Sewing Machine Shanks

 

Since I found out the hard way that hardly anything for a domestic sewing machine is universal, I decided I'll be posting some helpful things for beginners 

To start off, what shank is your machine?

Low shank: most domestic machines use a low shank. They are usually around 1,9cm long. For a low shank, it's much easier (and usually cheaper) to find compatible presser feet. They usually use snap-on feet. You can easily find multipacks of these on websites like bid or buy. The problem comes in if you have a machine with a "integrated even feed" system. Examples of these machines: Singer Featherweight C240 and Pfaff Passport 2.0. What's the big deal? That would be the width of the shank. The most common shank widths are 5mm and 7mm. This determines how wide your stitches can go when using for example satin stitch or zigzag. With the integrated even feed system, the maximum stitch with is 9mm and it usually has 20 or more programmable positions for the needle. This means the shank is also 9mm and snap-on presser feet will not work on it. Is there a solution? Yes! You can easily buy a universal adaptor (R20 from Stitch and Go) which means you can use any snap-on presser foot on the machine. Just make sure it's a good fit and it doesn't impede the extra attachment from the integrated feed system at the back of the shank. Since Pfaff, Viking and Singer are from the same company, you can go directly to any of the brand shops and get feet specifically for your integrated feed system, but they are usually extremely pricy (I got a quote for R3000 for 5 feet in comparison to my multi-pack that was R700 for 42)

Slant shank: this is a shank that is used on very specific Singer domestic models. You will need a slant shank adaptor to use snap-on feet from a multi pack on this machine. From what I've seen they aren't very common locally and you will probably need to import it.

Long shank: a long shank is used on most industrial machines. You can find long shank adaptors locally to be able to use snap-on feet on your industrial. I've found that Teflon feet and zipper feet are much cheaper for industrial machines anyway (I paid R35 per foot), but things like the ruffler foot for a longshank or a bias binding foot can get very pricey (R400 to R700). In comparison to the multi-packs that work out about R30 a foot.

I was a bit worried about the quality of the multipack, so whenever you're unsure go onto Amazon or Ebay and read up. I also compared the multipack to a branded Empisal presser foot set that I got and it was almost exactly the same.

I'll be posting photos of the different feet along with some tutorials in the next few weeks  chances are there are more feet than you will find any use for, but there are also some really nifty little gadgets in between. 

Just to clarify: universal adaptors only work for snap on feet, not for feet that screw on. Meaning if you have a walking foot for a low shank machine, you are only going to be able to use it on the lowshank machine and vice versa.