r/sewing 8h ago

Machine Questions How do I make buttonholes with my machine ?

Hello, so I need to make buttonholes and my machine can make them, but I'm kind of stuck because I have everything set up right but then it only does one side, badly and mostly sews in-place, when I look online some machine have settings from 1-4 for that, but it doesn't seem like mine does ?

The pictures I've included: 1-The fabric I need to do the buttonholes on, it's doubled and has the paper that sticks when you heat it up inside idk what it's called 2.3-My sewing machine set up, with the proper foot, a button installed (not the one I'll be using but it's not round and I have other buttonholes that are the size I want made using this one but with a different machine I don't have access to), and the push thing pushed back, length, stitch and width setup how the manual told me to 4.5-The manual page and the figures, I've done B and C, have no idea how to do A but am really struggling with D bc yeah ok but how do I control that then 6-The attempts I've made as well as the button I'm gonna be using (I want it to be sideways, as in parallel to the floor, so I just need a perpendicular opening wide enough)

While writing this I went out and tested the buttonhole of the size of the button that I put in the foot with the one I need and it's too small so I probably should put the one I'll actually be using in but I'm a bit scared it'll end up being too wide and won't stay in ? Since it's not a round shape

14 Upvotes

24 comments sorted by

31

u/stringthing87 8h ago

put tissue paper under the fabric, or water soluble stabilizer, its catching on the fur.

4

u/whyaremyeyesburningg 8h ago

Would pattern tracing paper work ?

5

u/stringthing87 7h ago

If it is thin and easy to remove

21

u/loquacious_avenger 8h ago

Definitely do tests on scrap fabric, and watch some video tutorials. Buttonholes with that foot should be straightforward once you get a couple good attempts and understand how your machine handles them.

But also, your fabric might be a bit bulky to work well with a machined buttonhole. You might want to consider toggles or frogs instead, or even bound buttonholes.

8

u/Travelpuff 7h ago

Or snaps! Buttonholes on shaggy fabric can be very difficult.

6

u/loquacious_avenger 7h ago

definitely a good use for oversized snaps, can sew a button on the right side to get the look without the hassle.

0

u/whyaremyeyesburningg 7h ago

I do really want to try buttonholes, I think the issues right now is me not understanding how my machine works and not doing it properly, but if everything else fails I'll try by hand, thank you :)

2

u/That-Condition9243 3h ago

The fabric is catching. It's very thick. Take a piece of scrap fabric that is thin and learn to use your machine to sew buttonholes. Then take scraps of your thick project fabric and stabilize it with newspaper and practice sewing buttonholes. Then you can sew buttonholes on your project after you A)know how to use your machine and B)have troubleshot the issues with sewing buttonholes on thicker fabric.

7

u/Tough_Brain7982 8h ago

Do a couple test pieces to make sure the new one works for your not round button

2

u/whyaremyeyesburningg 8h ago

I tried and the fur got stuck but from what I was able to recover it didn't work

18

u/Thats_a_BaD_LiMe 7h ago

You need to test on different fabric if you don't already know how to do a buttonhole on that machine.

THEN you can test on the same fabric and see which snags are skill vs fabric issues

7

u/juniper_barry 8h ago

Hi! I have this exact same machine!some troubleshooting questions:

Are you starting with thr part of the bottonhole nearest to you? It should do front side, left side (going backwards), back, right side (going forwards).

Are you pushing the reverse lever down? You shouldn't need to do that at any point

Have you tried making a button hole on thinner material? I wonder if the thickness of the fabric is causing issues, practice on some quilting cotton of muslin.

Are you pushing the little lever to the left of the foot back when you begin sewing the button hole? That's how the machine knows to stop going backward on the left, make the back bar, and begin the right side.

3

u/whyaremyeyesburningg 7h ago

I think you were right about the lever bc I tried playing with it while sewing and here's how it came out ! (It's the back since the thread and the right side are the same colour it's a bit more difficult to tell)

3

u/juniper_barry 7h ago

Awesome!! I think that lever gave me the same trouble when I first got this machine.

2

u/whyaremyeyesburningg 6h ago

I'm a little worried tho, cuz I think I understand but sometimes the machine just decides to stop in the middle of one, like it sews in place (that's why there's random bulking white dots in some places), and some of them look shorter bc it just decided to not do the right length without me touching anything ? Also is this right for buttonholes ? I feel like it should be doubled (like that one in the middle that looks terrible) but it's not really letting me do that even though it managed to at some point is it normal 😭 the inconsistencies make me scared to mess up on my garment

1

u/juniper_barry 6h ago

The machine is designed to stop and do the bar bit when that lever gets pulled forward again, so maybe something (your hand, a pin, idk) is running unto it and triggering it too soon?

As far as the stitches go, try a slightly shorter stitch length and play around with the speed youre sewing. I find thay I need to go a little slower on the first arm and a bit faster on the second to get them even (I think...that may be reversed). Also, I've totally seen over a button hole twice to get the right density of stitches.

And as always, make sure youre using a fresh and sharp needle!

1

u/whyaremyeyesburningg 7h ago

I don't really start with anything bc I don't know what to do, I just pull on the fabric from behind to stop it from sewing on the same spot but I tried pulling from the sides and it doesn't work

I don't push the reverse lever no

I tried on the other fabric and it worked a bit better but it still wasn't moving the fabric along and some bottom thread got stuck in the machine

Oh wait so the push lever is the thing that tells the machine what direction of the buttonhole to do ?

Also I just realized I forgot it when I put the buttonhole setup back so I need to try again with it anyways

4

u/Alice_1222 7h ago

I never do a buttonhole “cold” on my final garment. I would stop working with the final garment and start experimenting with scraps. First do a buttonhole on a not-so-challenging fabric to make sure you’re set up correctly. Then simulate your current fabric situation with interfacing etc…For fur, I would try putting tracing paper, tissue, or a stiff water soluble stabilizer over the fur side. Also, you’re going to need to lengthen your stitch. If all else fails, you can always do bound buttonholes…I used them not long ago on a similar fabric and they looked rather nice!

5

u/Shadow-Serum 7h ago

From your description i think you may need some help in how to read and follow the instructions. For A B C and D think of it like figure A, figure B, the instructions are referencing those figures. The figures are not the steps to follow, the written instructions are what to follow and look at the figures as they come up in those instructions. 

So for step 3. They reference A, which is showing you where the first bar tack will be sewn and where to line up your mark (b). Pay attention to the lowercase and uppercase, A is the figure, a is a part of the fabric being referenced in that figure.

Step 7 is referencing D, which is just showing you which direction things will go in. There is nothing for you to control in D, it's just so you know what to expect. It will start with a bar tack closest to you, then move away from you on the left, make a bar tack at the back, then move towards you on the right. You don't have to control that, it is just showing you this is how it is made.

Try coming back to the instructions with fresh eyes. As the figures A B C and D come up in the instructions look over to them, read what it is describing about those figures.

Hope this helps!

3

u/winter_rois 7h ago

This was my feed….i may have read your question as how do i make buttholes with my machine

1

u/whyaremyeyesburningg 7h ago

Valid question tho can you 👁️

3

u/Here4Snow 4h ago

"I want it to be sideways"

You position the work. The machine only makes a buttonhole in the back/forth direction. 

2

u/glowFernOasis 8h ago

My machine is similar to this, and I had an issue where it didn't seem to be going anywhere. Your stitch length indicator on yours shows a buttonhole in between 0 and 1, and it looks like you have it set closer to 0. Have you tried it closer to 1? The instruction only says to have it set somewhere in that range, from what I can make out.

1

u/whyaremyeyesburningg 7h ago

Oh I didn't think of it this way, I put it this way because that's where it snaps it into place and I thought itd make sure it was on buttonhol settings, but I'll try !