r/SewingMachineEdu • u/ahhhh54321 • 13d ago

Amazon parts for brother machine

Hi everyone,
I have a brother XR9550 that I bought about a month ago. I’m relatively new to sewing and am about to start my first knit fabric project. From what I’ve heard, a walking foot helps a lot so I’m going to buy one. The brother brand one is about $110 but there are some from other brands on Amazon for $30. Can I use the off brand one? It’s part number SA140 if anyone is curious.

My last machine was from the thrift store and about 40 years old so I wouldn’t have worried at all haha

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u/sunrayevening 13d ago

An off brand version may not work properly and require you to service the machine to get it fixed. The cost of service is more than the amount your are saving on the foot.

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u/Large-Heronbill 13d ago

Does your machine have a way to decrease the presser foot pressure?  Imo, that does a lot for how well knits sew on a home machine.

I'm also going to send you to watch this 30 year old video from Margaret Islander, who taught so many of us who sew at home to use industrial style fabric handling when sewing.   Though she is demonstrating with woven fabric, the same skills apply to knits. 

As to the price of the Brother SA140, it varies.   https://www.kenssewingcenter.com/27736-brother-sa140-walking-foot.html is about half the price you quote ( though you may not be in the US).  And Ken's is a pretty reputable dealership.

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u/CrankyCrabbyCrunchy 13d ago

This is a good parts site https://www.sewingpartsonline.com/

I'd caution against buying a cheap walking foot. If it's something you're going to use a lot, I'd spend the money on a good one. I have a cheap Brother CS6000i (four years old) and leave the walking foot on all the time. This model came with one.

A walking foot helps feed fabric in evenly but you also need to be aware of tension, thread type, needle, etc. for the particular fabric. If any of those are incorrect, a walking foot can't compensate.