You *can* make smart looking machine buttonholes. This is not a myth.
For those of you who choose not to take the time (or can’t for whatever reason) to make handmade buttonholes you can use your machine to great effect. Now granted, hand sewn buttonholes are period correct until the sewing machine could produce zig-zag stitches, but who cares when you just want to finish the costume.
I highly admire those who make (all) their buttonholes by hand. I, however, create mine by machine nearly on all projects. It’s just faster.
Follow these tips to get great looking buttonholes when sewing by machine.
1. Start with reducing your machine tension. My wonderful Viking Lily is digital and shows me how far to adjust. If you don’t have a smart machine, turn down the tension (toward the lower numbers) a couple of notches. This will ease the top zig-zag stitch and allow it to lie smooth while locking the bobbin stitches tight.
2. Test on a scrap of your fashion fabric first. No need to do a full stitch, but at least test the width and closeness of the stitches.
3. Ease the fabric under the foot to get the stitches even. For a great looking stitch, you want the thread to be close together to produce a solid line.
4. Buttonholes should measure about 1/8″ longer than your button. So if you have a 5/8″ size button, make your button hole ¾”.
5. If you have a ball button the buttonhole length will need a bit longer than the 1/8″ ease noted above.
6. Draw the hole line in disappearing pen or marking pencil. When sewing your first side, go RIGHT OVER that line. This will keep the buttonhole straight. If you sew down one side, the marking (which is then in the very center of the hole) may show, even after you cut the hole open.
7. To disguise the machine stitches, after the hole is cut open, go over each side with a quick blanket stitch. You’ll have the strength of the machine stitch but the look of a hand-finished opening.
My buttonhole output is about 75/25, with the handworked buttonholes saved for really special projects because of the time involved. If you only have a straight stitch machine, however, do not despair: I think the finest, most even buttonholes are made with the old Singer or Griest attachments. The attachments are plentiful and inexpensive and can be found in lots of online bidding sites or local charity shops; there is a bit of a learning curve but if you put in the time and the practice, you will have buttonholes that are superior to most of those made by contemporary zig-zag machines. The attachments are made for both straight stitch and zig-zag machines; all of them work equally well.
My 1930 singer hand crank singer only dose forward and backward. I am guessing that zigzag stitch was the preserve of the professional for quite a while.
Incidental The 1930’s machine is far more reliable than my 2004 Phaff.
I don’t know when the modern zigzag machines were first made (the ones where the needle moves back and forth to make the stitch) but my grandmother had an Atlas sewing machine she bought in the early 1950s. It had a zigzag attachment that clamped onto the fabric and jerked the fabric back and forth to make the zigzag stitch. She never used it to make buttonholes because it was too difficult to control.
Joanne, that is a good question. I searched a bit but couldn’t find much. I did discover that the zig zag stitch machine was patented in 1873.
Not knowing exactly, my guess is that buttonholes continued to be finished by hand well into the 20th Century. Hand buttonholes are much more professional looking and wear nicely.
When did they start making machine button holes?