My Industrial Sewing Machine & Her Feet
This picture was one of the first images I shared on Raspberry Sunshine back in 2011. My Juki 8700-7 industrial sewing machine in all her glory, fresh out of the box. I had never owned an industrial machine and worked exclusively on a very moody Bernina. So when I start sewing and selling bags and other accessories it became clear that the Bernina wouldn’t cut it. So the hubby and I shopped around and kept coming back to Juki’s. This Juki. So I bought it and have never looked back. She’s a workhorse, needs basic care I can do myself and never gets moody with me. I just flip the switch and go.
Industrials are wonderful machines, but they are nothing like the everyday home machine. A majority of the time each machine has one single purpose/job. Some just do zig-zags, some sew straight stitch or overstitch, etc. My machine is a straight stitch single needle machine. Her max stitch length is 4mm at 5,000 stitches per minute. Fast? You betcha. And boy does it take a little time getting use to it, but when you do you’ll wonder what you ever did without it!
As with home machine, you can purchase feet to go with industrial machines. It is usually not *recommended* by the manufacturer, so you have to be very careful where you buy them. Do your research and only buy from trusted shops. I buy from HERE and HERE. Great quality and prices. Industrial feet are usually made of a metal and are more weighty than normal. Also, I make sure my feet are high-shank not low-shank. High-shank is the 1 1/4″ measurement from bottom of foot to the screw. A simple flat head screwdriver helps change out the feet when needed.
So what do I use in my industrial? I pretty much stick to the four you see above:
* Teflon Foot – Great for Leather, vinyl, etc where you need to leave no marks and can travel over the material quickly.
* Standard Presser Foot/Straight Stitch – It came with the machine, plus it has a guard attached with it which I love! No frills, but what I love about this foot is that the edge of the foot to the needle is 1/4″ so it’s easy when I need to use that seam allowance. I use this foot a majority of the time.
* 1/4″ Foot – I use this one for quilting. If you look at one edge, you’ll notice it’s larger and shaped slightly different than the other edge.
* Zipper Foot – This foot looks SO much different than a home zipper foot. This one is longer and very skinny. Many times, I’ll use it for topstitching or stitching small tricky items.
If you research on Google you will find sites that sell more Juki feet. Anything from cording feet to binders, it’s there. I’m looking into piping feet at the moment so I’ll let you know what I find.
Later in the week I will share my go-to needles, bobbins and other accessories for my industrial as well as my home machine so stay tuned!
I’d really love to hear more about how you chose this particular model. I’m in the market for a new industrial. Like you, I keep coming back to the Jukis over all other brands. I hear the Consews and Highleads rank well, but the name of Juki is worth the extra cost. I the 8700 and the 5500N as well as the 1181N all have my eye. I plan to use the machine much as you do, mostly for purses and bags made with leather and perhaps some other leatherwork. Would you be willing to explain to me how and why you chose the 8700 over the others? Thank you.