The darning, or free motion presser foot is a great accessory to have! It looks intimidating at first, but it has many uses and it can really expand your sewing repertoire. The hardest part is figuring out how to attach your darning presser foot to your machine. This foot has four main uses.
Darning/Patching
You can use this needle to darn/patch your clothing. You will just go over the hole in vertical and horizontal directions (full tutorial here)
Free motion quilting
Free motion quilting is a quilting method that uses lots of wavy/curly/circular shapes instead of quilting in a straight line. Depending on your sewing machine, it might have a setting to allow you to do this. Otherwise you can do it manually
Monograms
Mark out a pattern on your fabric and put your sewing machine on a zig zag setting with 0 length, then follow the pattern you have marked.
Embroidery
Pick a color of thread to create a free motion embroidered design on your fabric, start by outlining your shape, then fill in your design.
Attaching the Darning foot to your machine
To use this presser foot, you will have to remove the shank from your machine as well. To do that, find the little screw on the left side and turn it until the shank falls off. Then find the little “u” divot on your darning foot, attach that to the screw, then tighten the screw until the presser foot stays on. Make sure the long metal bar goes over the needle pin (as pictured)
This darning foot allows you to move your needle in any direction, it is difficult to do long, straight lines when you use this machine. When you are sewing, you will move the fabric by gently pulling it in the direction you want to go.
Pingback:Patching Knits - Sewing Along
Pingback:Using an Overcast foot - Sewing Along