OldSewinGear News Reviews & How To's

Cadillac of Zigzaggers

8/6/2014

Greist Automatic Decorator

Confession time. I'm a bit of a klutz when it comes to using zigzagger attachments.

You know, those handy-dandy attachments that make your Featherweight or 15-91 act like a zigzag machine? They sure are nifty, but I've always found it a challenge to try to stitch in anything close to a straight line.

Eight built-in stitch patterns.

The automatic Singer zigzaggers are an improvement over the early no-frills models, but still leave a lot to be desired in my book. Granted, I'd probably get a whole lot better with lots and lots of practice.

But the other day I made a discovery. My sister gave me a box of miscellaneous garage-sale leftovers and it contained something I'd never seen before: a Greist Automatic Decorator.

Attached to a Singer 15-91.

As discussed in the article "To Greist or Not to Greist," some collectors turn up their noses at Greist attachments because they don't bear the Singer name. But that doesn't make them inferior. In fact, they can be decidedly superior at times, as I discovered when I tested this one.

How so?

Lever on side selects stitch pattern.

First of all, it's fully automatic, which means that there are eight stitch patterns built-in.

That's right...no cams or discs to change! A lever on the side selects the pattern and away you go. Another lever disengages the zigzag mechanism, allowing you to sew straight-stitch without removing the attachment.

Lovely stitch quality & straight rows!

Secondly, the side-to-side zigzag action is so smooth that it's not difficult to guide the fabric in a straight line. A refreshing difference.

Third, the stitch quality is the best I've seen from an attachment.

Last, but not least, it's one of the prettiest zigzag attachments I've ever seen. With its metallic gold jacket it's a perfect complement to the black and gold Singer Featherweight, 15-91, or other low-shank Singer of your choice.

So, would you like to see it in action?

Well you get to, whether you want to or not!

See what I'm talking about? The action is smooth and takes very little guidance.

So where can you find one? I've only seen one other like it in the years I've been collecting machines and attachments. The other one had a silver jacket and was made to fit a White sewing machine. I watch for them on eBay but have yet to see one. I don't know if that makes it rare...or simply underappreciated.

But keep your eyes open and maybe you'll get lucky!

Happy Sewing!

Barbara

OldSewinGear...dedicated to helping you get the most out of your old sewing gear.

18 Comments

Shanks for the Memories

3/30/2014

5 Comments

Elna, Singer (2), Kenmore, & Bernina feet.

So you've picked up a vintage machine and you'd like to get some attachments for it. You take a look on eBay or your local thrift store and you see a box of accessories descsribed as "low shank" or "slant shank" or something like that.

And you realize you don't know which kind your machine takes!

Let's see if we can shed some light on the problem.

White zigzagger attachment.

Different sewing machine manufacturers solved the issue of interchangeable presser feet in different ways. The distance between the sewing platform and the attaching point on the presser foot bar varied widely and the method of attachment might be a screw or a clamp.

White sewing machines had one of the more unique attaching designs, which involved a clasping wrap and locking pin.

Over time, however, certain designs became standard and are referred to as low-shank, high-shank, slant-shank, etc.

So what does this look like?

As shown above, presser feet heights vary widely. The attaching point on an Elna foot is 1/2" while the clamp attachment for Bernina feet is over an inch.

The most common Singer styles are referred to as "low shank" and "slant shank." Let's take a look at them side by side:

Low shank Singer

Slant shank Singer

Singer low-shank and slant shank feet.

As you can see, the Singer low shank is short and vertical, and the slant shank is tall and slanted.

But what if your machine is a vertical needle? Does that automatically mean that it's a low shank model?

Not necessarily, because there are some differences between Singer's low-shank and the similar feet used by Pfaff, Elna, and Necchi. And some Kenmore models use a taller "high-shank" foot.

So how do you tell the difference? Well, it helps if the foot is marked with the manufacturer name. If it's short and vertical and says "Singer" then it's a no-brainer. Otherwise, you'll need to measure from the sewing platform to where the screw attaches to be sure, as illustrated by the Singer and Elna feet shown here:

Singer low shank

Elna

Greist buttonholer box with presser foot chart.

Singer's low shank is slightly taller. The bottom of the screw slot sits at 5/8" while Elna's measures in at exactly 1/2".

If you don't have a presser foot, you can measure this on the machine. Drop the empty presser foot bar down and measure from the sewing platform to the bottom of the screw. This will tell you which foot to use. Using the wrong foot will result in too much or too little pressure on the fabric as you sew.

One of the best quick-reference guides for presser feet can be found on the bottom of the Greist buttonholer box.

Because Greist manufactured buttonholers for many different machines, they made it simple to select the right one for your machine. I like to keep one of these boxes handy for reference.

So the next time you find a mystery attachment and wonder if it will fit your machine, take a close look at how it attaches, how tall it is, and whether it is marked. Genuine Singer feet will have a Singer or Simanco part number stamped on them.

Happy Sewing!

Barbara

OldSewinGear...dedicated to helping you get the most our of your old sewing gear.

5 Comments

To Greist or Not to Greist?

6/8/2013

24 Comments

Greist Sewing Machine Attachments

One of the things I most enjoy about my job is tracking down the "correct" accessories for the sewing machines we sell.

Which makes me a bit of a snob when it comes to sewing machine accessories. If I'm selling a vintage Singer machine, I really want all of the attachments to have the "Singer" or "Simanco" mark.

But is that really necessary? There are a lot of vintage attachments out there with the "Greist Manufacturing Company" mark. Are they somehow inferior? Does the "Singer" mark automatically make an attachment better?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Obviously it matters if you are assembling a collector quality set of attachments for your Singer machine. But if functionality is your goal, then Greist attachments may be a viable alternative. Because vintage Greist attachments are sometimes nearly identical to Singer attachments.

Why so?

You guessed it...time for a history lesson!

Greist Manufacturing Company was founded by John M. Greist, an inventor who was employed by Singer to design sewing machine attachments. Greist is the inventor behind the iconic "Puzzle Box" attachments kit for Singer treadle machines. The patent was filed in 1889 by Greist but assigned to Singer. Greist Manufacturing Company went on to produce sewing machine attachments for many different sewing machine makers, including Morse and White.

Greist also manufactured attachments for Singer. I haven't been able to determine how many Singer-marked attachments were made by Greist's factory, but Singer clearly outsourced buttonholers to Greist in the late 1950's and early 1960's. A side by side comparison (Singer at left, Greist at right) confirms it:

As you can see, the box design and presentation are identical and the buttonholers themselves are similar in shape and size.

A closer look reveals that the only difference is the shape and color of the plastic cover.

Singer (top) and Greist instructions.

When it came to the instruction booklet, the source of the Singer buttonholer is even more obvious. Again, the books are identical, right down to the illustration in the Singer (pink) book clearly show the Greist-shaped cover!

So the next time you see a sewing machine attachment marked "Greist" don't be too quick to dismiss it. Greist produced quaility products and had a long history of partnership with Singer. So if it fits your machine, go ahead and use it!

Happy Sewing!
Barbara
OldSewinGear...dedicated to helping you get the most out of your old sewing gear.

24 Comments

Cadillac of Zigzaggers

Shanks for the Memories

To Greist or Not to Greist?

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Cadillac of Zigzaggers

Shanks for the Memories

To Greist or Not to Greist?

News, Reviews, & How-To's

Contact Us

Categories

Archives

﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿About Us

News, Reviews,
& How-To's

About Us