Growing up sewing, I only used a few feet on my machine, EVER. The simple straight stitching foot, a zipper foot and a buttonhole foot were what I was used too. I never really thought I would ever need any more feet other than those.  Just those few feet always got the job done, well into my professional career as a pattern maker/fashion designer.

A few years back, I purchased my Singer Quantum L-500 and it came with a whole assortment of extra specialty feet.    If you’d like to check out my review of that machine it’s here on Pattern Review.  Still, even though I now had an entire arsenal of additional foot options that came with the  L-500 to make different sewing operations easier,  I didn’t explore them.  I didn’t realize what I was missing out on.

Not long after I purchased the L-500, Singer launched yet another new machine on HSN, the Quantum Stylist 9960.  I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a sewing machine presentation by Darlene Cahill on HSN, but let’s put it this way, she could sell ice to an Eskimo.  (You get the picture, right??) Now this machine came with yet another wonderful assortment of extra speciality feet too and the BONUS was that ALL THOSE EXTRA FEET WOULD WORK ON THE L-500!!  How great was that!! I went off to Singer’s web site and found it was a ridiculous amount of money to purchased each foot separately SO……..I also purchased the  Singer Quantum Stylist 9960 because it came with all the extra feet I wanted for not that much more money than if I had purchased them from Singer without the machine.  It was a NO BRAINER!  By the way, the 9960 is an AWESOME machine too. The 9960 has proven to be a well loved machine out in the marketplace from the reviews I’ve read.  I will be reviewing that machine myself soon. 

On my most recent project I added a piping detail to the apron I was making.  I always used a simple zipper foot to make piping in the past, BUT NOW I have this fabulous assortment of BONUS feet.  So I got out the Single Welt Cording foot that came with the 9960 to give it a try on the L-500.  Using this foot requires a special ankle/shank, which is a separate purchase.   Unfortunately, this foot nor any of the specialty feet I received with this machine were detailed in the 9960 manual.  So this is my review of this foot.

Welt Foot and Ankle
Bottom of Welt Foot with Ankle Attached.
Bottom of Welt Foot.  Notice the Channel.

I would have tried sewing with it on the 9960 but with all the layers of denim fabric I was afraid it would struggle and I knew it would sew like a dream on the L-500.  I wasn’t crazy about the screw on ankle being plastic, however I did like that the foot snapped on and off so easily.  I may explore my options on the market for a metal ankle in the future.  Sewing with this foot to make piping was quite different than using the regular zipper foot that I’ve used in the past.   I’ve always had to be very careful making piping with my zipper foot not to catch the fabric or my finger while I’m sewing.

Regular Zipper Foot.
L-500 regular zipper foot doesn’t line up at all to make a nice piping.

Instead of sewing with the zipper foot where the needle is exposed to the fabric, this foot has a channel in the bottom where the piping and fabric float under the foot securely.  I just folded the bias fabric over the cording and off I sewed.  If you want to learn how to make continuous bias for piping, check out  My Picture Tutorial: Making Continuous Bias.

I really liked this foot and found it to be much easier to control the stitch against the piping to make a PERFECTLY even trim!!  I didn’t even have to hold the piping back with my left hand so the needle wouldn’t pierce the piping or my finger.

Welt Foot attached to the machine.  Notice the channel for the piping to ride in.
Sewing the piping.

The moral of the story is:  Explore Your Specialty Feet!!  The truth is that everything CAN be done with simple feet, HOWEVER why not make the job easier and more efficient!!  This foot definitely Strikes My Fancy and helped make the job easier!!  So, I will be making a point to explore a new foot every now and then.  Please check back and see what foot I’m reviewing next.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my Blog.  I appreciate it!!