Stitching routines
Buttonholes: stages, size and stopping
“One-step buttonhole” does not describe every action you will take. You still fit the correct foot, prepare the fabric, lower any required lever, align the start and cut the opening. The useful comparison is which stages the machine performs and how the sewing stops.
Four steps mean changing the selector
The bernette 33 has a four-step buttonhole. Mark the length, sew the first side, change the selector for the bartack, switch for the other side and finish the second bartack. Its sliding foot assists alignment, but you still control the marked length and make the setting changes.
This may be acceptable for an occasional repair or as a way to learn the construction. It becomes more repetitive across a row of garment buttons. If you will sew button-front clothing regularly, think about the actual repeated procedure rather than dismissing it as a small difference in a specification table.
One step and an automatic stop are different features
The bernette 35 uses a sliding foot whose rear holder takes the button and sets the opening's size. The guide specifies a button up to one inch in diameter. Lower the buttonhole lever, check the slider's position and press the pedal for the machine's sequence. Its instructions still tell you to stop at the ending point, then reset the selector before repeating an identical opening.
The bernette 37 documents a buttonhole cycle that stops automatically after the final bartack. The b38 does too, with additional options and its documented automatic-cutting workflow. That completion stop is a separate requirement you can express when comparing machines.
Read the option count carefully
The b37's maker groups five choices under buttonholes and eyelets. The guide separately describes standard, round-end, keyhole and stretch buttonholes, plus an eyelet program. The b38's group likewise includes eyelet work. A larger published number therefore does not necessarily mean that many entirely different garment buttonhole shapes.
Choose a finish appropriate to the garment and closure. A keyhole opening addresses a different use from a small rounded opening on a blouse. A decorative eyelet is not a substitute for an ordinary buttonhole merely because both appear in the same comparison row.
A sample prevents an expensive first experiment
Use scraps with the same fabric, interfacing and seam layers as the final garment. Check the button through a sample opening, particularly when it is unusually thick. Keep the slider and stopper or spring holder positioned as the exact guide shows; an unintended gap can affect the two sides.
Check the stitch before cutting. The guides show placing a pin before a bartack to help limit the seam ripper's travel. Follow the exact machine's cutting instructions and keep the trial sample as a reference for the next opening. Automatic stitching reduces repeated steps; it does not replace fabric preparation or checking the finished result.