I finally got around to figuring out what a mysterious dial on my machine (Singer, Diana model) is for. I've always just kept it on "normal" since that seemed like the safest thing to do. The manual says it's for adjusting the pressure the presser foot exerts.

My question is why would I need to adjust this? When would I need more or less pressure on the presser foot?

Thanks in advance for any help!

My quilting foot likes a light pressure and some others like a heavier pressure I have no idea why but I follow the instructions :)

I had a machine that allowed for "presser foot pressure" (I dare you to say that three times) adjustments. If you sew really heavy materials like denim and are trying to do a hem, you might need to adjust your presser foot to allow the fabric to feed through more easily. I haven't seen a presser adjustment on any of my computerized machine so maybe it is just found on the totally mechanical ones.

Sometimes lowering the foot pressure will keep fine fabrics like satin, lace, etc. from puckering. Or that was my experience.

It comes in very handy when (like previously mentioned) sewing denim, sewing rag quilts and sometimes when sewing quilt tops that have many pieces joined together at one point and create a rather lumpy surface.

When you are quilting your quilt,)without a walking foot) you may find it easier to move the fabric under your presser foot if you decrease the pressure, too :D:D:D

i've changed the pressure on my machine when sewing heavy fabrics to make it feed more smoothly. i guess the fabric dictates how much pressure is needed.

Thanks for all the responses, everyone!

My Viking Designer 1 has a pressure foot pressure setting and I lower it (a lot) when FMQ