First off, here are some pictures of what the foot looks like. There are a couple of different styles, and this one was included in the set of hemming feet my mom gave me for my birthday this year - just like the ones I oohhed and ahhed over at her house this fall! My foot already has the binding threaded through it so you can see how that goes.
Before I read the instructions for this foot, I thought all those openings on the side were just for decoration, or to make the foot lighter in weight. But they serve a purpose! You thread your binding through the one closest in size. Here I'm using 1/2" single-fold binding, and it goes into the biggest slot. So I'm not sure this foot is super versatile; I don't see myself ever using any binding narrower than 1/2".
Still, it made applying the binding so much quicker. It took some practice to figure out the right configuration for my task, but not nearly as much as the narrow rolled hem foot (which I still haven't mastered). I was able to use this for all but the bulkiest and most curved of my edges, so probably 75% of my edges on this coat will have been bound this way by the time I'm done.
What I found to be the most important thing while using this foot is to keep both the fabric and the binding lifted upwards as they feed in, and to keep the fabric edge right up against the inside of the foot, like this:
(Note that in the above photo, I'm pulling both the fabric and the binding down so you can see the foot.)
Once you've gotten used to holding them that way, it's pretty easy actually! I just made sure to sew slowly, constantly checking to see that everything was in line.
Here are two little videos showing the foot in action, shown from slightly different angles.
Do any of you have this foot? Have you used it? Are you tempted to get one? I've really been having fun playing with mine!
