Greist Buttonholer
 

I recently got a Greist Buttonholer that came in a bag with the Vintage Universal Sewing Machine I purchased. Can anyone tell me if this device fits any, most, all or whatever of other vintage machines? Thanks in advance for you help.

Kitsy

Ah, Kitsy, you have a gem! My father and my husband both worked for Greist. The buttonholer was made with various names on it, including Singer. As far as I know it should fit all regular Singers and any machine that has the same type shank. I used it on a White and a Brother way back when. Did you get a lot of the little cams? Are they metal or plastic? I got rid of a ton of these, but may still have some kicking around, if you'd like more for different types and sizes of buttonholes and eyelets. Just PM me, and I see what I have for you. Lynn

Lynn,

Thanks for the information. Mine came with nine cams (metal) so I guess that should be enough. Another question is does the machine need to have zigzag capabilities in order to use the buttonholer? Since I believe it is a satin type stitch I would think that my vintage machines that are straight stitch only wouldn't work but that the zigzags would.

Kitsy

Kitsy, I think the buttonholer moves the cloth back and forth, so the needle can remain stationery. As I recall, my mom used it on her old machine which was pre-zig-zag. Do you have the manual? That should tell you. They also made it for Kenmore, too. Just a different label for each brand, or sometimes a different color, or shape to the casing. My dad was a toolmaker, so he worked on the machines that made it back in the 50's-60's. Wish he were still around for more details. Greist was taken over by MITE Corp. at some point. That factory was where my dad introduced me to the "nice guy" Dad thought I should meet. Forty-five years later, he's still right. But I'm wandering again, aren't I?

No, Lynn, you are not wandering. Love to get tidbits of personal info on the folks here on the board. Makes it seem more personal and friendly. I haven't read the manual yet, will probably learn something when I do. DUH! Thanks again for your info.