Flower Stitch Presser Foot: User Guide
With a flower stitch foot you can make circles of stitches with a basic sewing machine.
By using different stitches, different stitch widths and different colors of threads, it creates flower inspired circular designs and you can stitch beautiful flowers on your fabrics. You can also use twin needles or even make round button holes with this foot.
The flower stitch foot is a screw-on foot and can be used on low shank machines.
The flower stitch foot consists of
- a large ring base,
- a driver arm on the right
- a foot clamp to attach the foot on your presser bar.
- a small latch on the right that drives the base.
- an adjustment screw on the back left
If you lift the latch, the base stops turning.
The adjustment screw on the back left allows you to slide the base from left to right to make circles in various sizes, move it towards the + sign to make bigger circles, move it to the - sign for smaller ones. The smallest circle you can make with it is ¼ inch, the biggest 1 inch in size.
How to attach/ install the foot
Raise your needle to its highest position. Remove your standard presser foot & the presser foot holder. Just screw off the entire foot, not just the snap-on part.
To attach the flower foot, you slide the foot clamp around the presser bar and the presser foot screw. Make sure to place the driver arm above the needle holder and then securely tighten the presser foot screw.
Machine settings
- Lower your feed dogs because the flower stitch foot does the transportation of your fabric.
- Set your stitch length to 0. In fact the stitch length is irrelevant when using the flower foot because the feed dogs are lowered. The feed dogs guide the stitch length, they move more or less fabric for smaller or bigger stitches..
- The stitch width does have an impact on the looks of your stitches, you can play with that but always test so your needle don’t hit the foot.
- Don’t use too complex stitches. Maybe try a zigzag stitch, an overlock stitch, a blind hem stitch, an overcast stitch and a serpentine stitch to start.
- Reduce the upper thread to a looser setting (2)
Fabric, threads & needle
Use a sturdy fabric or glue some stabilizer to the fabric you want to decorate. Most fabrics will need a stabilizer. Using a stabilizer prevents thinner fabrics from puckering and ensures that your stitches ly flat and look professional.
The stabilize you choose will depend on your fabric, but also the use and how dense you will stitch. If you are lost, this article will help you choose a stabilizer.
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/2008/11/03/making-sense-of-stabilizers#stabilizers%20at%20a%20glance
You can use all purpose thread but of course you can use machine embroidery thread and decorative threads as well.
The choice of your needle will depend on the thread and the fabric you’re using
If you are lost, these 2 articles explain all you need to know about machine sewing needles
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/2008/11/06/sewing-machine-needles-an-overview
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/2008/11/06/machine-needle-know-how
Stitching with the flower stitch foot
When the foot is attached, you have chosen a stitch and your thread, bobbin and needle are in place, always walk the hand wheel through a couple of stitches to see if all is clear. Then bring the bobbin thread up to the top and start sewing until you get a circle.
Take the time to play with your flower stitch foot on some scraps to get used to it and see what result you get with the different stitches you have on your machine.
It can be a good idea to make a sample like the pictures below (credits Sew4home.com) or you write down the designs you like while experimenting.
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make 2 circles for 1 flower - concentric circles |
Don’t move your fabric! It is very difficult to find the center again if you do. Just loosen the screw, move the base of the flower foot to the + or - sign and tighten the screw again. |
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positioning the flower stitch foot |
Place a dot on your fabric where you wish a flower to be stitched. The dot is the inner ring of the stitch pattern not the middle of the circle. Keep this in mind if you are precisely centering your flowers rather than randomly sprinkling them. |
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2-colored flowers |
2 options
try to do this without moving the fabric put the tension to 0 change the thread continue sewing |
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lock your threads with your machine |
set your machine to a straight stitch raise the latch that drives the base of the foot with a tip of a screwdriver, stitch in place for 3 to 5 stitches |
Also read our blog post on making and decorating a small pouch using this presser foot: https://madamsew.com/blogs/sewing-blog/how-to-make-a-flowered-zipper-pouch-using-a-flower-stitch-foot
