Can you sew regular cotton and lace fabrics and stuff with it? I know they're used for real jean fabric and leather but are they used for shoes too, like sandals that are sewn or leather boots?Can you sew regular cotton and lace fabrics and stuff with it? I know they're used for real jean fabric and leather but are they used for shoes too, like sandals that are sewn or leather boots?

Depends on what you mean by "heavy duty". If you're talking about an industrial machine, they are designed to sew a fairly limited range of fabric weights and do it very, very well. Home machines are designed to sew a great variety of weights, typically from sheers to about pig suede, but generally they do best with medium weights. Shoe machines are an entirely different kettle of fish. They are designed for single operations on very specific weights of materials.