Vintage buttonholers. Maybe they’ve caught your eye on eBay or at a rummage sale. They kinda look like walking feet on steroids.
Vintage buttonholers are handy-dandy attachments that work on many MODERN sewing machines. I have an old-school buttonholer for my post-2000s Babylock, and it works a treat (after tension adjustments).
Following is a Q&A on vintage buttonholers, including a video where you can see mine in action. If you’re a sewing-notion junkie (*raises hand*) or you’ve never been completely bowled over by your automatic buttonhole foot (*raises hand again*), this post is your Y-O-U!
Why bother with a vintage buttonholer?
Fair question. I got interested in vintage buttonholers for two reasons:
1.) The buttonhole attachment that came with my Babylock Elizabeth sewing machine was unreliable. With some fabrics with was great; with others, it made me want to stick my finger under the needle.
2.) I saw an Instagram story from Helen’s Closet about her vintage buttonholer, and I was MESMERIZED. Lord knows my weakness for sewing gadgets (like, DUH). When I saw her beaut, it instantly sent me into treasure-hunter mode.
So, if you dig on sewing gadgets, particularly sewing feet/attachments, and you’ve been underwhelmed by your current buttonhole situation, a vintage buttonholer could be your jam.
How does a vintage buttonholer work?
Buttonholers work by moving the fabric side to side and forward to backward. In other words, the fabric moves; the needle DOESN’T move.
In a nutshell, here’s how it goes:
1.) Select a template for the buttonhole you want to create.
2.) Place it in the buttonholer.
3.) Attach the buttonholer to your machine at the presser bar. The fork of the buttonholer goes over the needle bar. (If you’ve used a walking foot, this will look familiar to you.)
4.) Drop your feed dogs.
5.) Set up a straight stitch. (Vintage buttonholers weren’t designed to work with zigzag machines, so a straight stitch is a must.)
6.) Add the fabric and get to it.
Always always always test your buttonhole settings before stitching on your garment. It may take a bit of calibration to get your machine and buttonholer in a simpatico relationship.
What should you look for when buying one?
Buying a buttonholer can be tricky, because it’s important to know what’s compatible with your machine. From what I can tell, the most important factor is identifying whether you have a low- or high-shank sewing machine. (For the record, I have a low-shank machine.)
Here are some resources for figuring out which buttonholers will work for you (and just good resources overall):
- GREIST BUTTONHOLER: Which one to buy for vintage machine?
- GREIST LATE-MODEL BUTTONHOLERS: Model numbers
- Griest/Greist Template Buttonholer Attachment
- Wikipedia: Buttonholer
Here’s some vintage buttonholer trivia for you. You’ll see a TON of Greist buttonholers for sale. Greist manufactured buttonholer attachments for Singer from the 1940s to the 1980s. So, a Greist buttonholer IS a Singer buttonholer.
What comes with a buttonholer?
My buttonholer came with:
- An instruction booklet
- 7 aluminum buttonhole/eyelet templates; I’ve also seen plastic and resin templates
- the buttonholer itself (duh)
My guess is you can buy each of these elements individually.
Where can I buy a vintage buttonholer?
Keep your eyes peeled at yard sales, flea markets, and estate sales.
You also can search eBay and Etsy for buttonholers. I bought mine off eBay.
How much does one cost?
My Greist buttonholer cost $19.99. I chose my buttonholer because a.) it worked with my machine; b.) it came with a bunch of templates; and c.) the shipping was free. Looking at vintage buttonholers today, in August 2019, most of them range between $5-$25. (Shipping is all over the place, natch.)
Over to you, my sewing dears: What are your thoughts on vintage buttonholers? Are you curious about trying one for yourself? Why or why not? If you have a vintage buttonholer, I’d love for you to add more tips in the comments! Thanks!
P.S. Here’s the previous post:Β Go Fabric Shopping with Me! | Vogue Fabrics [VIDEO].
P.P.S. If you liked this post, and especially the video, consider signing up for the Sie Macht monthly newsletter. The buttonholer vid first went out to Sie Macht subscribers. Ooooh, sneaky peekies!
I’m so with you. Wouldn’t sew a buttonhole without mine! I’m lucky enough to have inherited my grandmother’s Singers 401a with ALL the attachments it came with. including a buttonholer. The only thing it doesn’t have is the adjustable hem foot. I guess they didn’t come with the machines. My grandma said she considered buying one when she saw one years later but decided she’d rather spend money of fabric :), it runs in the family! I’d like to have one just to have all the ones they made for this machine, not just for using it. I also still need to expanded cam set, but those can get expensive. I digress…
I never knew those worked for newer machines. It would have never crossed my mind to try it either. I’ll have to pass that on to others I know who aren’t lucky enough to own a vintage machine. Thanks!
Hey, Brooke! Thanks for reading. π
Yes, please let other sewists know they likely can use vintage buttonholers on a modern machine. It’s pretty slick.
my vintage buttonholer is one of the most useful (and best value) pieces I have ever bought and I only got about 3 years ago on ebay…. wish I knew about them years ago -the button holes are perfect and I will use it instead of my electronic auto buttonholer a lot of times – especially for denim as my electronic machine cant take some thicknesses as well as my old singer and buttonholer
Oh, I second your observation on the denim! Denim buttonholes are the perfect application for a vintage buttonholer.
I have a Kenmore Ultra 12. #185.1561.281
The feed dogs cannot be lowered.
What button maker works for mine
Thx. For any info
Hi, Donna! Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
I think you could start with the links shared under “What should I look for when buying one?”
Good luck.
Some of the buttonholers come with a plate to cover the feed dogs. Look carefully at the photo if you buy online to make sure it is there. I didn’t know it was needed until I tried to use the first one I bought on eBay. Once I knew it should have been in the box I bought another one that showed the plate in the photo
YES, Alice! Great advice! Buttonholers have feed dogs that move the fabric for you, which makes your sewing machine’s feed dogs unnecessary when using a buttonholer.
My vintage buttonholer DID come with a plate to cover the feed dogs… but I didn’t have to use it because I can lower my feed dogs. If you can’t lower your sewing machine’s feed dogs, you DEFINITELY need a buttonholer with a feed dog plate cover.
Thanks for reading and sharing your tip! π
Thanks for the advice. It is much appreciated!
You are welcome! Good luck! <3
I’m so excited I just found one yesterday at a church thrift sale !!
Heck yeah, church thrift sale treasures! I hope your new-old buttonholer works out. π Thanks for sharing.
Your buttonholer posts have been very informative. I’m looking for a buttonholer for my Viking Designer SE which has a short straight shank. I think a Greist #1 or #6 might work for my machine.
I’ve read that Singer Buttonholers were made by Greist and might also work. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.
Thanks!
Hi, Renee! Thanks for reading.
Greist buttonholers were made for Singer in the second half of the 20th century. Cool research fact!
To find the right buttonholer for your Viking, first find out if it’s low or high shank. (This is a good article on how to tell the difference.
Second, I suggest checking the links I provided in this post under the “What should you look for when buying one?” I think this link – https://sewing.patternreview.com/SewingDiscussions/topic/53024/1 – a discussion from PatternReview.com, might be most helpful.
Good luck!
I tries the Greist #1Z and it seems like it will fit except the fork arm does not quite fit over the needle clamp. If I can find a slightly smaller clamp, then I could be in business! The Singer Professional
#102878 does not work for the Designer SE. Someone has suggested the Singer Buttonholer in the green egg case. So I’ll take a look at that and see if I can get some measurements.
All suggestions are welcome!
Good luck, Renee!