Helpful Hint Fridays: How to Sew on a Button

How to Sew on a Button

Hi all! How are you doing?  Are you enjoying the summer? I am. In fact, I spent last week on vacation on Cape Cod and am now back there again for another few days.  That is the advantage of having a modest get-away in the place you love most in the world I guess :). 

 Anyway, today for Helpful Hint Fridays, I am going to show you how to sew on a button.  I know it sounds kind of basic but, I now realize, as I did with deadheading (See that installment here.), that my daughters do not know how to sew on a button the correct way either.  I simply did all that stuff while they were growing up.  They still ask me to mend things from time to time and I am happy to do it but, I thought there might be a few of you out there who would like to learn this new skill, just in case you might need it.

  So, here goes!

I chose a bright colored thread so you could see the details as clearly as possible.  Of course, it is unlikely I would choose this color to use on, say, a white blouse, but you get the idea, right?

First you need to thread the needle.  I always use double thread strings when putting on a button.  It is less work and ends up being stronger. Simply pull the thread through the eye of needle and make it long enough to have two strands to work with. Next, knot the thread at the end of the double strings.

To make the end result the neatest looking, I place the knot on the good side of the garment and put the button over the knot.

Next, run the needle through one of the holes in the button.

Pull it all the way through so the thread is taut and then place the tip of the needle through an adjoining hole and pass the needle to the back of the garment.  Pull the thread all the way through.

Now place the tip of the needle in the hole that is across from the hole you just pulled the thread through.  Pass the needle through the hole and the fabric all the way back up to the front.  Make it tight but not too tight.  Leave a tiny bit of space.  You will see why later.  

 

Once you have pulled the thread all the way through the hole, place the tip of the needle in the opposite needle hole and pass it up through the first buttonhole you started with.

This is how the button will look on the good side at this point.  Repeat this step a total of three times giving the buttonholes six strands of thread to hold the button in place.

Go up and through one of the holes you have not used yet and do the same process you used on the first two holes. In this photo the result will be an X shape.

Follow the preceding steps in the remaining two holes. 

This is how the good side of the button should look when you are done.  You can choose not to do it in the X pattern but, instead make the end result look like an equal sign ﹦if you would like.  It is up to you.

The back will look something like this.

Next you are going to create a shank for the button. This will give room for the button to attached and connect to the garment and to stay in place without pulling at the garment itself and possibly making a tear in the fabric.

To make the shank run the needle up through one of the holes you have already made but do not put it through the hole of the button.  Go under the button itself and close to the cluster of thread you have been working with so far.  Pull the needle all the way through.  

Next you are going to wind the thread around the under part of the button going around all the thread holes you have created in attaching the button to the garment. Wind the thread around maybe three times. This creates the shank.  You are almost done!

Next, run the needle through to the back of the garment again trying to stay as close as possible to the mass of thread on the back.

At this point, you will take the needle and run it through the cluster of thread you have made. Do not go through to the good side of the fabric. Stay on the bad side of the fabric. This is to be hidden from the good side and will secure the button.  Pull the needle through all the way and repeat this step and few more times.

Next, make a loop with the thread...

and slowly pull the needle with thread through the loop.  Pull it tight.

Maybe do that one more time to be safe and secure.

And then cut the thread carefully and as close to the knot without cutting the lump of the thread as possible.

This is how the back of the button should look when you are done.

And this is how the button should look on the good side when you are done.

Congratulations!  You have just sown on a button!  I hope this helps those of you who did not know how to do it before.  It is always good to learn a new skill :).

Happy Weekend!!!