Attaching size 10 Snaps with Sewing Machine

I'm currently working on creating the elastics that will secure stormtrooper shoulder bells to the shoulder straps. I use size 10 snaps for this connection. Typically, these are hand sewn in, and they take a long time to complete. Today I finally had a lightbulb moment that I could use a zigzag stitch and a button foot to accomplish securing the snap to the elastic, and it worked! It took me less than 10 minutes to finish both straps. Woo!

To accomplish this, set your feed dogs to ZERO, meaning that the teeth mechanism that moves the fabric forward under the needle doesn't move. You're basically disengaging it so it won't force the elastic to go anywhere while you sew. Then you'll need to set your needle to a wide zig zag stitch. You'll have to try different settings and move the needle by hand to figure out what setting works best for your machine. Once you've established that the needle can safely clear the hole of the snap and engage fully with the elastic, you're good to go!