10 Buttonholes and 3 Hours Later...

That's right, the buttonhole saga isn't over yet. This is the pile of excess thread trimmed while I was trying to get the dang things done.

Ready to proceed. Practice buttonhole on cotton fabric A.O.K.
Buttonhole #1 The bobbin thread isn't catching. I stew on this little issue for an entire day.
Steps to a Solution: Dismantle everything, plate cover, buttonholer...after about 30 minutes of trial and error I realize that I changed needles and when I compare the two they are very different shapes. So I put back the original needle that came with the machine.
Buttonhole #2 Good.
Buttonhole #3 Something doesn't sound right.
Buttonhole #4 What the heck?? There's half a spool of bobbin thread on the underside.
Steps to a Solution: Re-thread everything and watch the feed dog cover since it seems like the needle is hitting it.
Buttonhole #5 Well, really it's the replacement for #4. Still not right.
Steps to a Solution: Dismantle everything, feed-dog cover, buttonholer, machine cover...after about 30 minutes of investigating I realize that the presser foot is not sitting all the way down. I oil it, but I still need to push it down to put it in place. OK, note to self - push the attachment down before sewing.
Buttonhole #6, 7 Looks good.
Buttonhole #8 What the heck? Thread is collecting underneath again, oh, forgot to push down the presser foot (actually the buttonholer). Then I realize I positioned #6, 7 so they're going the wrong direction (horizontal instead of vertical. This is because it's been at least three days since I marked the buttonhole placement and I forgot that I just marked the top of the buttonhole.) Commence ripping.
Steps to a Solution: Push the contraption down and re-thread the top thread.

Well, if you do the math it may not add up to three hours as documented here, but trust me, it was at least three hours of real time. And was it worth it?

I love the results, but now I'm too tired to attach the buttons! (The fabric is a JoAnn's poly imitation silk charmeuse and the thread matches much better than it appears here.)

Comments

gwensews said…
Sounds like a good learning experience, and you should be an expert at buttonholes now!
Towanda said…
I thought that I was the only person who struggled to make buttonholes witih a buttonholer. Thanks for writing about your experience.
Gail said…
My buttonholer only works on lighter fabrics. This is totally frustrating.
Kathi said…
You poor thing - I have so been there with various projects. It is SSSOOOOO frustrating!!!!!!!
Susan said…
Your hours of work have paid off. The button holes look so professional. Who needs buttons anyway - when you have those button holes. lol