Machine Feet Guide

MACHINE FEET GUIDE

The first question to answer is how old is your machine? Most machines made since 1980 use snap-on feet (Except Berninas, which have their own style of attaching, and therefore need an adaptor).

Does your machine's foot screw on or snap on? If it doesn't use a screw to attach, then it's a snap-on.

If it screws on it is important to know whether your machine is a low shank, high shank, or slant needle machine. If you are not certain, you can measure using the simple instructions below:

To Measure:
When presser foot is down, measure the distance from the bottom of foot to screw-hole that holds the foot onto the presser bar.
Machine Feet Guide
  • Singer slant is for slant needle machine only.
  • A high shank machine measures approximately 1 1/4" from the screw to the bottom of the foot.
  • A low shank machine measures approximately 3/4" from the screw (small dot in picture above) to the bottom of the foot.
TIPS
  1. Most machines made since 1980 use snap-on feet. (Except Berninas that have their own style of attaching, and therefore need an adaptor).
  2. If foot is not screwed on, it is a snap-on.
  3. All Viking machines are snap-on. Viking (Huskvarna) and Pfaff are European made.
  4. Most Japanese machines are snap-on (Brother).
  5. All Berninas need "Shank Adaptor" and use generic low shank feet.
  6. Singer Slant IS FOR SINGER SLANT MACHINES only. (All other Singers have snap-on or screw on feet.)
  7. All Featherweights use low shank feet. They are center needle position machines.
  8. For super high-bar lever-style Kenmore, use a High-bar adaptor.
  9. Sergers are called Overlock Machines everywhere except USA.