If you think an Applique Foot is a “satin stitch foot”, a “decorative stitch foot” or an “open toe foot”, keep reading. An Applique Foot is a specialty foot similar to these feet, but with one distinctive advantage, it’s very short. What difference does the length of a presser foot matter? In applique, it makes a BIG difference. Most presser feet are longer than they are wide, this helps fabric travel in a straight line when sewing, more often than not, this is what we want. But in applique, we are often working with curved pieces and smaller shapes, we want a smaller presser foot pressing on the fabric, this allows you to turn tight curves with minimal effort, (you can actually steer the fabric with one finger!) there is no fighting the machine to turn the fabric with a large presser foot holding it too firmly. Below, on the left is an Applique Foot, on the right, the standard decorative stitch foot.
While the Applique Foot is shorter, it does still have the same channel underneath for dense satin stitching to pass and it is clear for great visibility while appliqueing.
So next time you do applique, try the Applique Foot. Whether you do satin stitched applique on sweatshirts, or blanket stitch applique on quilt blocks, I assure you, the difference is night and day over other feet and you will wish that you had an Applique Foot years ago!
