buttonholes

Hi all,
I'm fairly new to this newsgroup, though I've been lurking a while. It seems
like a great resource.
Anyway, I'm in the market for a new sewing machine. Previously I've been
borrowing my mum's old mechanical machine, which does straight, a couple of
varieties of zig-zag, and what I think are called 4-step buttonholes. I'm
generally happy with that, I can't see myself doing embroidery or quilting,
but I'd love something that made buttonholes easier. I visited a couple of
shops this morning and only managed to get one machine demonstrated, which
had a somewhat simpler buttonhole (did the end-bars automatically) and once
you'd got it right it could "remember" and repeat it. However, I'd thought
you could get machines that would gauge the buttonhole size for you, but the
man in the shop said such things don't work very well and break easily. Is
this the experience of this group's members? Or is he just trying to sell me
a machine that doesn't have this feature? And in general, what kind of
buttonhole should I be looking for?
Thanks for any advice you can offer,
Liz

Y'know, I got a new machine quite a few years ago (the antichr*st). It had a
you-beaut-mega-fantastic buttonhole attachment on it and I found it more trouble
than it was worth. It was one of those jobbies that you insert the actual button
in and it calculated how much bar tack, how much straight buttonhole and the
length and so on. The buttonholes were adequate, but somehow I never liked them
much.

These days, I've gone back to my ancient Singer ('bout thirty years old) and use
a plain old zig-zag stitch to make 'manual' buttonholes. And gee, I find they're
somehow far more satisfactory than the ones on the you-beaut machines! (I have
to be honest and say that my friend works all her buttonholes *by hand*, which
is going far too far, even for my taste!)

But I digress...

Does anyone else find this? Sometimes, I reckon the more they try to mechanise
stuff, the more they remove that human-input-thing that makes stuff desirable to
us...

I know that sounds a bit convoluted, but d'you know what I mean...?

--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

My first "new" sewing machine was a Brother, with an automatic
buttonhole---it was "okay" but not fantastic.
My second new sewing machine IS a Janome/New Home Memorycraft 9000. The
automatic buttonhole works very much the same way, except that the machine
also has automatic TENSION, which has made all the difference to me. Most
of what I do with this fancy sewing machine is just plain ol' garment
construction. The automatic tension is worth every penny.

"Liz" wrote in message
...
Hi all,
I'm fairly new to this newsgroup, though I've been lurking a while. It
seems
like a great resource.
Anyway, I'm in the market for a new sewing machine. Previously I've been
borrowing my mum's old mechanical machine, which does straight, a couple
of
varieties of zig-zag, and what I think are called 4-step buttonholes. I'm
generally happy with that, I can't see myself doing embroidery or
quilting,
but I'd love something that made buttonholes easier. I visited a couple of
shops this morning and only managed to get one machine demonstrated, which
had a somewhat simpler buttonhole (did the end-bars automatically) and
once
you'd got it right it could "remember" and repeat it. However, I'd thought
you could get machines that would gauge the buttonhole size for you, but
the
man in the shop said such things don't work very well and break easily. Is
this the experience of this group's members? Or is he just trying to sell
me
a machine that doesn't have this feature? And in general, what kind of
buttonhole should I be looking for?
Thanks for any advice you can offer,
Liz

Hi Trish,
Thanks for your response. By the way, I'm in Newcastle too -- can you
recommend a good sewing machine shop in Newcastle?

Liz

"Trish Brown" wrote in message
...
Y'know, I got a new machine quite a few years ago (the antichr*st). It had
a
you-beaut-mega-fantastic buttonhole attachment on it and I found it more
trouble
than it was worth. It was one of those jobbies that you insert the actual
button
in and it calculated how much bar tack, how much straight buttonhole and
the
length and so on. The buttonholes were adequate, but somehow I never liked
them
much.

These days, I've gone back to my ancient Singer ('bout thirty years old)
and use
a plain old zig-zag stitch to make 'manual' buttonholes. And gee, I find
they're
somehow far more satisfactory than the ones on the you-beaut machines! (I
have
to be honest and say that my friend works all her buttonholes *by hand*,
which
is going far too far, even for my taste!)

But I digress...

Does anyone else find this? Sometimes, I reckon the more they try to
mechanise
stuff, the more they remove that human-input-thing that makes stuff
desirable to
us...

I know that sounds a bit convoluted, but d'you know what I mean...?

--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Liz wrote:

Hi all,
I'm fairly new to this newsgroup, though I've been lurking a while. It seems
like a great resource.
Anyway, I'm in the market for a new sewing machine. Previously I've been
borrowing my mum's old mechanical machine, which does straight, a couple of
varieties of zig-zag, and what I think are called 4-step buttonholes. I'm
generally happy with that, I can't see myself doing embroidery or quilting,
but I'd love something that made buttonholes easier. I visited a couple of
shops this morning and only managed to get one machine demonstrated, which
had a somewhat simpler buttonhole (did the end-bars automatically) and once
you'd got it right it could "remember" and repeat it. However, I'd thought
you could get machines that would gauge the buttonhole size for you, but the
man in the shop said such things don't work very well and break easily. Is
this the experience of this group's members? Or is he just trying to sell me
a machine that doesn't have this feature? And in general, what kind of
buttonhole should I be looking for?
Thanks for any advice you can offer,
Liz


You need to audition the different types of buttonhole making gadgetry
to see what suits you, along with the rest of the machine.

When I bought my Lily a few years back, I tried I dunno HOW many
different machines! I didn't like the ones you put the buttons in: too
much skiddle, and they tend not to do big buttons! I like my one step
buttonholes: you tell the machine the size and type ( a choice of ten)
and it will just keep going until you tell it something else! The
choice and quality of the buttonholes was a big selling point for me. as
I work as a dress and costume maker, and I don't have workshop space for
dedicated industrial machines. You can see some of the buttonholes I
did recently if you hit my URL (below) and look for Romeo and Juliet in
the costume section.
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

Trish Brown wrote:
Y'know, I got a new machine quite a few years ago (the antichr*st). It had a
you-beaut-mega-fantastic buttonhole attachment on it and I found it more trouble
than it was worth. It was one of those jobbies that you insert the actual button
in and it calculated how much bar tack, how much straight buttonhole and the
length and so on. The buttonholes were adequate, but somehow I never liked them
much.

These days, I've gone back to my ancient Singer ('bout thirty years old) and use
a plain old zig-zag stitch to make 'manual' buttonholes. And gee, I find they're
somehow far more satisfactory than the ones on the you-beaut machines! (I have
to be honest and say that my friend works all her buttonholes *by hand*, which
is going far too far, even for my taste!)

But I digress...

Does anyone else find this? Sometimes, I reckon the more they try to mechanise
stuff, the more they remove that human-input-thing that makes stuff desirable to
us...

I know that sounds a bit convoluted, but d'you know what I mean...?

I've got DM's old Janome that has the first stage of auto button hole stitch,
which has never worked well it keeps throwing the occasional stitch on the long
bar into the hole area and the zig-zag on the log bar is way too open for a
buttonhole stitch. Her new machine is one thay does the full auto buttonhole
and it does great buttonholes, as does DSis's Brother (cheap endish), my friends
newer Janome also works well on buttonholes, and an aunt near by has a Pfaff.
She's done courses in tailoring clothes and is a sewing guild, she knows her
stuff in is happy with the Pfaff.

--
Melinda
http://cust.idl.com.au/athol

Trish Brown wrote:
Liz Chow wrote:

Hi Trish,
Thanks for your response. By the way, I'm in Newcastle too -- can you
recommend a good sewing machine shop in Newcastle?
Liz

Goodness! That's amazing! G'*day*, Liz! ;-D

I've always taken my machine to the Singer Centre that used to be in Beaumont
Street, however they moved to the Pfaff place opposite Spotlight. Last time I
was in there, the women at the counter seemed quite disinterested in my queries
and I wasn't very impressed! I've seen various ads for sewing machine repairs in
The Star, but always wonder how trustworthy the people are...

My DMIL has had pretty good service from the Thorpe shop (near the Casbah). One
idea I had was to inquire of the Textiles and Design teacher at the TAFE (or
even a local high school) to see who they use.

If you find a good repair bloke, *do* let me know, eh! :-D

I took the foot from the Janome to the place attached to Soptlight (Newcastle)
got it fixed, despite the age! Took the overlocker (Elna) to the place across
the road from Spotlight and they did a great job fixing what was caused by
the previous owners use of the wrong needle!

--
Melinda
http://cust.idl.com.au/athol

MY Brother PC 6000 makes button holes depending on the size of the
button I insert in the back. It has never failed me. ever.

On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 02:39:58 GMT, "Liz" said:

"Hi all,
"I'm fairly new to this newsgroup, though I've been lurking a while.
It seems
"like a great resource.
"Anyway, I'm in the market for a new sewing machine. Previously I've
been
"borrowing my mum's old mechanical machine, which does straight, a
couple of
"varieties of zig-zag, and what I think are called 4-step buttonholes.
I'm
"generally happy with that, I can't see myself doing embroidery or
quilting,
"but I'd love something that made buttonholes easier. I visited a
couple of
"shops this morning and only managed to get one machine demonstrated,
which
"had a somewhat simpler buttonhole (did the end-bars automatically)
and once
"you'd got it right it could "remember" and repeat it. However, I'd
thought
"you could get machines that would gauge the buttonhole size for you,
but the
"man in the shop said such things don't work very well and break
easily. Is
"this the experience of this group's members? Or is he just trying to
sell me
"a machine that doesn't have this feature? And in general, what kind
of
"buttonhole should I be looking for?
"Thanks for any advice you can offer,
"Liz
"

Diane
__________________________________________________ _____________________________
"It is easier to fight for one's beliefs than to live up to them." Alfred Adler

I always use the drop in type buttonhole attachment and they work perfectly
if the fabric is flat. I did not like my Bernina Artista 180 for
buttonholes. The Brothers make lovely buttonholes. Some say the Pfaff does
not make a good buttonhole. Take some fabric with you are try a few
buttonholes out. The thicker the better as some machine will not sew a good
buttonhole on thick or lumpy fabric i.e. at neck, the Bernina for instance
you have to buy a leveller.
Liz
"JW" wrote in message
...
MY Brother PC 6000 makes button holes depending on the size of the
button I insert in the back. It has never failed me. ever.

On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 02:39:58 GMT, "Liz" said:

"Hi all,
"I'm fairly new to this newsgroup, though I've been lurking a while.
It seems
"like a great resource.
"Anyway, I'm in the market for a new sewing machine. Previously I've
been
"borrowing my mum's old mechanical machine, which does straight, a
couple of
"varieties of zig-zag, and what I think are called 4-step buttonholes.
I'm
"generally happy with that, I can't see myself doing embroidery or
quilting,
"but I'd love something that made buttonholes easier. I visited a
couple of
"shops this morning and only managed to get one machine demonstrated,
which
"had a somewhat simpler buttonhole (did the end-bars automatically)
and once
"you'd got it right it could "remember" and repeat it. However, I'd
thought
"you could get machines that would gauge the buttonhole size for you,
but the
"man in the shop said such things don't work very well and break
easily. Is
"this the experience of this group's members? Or is he just trying to
sell me
"a machine that doesn't have this feature? And in general, what kind
of
"buttonhole should I be looking for?
"Thanks for any advice you can offer,
"Liz
"

Diane

__________________________________________________ __________________________
___
"It is easier to fight for one's beliefs than to live up to them." Alfred
Adler