Creating a button hole

[DerMann]

The tailcoat that I ordered to replace my vintage tailcoat doesn't come with a buttonhole on the lapel, and I'm an avid enthusiast of boutonnières.

Would it be advisable to take something like a razor blade and create one (and stitching it up of course)?

I need it by this Saturday, and I believe most tailors in the area are swamped with prom orders as it is (took a week to hem my pants alone).

-DerMann

 

[thunderw21]

It's possible to do but a bit difficult (I've never made one but have watched my mom suffer through one). If you do make one, you want to stitch first, then cut.

 

[Orgetorix]

I would either make sure you know how to do a proper buttonhole stitch, or wait until a tailor can do it for you. I would not want to ruin a lapel by doing something irreversible like that.

In the meantime, does your tailcoat have peak lapels? If so, consider the solution shown by Mr. Rover's posts toward the bottom of the first page of this thread. It's a non-invasive method for affixing a boutonniere that only requires a couple of stitches and perhaps a pin. I've used it before on rented jackets that didn't have working buttonholes.

 

[Tomasso]

If you do make one, you want to stitch first, then cut.

To make a working buttonhole you would cut first, install the gimp (a cord like thread used to firm up the buttonhole) and then sew the buttonhole.

 

[Bugsy]

The tailcoat that I ordered to replace my vintage tailcoat doesn't come with a buttonhole on the lapel, and I'm an avid enthusiast of boutonnières.

Would it be advisable to take something like a razor blade and create one (and stitching it up of course)?

I need it by this Saturday, and I believe most tailors in the area are swamped with prom orders as it is (took a week to hem my pants alone).

-DerMann

Is it not possible to simply pin the boutonnière to your lapel??

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

I vote for pinning it, if at all possible. Buttonholes are tricky things, especially if you've never done them before. You would definitely want to do a practice buttonhole (or two) first, but I'd really recommend a tailor unless you have prior sewing experience.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Myself, I'd leave it to a professional since it's a formal-wear item, and it's going to be one of the most noticeable areas when you wear it. It would be so easy to get the angle just slightly off. Also, while it seems like an easy, small job, in reality, if you get the stitching not quite right or uneven, it's going to stick out like a sore thumb. Then you're stuck with a jacket with a minor, yet very noticeable and, no doubt, annoying flaw.

I've tried a few other seemingly minor, simple things, only to end up with a big mess. This is the sort of thing I'd leave to the professionals.

 

[Tomasso]

Although traditional tailors may (or may not -- I don't know) cut the hole first

They do.

Here you can see that the buttonhole has been cut and the gimp, which adds strength, is being sewn onto the buttonhole.

Here's a Saville Row buttonhole maker at work.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I hate it when those gimps get out.

 

[Senator Jack]

Go to a place with a professional buttonhole machine. I just had six holes put into a shirt in all of fifteen minutes. Cost? Three lousy dollars.

Regards,


Jack

 

[YETI]

tell me about it ...

I hate it when those gimps get out.

My tailor, who normally does phenominal work, sorta butchered the frayed buttonhole on my 30s early 40s springweave sportcoat. The gimp was dangling and all it needed was a re-stitch. He put a thick heavy bar stitch all along the button hole. I hid my disappointment because he does great work. You should see the cuffs he does on my hollywood waists(no bunching or tapering at the hems). So I don't know now if the buttonhole can be corrected.

 

[Tomasso]

My tailor, who normally does phenominal work, sorta butchered the frayed buttonhole .

At the risk of sounding sexist, the best buttonholes are sewn by women. [huh]

 

[dhermann1]

I seem to remember a quote, probably from Oscar Wilde, to the effect that the last true luxury left to a gentleman anymore was the hand made button hole. Or words to that effect.

 

[Feraud]

Most suits come with a button hole in the lapel. A few are open and the others can be made functional.

Am I reading this wrong or is NYC Mayor Bloomberg being taken for a ride..

Since then, Mr. Bloomberg has purchased several more, each constructed, at the mayor’s suggestion, with a tiny hole in the lapel for his apple-shaped New York City pin. (Cost: from $1,000 to $2,000, Mr. Raynor said.)

1-2K to open or add a button hole in a lapel??
See here for the full article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/nyregion/02fashionmayor.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

 

[adamjaskie]

Am I reading this wrong or is NYC Mayor Bloomberg being taken for a ride..
1-2K to open or add a button hole in a lapel??[/url]

I think you're reading it wrong. I read it as $1k-$2k for the suit. The writer just happens to mention one of the custom details he gets done, but the price quoted is for the finished suit, not that one feature.

 

[Feraud]

No doubt you are right about that.

 

[Tomasso]

Am I reading this wrong or is NYC Mayor Bloomberg being taken for a ride.. 1-2K to open or add a button hole in a lapel??

Hey, you never know in Manhattan, with joints charging $175 for a burger.:eusa_doh:

 

[Matt Deckard]

I only buy Kobe beef burgers, and none of that imitation US Kobe beef either. Those cows need to be fed Japanese beer and massaged daily in the right way.

 

[Feraud]

Hey, you never know in Manhattan, with joints charging $175 for a burger.:eusa_doh:

Only a sucker pays that much for a burger.

 

[Matt Deckard]

My heart sinks... have I been paying too much for my burgers?