Griest/Greist Template Buttonholer Attachment

Griest buttonhole attachments were made in the following model numbers, each for a different style of machine:

#1 Side Screw Clamping – Singer, White, Brother, Morse, Atlas, Kenmore, Domestic, Free Westinghouse and most all imported straight stitch sewing machines.

#2 Top Clamping – White, Kenmore, Domestic, Majestic, Franklin, Worlds, Dressmaker and all Rotary machines made by White & Domestic Sewing Machine Corp.

#3 Top Clamping – Kenmore (49, 71, 76), Free Rotary, Free-Westinghouse, New Home (Rotary), Stratford, Most all machines made by Free & New Home Sewing Machine Company.

#4 Top Clamping – Eldredge, National, Montgomery Ward, All machines made by National Sewing Machine Company.

#5 Slant Needle – Singer only.

#6 Low Bar (1/2”) – Left Needle Position Zig Zag and Automatic Machines.

#7 High Bar (1”) – Left Needle Position Zig Zag and Automatic Machines.

#8 All Pfaff Sewing Machines except models 139, 239, 1221 and 1222.

#9 All Necchi Straight Stitch and all Low (1/2”) Centre Needle Position Zig Zag and Automatic Machines.

#10 All Necchi, Pfaff (Models 139 and 239) and High Bar (1”) Centre Needle Position Zig Zag and Automatic Machines.

Low and High Bar are different terms for low and high shank.
Left Needle Position and Centre Needle Position refer to the resting position of the needle before it commences a straight stitch. In other words, is the needle at the centre of the slot in the needle plate or is it to the left of it. The model numbers are printed on the end of the box.

In use, these are definitely the easiest button hole attachments with which to achieve a well tensioned and nicely balanced buttonhole. The attachment comes with five templates, one of which is already in place in the machine. These standard templates are ⁵/₁₆”, ⁵/₈”, ¹³/₁₆”, 1¹/₁₆” for straight buttonholes and 1¹/₁₆” for the keyhole type. Additional templates are available as ³/₈”, ¹/₂”, ¹⁵/₁₆” for the straight type, ⁵/₈” for the keyhole and an eyelet style. Each template has a guide on the back of it so that the button may be placed against it to reckon the right one to use.

The stitch width may be adjusted by moving the slider on the side of the attachment to “N” for narrow, “W” for wide and any point in between. It is usual to use a narrow setting for small buttonholes and a wider one for longer buttonholes as this is generally more in keeping, visually, with the overall proportions of the finished buttonhole but you may, of course, adjust this accordingly if your fabric is, for example, thin and your button large.

A feed dog plate is provided with the machine but as this affects the amount of clearance under the attachment, do just dispense with it and drop the feed dogs if this is possible on your machine.

It is possible to make a larger buttonhole than the size of the template will allow. This is done by twisting the adjustment knob which moves the template through its cycle and stopping when the needle position is in line with the second line from the front of the cloth clamp on the left hand side as you face it. This is now your new starting position and when you have run the attachment through its cycle until it reaches the same point on the opposite side to where you started, stop with the needle down in the fabric, carefully raise the presser foot lever. 1″ of your buttonhole is accounted for in what you have already done so you need now to decide how much bigger it needs to be. Each line on the cloth clamp represents and extra ¹/₈“ on the buttonhole. If two lines will suffice, move the adjustment knob clockwise to cycle around the open end, down the left hand side (as you look at it), around the bottom and then take care to stop when the needle is level with the chosen guide line on the clamp. Drop the presser foot lever and continue to sew. This will allow the correct extra length to be added to the resultant buttonhole. That may sound fiddly, but is an excellent way of achieving an extra-long buttonhole where some modern machines would certainly fail to allow it, guided (and limited) as they are by the diameter of the button which will fit in the buttonhole foot.