Sewing Machine Essentials

Depending on model, your machine came with a few or a lot of accessories.  Sure, all of those doodads are fun to have, but what do you really need? I’ve done a lot of sewing during my shelter-in-place. I rotated through all of my machines: Elna Carina, Singer 99, Singer 221/222, Janome 8900, Janome MOD 50, and the ElnaSTAR.  As it turns out, most of my sewing was done on the ElnaSTAR (pictured in the website header).  While I adore  my Singer Featherweights, this little Elna became my go-to machine simply because it’s equally as portable, but has the extra stitches and features that I prefer.  The bulk of my sewing involves piecing quilt blocks, machine applique and some home dec (pillows, curtains, kitchen accessories and small bags).

Here are my *essential* sewing machine accessories:

• all purpose foot
• zipper foot
• 1/4″ foot
• open toe foot
• open toe walking foot with left and right guides
• adjustable darning/free motion foot
• extra spool pin/base
• standard (zigzag) needle plate
• straight stitch needle plate
• screwdriver
• lint brush
• extra bobbins
• extension table
• carry case

If you will be sewing clothing or a lot of home dec, consider adding a cording/piping foot, invisible zipper foot, sliding guide foot and a teflon foot.

Notes:
Janome 8900 is set up exclusively for machine quilting.
Janome MOD 50 is an excellent machine, but no straight stitch plate is currently available.