Buttonholer
Sewing machine attachment
A buttonholer is an attachment for a sewing machine which automates the side-to-side and forwards-and-backwards motions involved in sewing a buttonhole.
Most modern sewing machines have this function built in, but many older machines do not, and straight stitch machines cannot sew a zigzag stitch with which buttonholes are constructed. A buttonholer attachment can create buttonholes from any sewing machine capable of making a lock stitch. (That is not to say, however, that some industrial buttonhole machines cannot employ a chain stitch, especially to create the purl when making keyhole buttonholes).
The buttonholer's adaptor attaches to the machine's presser bar, replacing the presser foot. In its place the buttonholer employs a cloth clamp with teeth on the underside to hold the material firmly whilst manipulating the cloth side to side and forwards and backwards. Driven by the up and down stitching motion of the needle bar via the fork arm straddling the needle clamp, it executes the series of movements to complete a buttonhole by moving the material rather than by moving the needle position. Buttonholers usually include a metal feed cover plate to cover the machine's feed dogs, so that they do not interfere with that of the buttonholer, though some machines allow the feed dogs to be disengaged or 'dropped'.
01Singer buttonholers
The Singer Manufacturing Company, (often abbreviated by Singer as Simanco), contracted several manufactures to produce buttonholers branded as Singer, in an evolving series of buttonholers that fit Singer machines. The Peerless Buttonholer for use on Singer VS machines was patented in 1887 and made by The Sackett Mf'g Co . The Lenox ' "Famous" Buttonhole Worker' was patented in 1916 (Simanco No. 36935).
Later buttonholer models made for Singer by 'Greist Mfg. Co.' employed templates to create a variety of different buttonhole sizes and shapes including keyhole buttonholes, as well as straight buttonholes, and even an eyelet. Produced for Singer from 1948 into the late 1980s, the Greist template design of buttonholers became Singer's longest running style of buttonholer.
Singer's line of buttonholers includes:,
'Vertical Needle' when used by Singer to refer to domestic machines, became Singer's modern term for a 'low shank'.
The Simanco Nos. and sizes for the five templates included with the Singer (Greist design) buttonholer kit are as follows:,
| Imperial Size | Metric Size | Buttonhole Type | Simanco No. | Composition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5⁄16 " | 8 mm | Straight | 160551 | metal alloy,
briefly made of grey Kralastic®, later made from a black fibre-resin composite |
| 5⁄8 " | 16 mm | Straight | 160550 | metal alloy,
briefly made of grey Kralastic®, later made from a black fibre-resin composite |
| 13⁄16 " | 21 mm | Straight | 160549 | metal alloy,
briefly made of grey Kralastic®, later made from a black fibre-resin composite |
| 1+1⁄16 " | 27 mm | Straight | 160552 | metal alloy,
briefly made of grey Kralastic®, later made from a black fibre-resin composite |
| 1+1⁄16 " | 27 mm | Keyhole | 160548 | metal alloy,
briefly made of grey Kralastic®, later made from a black fibre-resin composite |
* Singer marketed additional templates in a Four-Pack, Simanco No. 160668, in the following sizes:, 3⁄8 " (10 mm) Straight, 1⁄2 " (13 mm) Straight, 15⁄16 " (24 mm) Straight, and a 5⁄8 " (16 mm) Keyhole. An Eyelet template (Simanco No. 161231) was available through Singer as well but sold separately. The four templates in the set 160668 could be purchased from Singer individually as well.
The individual Simanco Nos. for the additional four templates not supplied with the Greist design attachment, as well as the eyelet template are as follows:,
| Imperial Size | Metric Size | Buttonhole Type | Simanco No. | Composition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3⁄8 " | 10 mm | Straight | 160561 | metal alloy,
briefly made of grey Kralastic®, later made from a black fibre-resin composite |
| 1⁄2 " | 13 mm | Straight | 160562 | metal alloy,
briefly made of grey Kralastic®, later made from a black fibre-resin composite |
| 15⁄16 " | 24 mm | Straight | 160563 | metal alloy,
briefly made of grey Kralastic®, later made from a black fibre-resin composite |
| 5⁄8 " | 16 mm | Keyhole | 160564 | metal alloy,
briefly made of grey Kralastic®, later made from a black fibre-resin composite |
| 1⁄8 " to 3⁄16 " | 3 mm to 5 mm | Eyelet | 161231 | metal alloy,
briefly made of grey Kralastic®, later made from a black fibre-resin composite |
The width of the Eyelet varies depending on the setting chosen from narrow to wide. This is also the size of the eye of the Keyhole buttonholes, which likewise depends on the width chosen.
Greist often included a bonus in the form of a plastic pouch containing a set of the four additional templates, usually in grey Kralastic®, not normally included with the buttonholer, viz sizes:, 3⁄8 " (10 mm) Straight, 1⁄2 " (13 mm) Straight, 15⁄16 " (24 mm) Straight, and a 5⁄8 " (16 mm) Keyhole. However, Greist continued to sell the Eyelet, made of metal alloy, individually, as well as selling templates in a Five-Pack of metal alloy inclusive of the eyelet; and in later years sold an Eight-Pack of templates, that included an Eyelet template, but only ever made of a black plastic fibre composite, or included them with the purchase of a Greist Buttonholer.
The three new additional sizes offered were:, 1 " (25 mm) straight, 7⁄8 " (22 mm) straight, and 7⁄8 " (22 mm) keyhole.
** The Simanco numbers of the Clamshell (Jetson) buttonholers 489500 (Slant) and 489510 (Straight) are very often confused. This is because these numbers are not stamped on the attachments or on their Clamshell (Jetson) Cases, and the 'one size fits all' user manual simply says 'For 489500 or 489510'. The only differences between the two models are:, 1.) The shank Adaptor is stamped 'STRAIGHT' on the low-shank model but 'SLANT' on the slant-shank model, and 2.) The Clamshell (Jetson) Case is green for the low-shank model but pink for the slant-shank model. (In later years, after singer had given up the Clamshell (Jetson) Case, these two model numbers were sold in red & white cardboard boxes, marked at one end 'Part No. 489500 SLANT', or 'For VERTICAL Needle Sewing Machines Part No. 489510'). (See note above on Singer's later use of the word 'Vertical').
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Buttonholer”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Singer.ButtonHoler.489510.mounted.jpg by Txinviolet, Public domain
- Singer.ButtonHoler.489510.kit.jpg by Txinviolet, Public domain
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