enter the fabric to be hemmed as for plain hemming, but with right side up.  Enter lace from the left, right side down, on top of the fabric.  Allow lace to enter hemmer and meet just as it is being turned, thus the hem will enclose lace edge in one stitching.

THE RUFFLER - This is one of the most fascinating attachment ever invented!  It can do ruffling and plaiting faster than you can imagine.  Professional ruffling is expensive in drapery shops and professional seamstress.  The ruffler makes possible ruffling and plaiting in uniform fullness.  With simple adjustment, it can vary fullness of ruffle and group plaits or gathers as one wishes without removing the ruffler from the machine.  To attach ruffler to the machine, raise needle to the highest position then remove presser foot and attach ruffler foot (A) in its place, with fork arm (B) astride the needle clamp screw.  Tighten screw firmly.  Make sure needle passes through the center of the hole in the foot of ruffler by turning hand wheel slowly.

Place the material to be gathered between the blue blades along line 2, push forward until material is under the needle, lower presser bar and begin to sew.  When a scant ruffle is desired, lengthen the stitch and turn adjusting screw (C) to the left, one turn at a time, until desired fullness is attained.  To make a fuller ruffle, turn (C) to the right and shorten stitch.  All variations from a very scant to a very full ruffle can be obtained by regulating adjusting screw (C) and the stitch length. 

When a ruffle is desired for every stitch, insert the protuding part of ruffler into hole marked "1" on the lever (D), lower presser bar and sew as illustrated.  To obtain a ruffle every 6th or 12th stitch, insert protuding part to 6 or 12 on (D) lower presser bar and sew.  Result will be as illustrated above.  When ruffling and sewing of a material to some other material are desired in one operation, place the latter on Line 1 and the former on Line 2.  Results are amazing !

When ruffling of one material and sewing of some other material thereon are desired in one operation, feed former on Line 2 and latter on Line 3-5.  If additional material is fed on Line 1, the middle material will come out ruffled.  To obtain parallel ruffles, remove Seams Guide (F) by unscrewing it and sew as when plaiting at every one ore every sixth stitch.  This process makes it possible to obtain ruffles anywhere on a broad cloth or parallel ruffles. 

If people find this guide helpful, perhaps I’ll write a few more focusing on other elements of sewing machines. Thank you for your time and please do not hesitate to e-mail me for any particular question.  I will gladly put over 30 years of sewing machine experience at your service!

If you’ve enjoyed this guide your vote would be appreciated :-)

Happy Sewing !!

Andre (alcnational)