Originally Posted by
KenmoreRulesAll
Mike, I've seen great buttonholes made by ordinary straight stitch machines but I've never been able to produce anything I'd want on a finished garment. (Operator error, of course.
) I don't mind having a machine set up just for buttonholing but you may be right: a straight stitch is the way to go.
The best buttonhole I've seen produced with these attachments was to mu surprise a Singer 190. Very basic, early 1960s and beige but it did it flawlessly. This was apparent when I went over the same hole twice and the second time it followed the
holes made on the first run! I made another just to make sure and sure enough...
Conversely, someone else told me my swing needle 320k could do this just as well. I broke two (206x13) needles then gave up and will stick to straight stitch machines. The 320k can do a buttonhole but you need to write down stitch widths and do it all manually. Real pain. Easiest are the versions that use templates.
You have to play with the sewing machine settings to get the right pressures. The foot pressure usually needs to be increased a little, and the top tension decreased a little.