A buttonholer is an accessory for a sewing machine which automates the left-right and front-back motions involved in sewing a buttonhole. Most modern sewing machines natively possess this functionality, but older machines often do not, and some very old machines cannot even sew the zigzag stitch with which buttonholes are constructed. For all such deficient machines, a buttonholer provides the missing functionality.
The buttonholer attaches to the machine's presser foot shaft, replacing the foot with its own. Its foot is an upside-down feed dog which is textured to hold the material firmly. The buttonholer draws power from the machine's shank via a small hinged arm, and uses that power to forcefully move its foot left, right, back, and forth. In this manner it executes the series of movements in a complete buttonhole -- but by moving the material rather than by moving the needle.
Buttonholers usually include a metal plate that covers the machine's own feed dogs, so that they do not interfere with that of the buttonholer.
The Singer Manufacturing Company produced an evolving series of buttonholers that fit its machines, as well as those of many other companies. The later buttonholer models even accept templates that guide the machine into sewing a variety of different buttonhole sizes and shapes. Singer's line of buttonholers includes:
| For shank type | Singer part number | Uses templates? | Description | Storage case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| low | 86718 | no | beige plastic body | red plastic box |
| low | 86721 | yes | 'Auto-Pilot' for zig-zag machines | cardboard box |
| low | 121795 kit
121908 buttonholer |
no | old-style without a plastic body | cardboard box |
| low | 160506 | yes* | black plastic body | green plastic box |
| low | 489500** | yes* | beige plastic body | green clamshell aka "Jetsons" |
| slant | 102880 | yes | 'Professional', white plastic body | cardboard box |
| slant | 160743 | yes* | black plastic body | maroon plastic box |
| slant | 161829 | yes | 'Professional', white plastic body | cardboard box |
| slant | 489510** | yes* | beige plastic body | pink clamshell aka "Jetsons" |
*Additional templates are sold separately (Singer part number 160668), as well as an eyelet template (Singer part number 161231).
**The part numbers of the Jetsons buttonholers 489500 and 489510 are very often confused. This is because the part numbers are not stamped on the attachments or on their clamshell cases, and the "one size fits all" user manual simply says "For 489500 or 489510". The only differences between the two models are 1) shank attachment point is stamped 'straight' on the low-shank model but 'slant' on the slant-shank model, and 2) the clamshell is green for the low-shank model but pink for the slant-shank model.
The White Sewing Machine Company produced a buttonholer that is almost identical to the Singer 489500/489510 template-driven buttonholers. It was called the "White Magic Key Buttonhole Worker".
"YS Star" is a Japanese brand of sewing accessories made by the Yoshikoshi Manufacturing Company. Three different models are offered, two of which have been cloned by Chinese manufacturers:
| For shank type | YS Star part number | Clone part number | Body | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| low | YS-7004 | ? | grey plastic over chromed metal | intended for home use |
| low and high | YS-4454 | FBA-20 | chromed metal | clone of the Singer 121795/121908; intended for home use |
| high | YS-4455 | IBA-10 | chromed metal | intended for industrial use* |
On all models, adjustment wheels or winged screws set the buttonhole length, 'bight' (zigzag stitch width), and stitch length.
*The 'industrial' model's settings are controlled by slotted screws because the settings are not expected to be changed often.
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