Bernina and Adapter for Low-Shank Feet

Bernina's sewing machine feet are unusual and work only with Bernina machines, plus quite expensive but built to last.

There is a way to expand usage of the machine without paying a small fortune for their feet---and it may already be in your household.

Here are pics of my Bernina 910 (mid 80s), my Riccar (late 70s), and my White 4042 (early 2000s)  Click to see larger pictures.

Though the feet for the Riccar and the White look very much alike they are not exchangeable for the most part because the needle opening in the feet are either too far forward or too far back.  However,  they can be used on the Bernina!

Here's how:
You will need a low-shank adapter.  They come in a choice of for snap-on or for screw-on feet and are available for old stye (OS) (through the 1630--am almost positive on this model) and for new style (NS).  If your feet have red, then they are new style.  (approximtely after '98).  The adapters are in the range of $18-26.

(Caught my error. The models 1xxx-1630 are still old style, but old old style feet, like the barrel style foot on my Bernina, will not fit them, but feet for these models will fit back through these old machines.   I believe some of these models do have red, but are quite different from the models which followed and are considered new style.  To make things more complicated Bernina began repeating model numbers.  Why, Bernina, why?  Did you run out of numerical digits to use?)

Upper pic is the adapter next to the regular sewing foot.  Lower pic shows the adapter added in place of the regular foot.

However, you may need just the adapter for screw-on feet.  What you do is take the ankle from the non-Bernina machine and attach to the Bernina low-shank screw-on adapter.  Then the snap-on feet for other machines will fit on the Bernina!  Aha!  

Here is a pic with the ankle from my Riccar attached.
Next are two examples of feet from my Riccar attached to the Riccar ankle.  (No pics of the same with the White but they worked also, using the White ankle and the White feet).

This will save you money because you won't need a separate low-shank snap-on foot adapter for the Bernina---unless you want one.  This is great for feet that you won't be using often.

This will open more opportunities for your Bernina.  It won't add any utility stitches, but just expand sewing techniques without putting out all of that extra money for those Bernina feet.

These machine feet are 4-5 mm.  I have a Pfaff also but it is 9 mm and I'm not certain that it would be a good idea to put thse wider feet on the narrower Bernina feed dogs.

Here I've put the very narrow (3mm) foot from an old Singer on and I probably wouldn't use it as it doesn't cover the feed dogs.

Non-Bernina rufflers, of any age, should work, using the adapter, but be certain to test (as with all feet).  I was able to use the same ruffler on a variety of machines and on the Bernina, using the adapter.

Further information:
Just in case you have this White (model 4042) and possibly 4040 is similar, it takes the same bobbins as this Bernina.