Learning to Make Jeans ~ The Feet

I couldn’t finish this series without saying something about all of the different feet I used to make my jeans.

I want to emphasize that you do not need all of these fancy-schmancy feet to make a nice pair of custom jeans; but I had them, so I used them. You probably have similar feet that came with your machine, as well.

Every machine comes with a universal foot. Mine happens to be the clear sole reverse pattern foot. I used this when I was doing straight stitching with the grain ~ like the leg seams and inner pockets.

Having the clear sole foot makes it really easy to see what you are doing and where you are going. Most manufacturers make a clear sole universal foot ~ they aren’t hard to find and are one of the more reasonably priced feet. I keep mine on my machine the majority of the time.

 

Hands-down, the Edge Stitch Foot #10 is my favorite of all my specialty feet. That little blade will glide down a seam and allow me to make very straight top stitching.

I used this foot for almost all of my top stitching. It really came in handy when I stitched the pockets and top stitched down the leg seams. Thus proving that I am not a sewing savant ~ just savvy with my sewing machine feet.

If your machine’s manufacturer offers an edge stitching foot, I suggest you look into it. I don’t think I could top stitch a straight seam without mine.

This odd duck foot is called a Walking Foot. It really can make a difference when sewing on knits or, in my case, stretch denim. I used this foot anytime I was sewing across the grain and it prevented my fabric from stretching and growing while I sewed.

The Bernina Walking Foot costs $189.00. That’s waaaayyy out of my budget league. So, I have an off-brand walking foot that I got on Ebay for $50. It worked fine for this project. If you sew with knits and you don’t have a serger, a walking foot can be a good option.

This little foot is actually called a Patchwork Foot. It’s designed for quilt piecing. The outer edge of the sole glides along the fabric’s edge making a perfect 1/4″ seam. There are always a few places in garment sewing when this foot comes in handy. I used it to baste 1/4″ seams before doing final seams. Using this foot allowed me to get the best fit on my jeans. If my original seam made the jeans big, then I would just take in another 1/4″ seam. I did this until I got a perfect fit.

Every sewing machine should come with a regular zipper foot. I used mine to insert the zipper. Nothing special about this foot ~ unless I didn’t have it ~ then zipper attaching would’ve been impossible.

I hear a lot of people complain that their machine doesn’t make very good buttonholes. My machine has a really great foot and the machine automatically sets the buttonhole size. While it’s nice to have, it isn’t necessary because I can make a really nice buttonhole for my jeans with my secret weapon ~ embroidery stabilizer.

Yep, I add a little piece of stabilizer to the back side of the fabric when I’m doing a buttonhole. Beautiful buttonholes every time.

On the surface, this foot can seem a little ridiculous ~ a foot used to attach buttons. But, I have another secret weapon for attaching buttons ~ and buttons never shift while sewing.

It’s scotch tape ~ that’s right, place your button where you want it and put a piece of clear tape to hold it. Then, set the machine on your buttonhole setting (or a zigzag stitch), drop the feed dogs, and, “Go!”

Before I had this foot, I used this method with a darning foot (which usually comes with most machines) for attaching buttons. It never failed.

Yep, I used 7 different feet to make my jeans. Some were really necessary; some were just nice to have. When it’s all said and done,  all I really needed was a universal foot, a zipper foot, and a buttonhole foot.