Non-automatic machine buttonholes?

[gem]

So I'm carting myself and my Viking over to the quilt shop tomorrow to see if they can straighten out whatever the issue is with my buttonhole function, but it occurred to me today that there must be a way to do this, um, manually? Not hand-sewn buttonholes, but a step-by-step method you can do by machine? Sew the first bartack, zig-zag up the side, sew the second bartack, and zigzag home again?  Is this something I can learn to do, with the application of skilled precision machine sewing?

Tips?  I got my Sim-flex today, and I'm itching to use it! 

[peacewing]

I always marked out my buttonhole with a pencil or marker line and sewed around it. It's pretty easy that way, just takes a little more time than the one-step. Put pins at each end of the buttonhole and seam rip open! Voila! (The pins were always an important step for me. I'd get overzealous and rip open the whole thing!)   

[Kate XXXXXX]

I'll try and scan the instructions I have in one of my Elna manuals: they are pretty clear, and I always go back to them when I need to...

[GirlChris]

Gem- that's essentially how my machine does it. It uses a special foot so that you can't go any farther than it's set to, but that's essentially it.

[Pascal]

Gem, you have a fairly recent Viking, don't you?  It should be able to make "4 step buttonholes" -- you probably have some controls to select each of the steps.

Once you position your needle at the proper buttonhole location (I use Scotch Tape to mark my buttonhole lengths), you start with "Step 1" -- it'll sew a zig-zag down one side of the buttonhole (you want to set your stitch length pretty short) -- I think Viking is opposite from everyone else.  It begins sewing "up" rather than "down" when doing buttonholes.

When you get to the end, you change to "Step 2" -- the machine will then do a "cross-tack" to lock in the top (or bottom) of the buttonhole.

Go to "Step 3", and the machine will switch to the other side of the buttonhole and do the reverse of "Step 1".  You'll have to manually stop when you get to the proper spot.

Finally, "Step 4" sews a wide "cross-tack" on the other end of the buttonhole.  Bernina's add a "Step 5" where they stitch a straight seam down one side of the buttonhole to lock it in.  You could do this manually if you want.

You may want to check your manual to see what controls you hit for the 4 steps -- all my manual Vikings (non-computerized) have special knobs for this.

Also, be sure and use a buttonhole foot and not your normal zigzag foot (IMPORTANT!!!!)  When you're sewing those almost-satin-stitch buttonhole sides, you'll build up a thick nest of thread on the bottom of your fabric.  A buttonhole foot has a little slot on the underside so the foot won't snag on this.  A normal zig-zag foot may snag because it doesn't have the slot.

[gem]

Thanks, everyone!  Pascal, fabulous tips!

The SM dealer was able to figure out what I was doing wrong with the automatic buttonhole on my machine (I was holding the push lever back instead of pushing it once and releasing, so it never signaled the machine to... do whatever. LOL).  I was able to sew a handful of perfect buttonholes (on my own machine) on different fabrics at the store, so at least now if I can't get it to work, I know that the machine works fine, it's just my issue and I need to keep futzing until I've figured out what I'm doing wrong!  Or I could just have faith that it's going to sew perfectly! Ha!!

BUT: I do think this is something I want to master, because it seems like a foundational skill I should know, so I definitely appreciate the advice!

[redkimba]

I'm so glad that you guys know how to do buttonholes on the machine.  I just always did mine by hand...