How to sew on a button so it won't come off

[Corky]

For those of you who think there is something less than masculine about sewing buttons on properly: I learned to sew from my Old Man. He learned these techniques as an American volunteer in the Canadian Army in World War One. The units he was in tended to get decimated and the survivors put into other units so often that he became fairly accomplished at sewing on new unit patches and buttons.

This technique is particularly useful for sewing on coat buttons and suspender buttons.

Instructions for sewing on a button:

You'll Need:

* Buttons
* Spool of Button and Carpet Thread
* Scissors
* Some chalk or a pencil to mark position of buttons before you start

Don't try to rush this procedure. You're going to get stuck now and then.

Step1 - Choose the right button.

Step2 -Choose Button and Carpet thread close to the color of the material.

Step3 - Cut a piece of thread about a yard or two long (span between outstretched hands) for two button attachments.

Step4 -Thread the needle, feeding the thread through the eyehole. (Self-threading needles are God's gift to many of us.)

Step5 - After the thread is through the eyehole, move the needle to the middle of the thread and fold the thread in half. Tie an overhand knot at the end of the thread, where the ends of the thread meet. The thread should now be doubled and ready to sew.

Step6 - Mark the places where the buttons are to go with a pencil or a piece of chalk.

Step7 - Place the button on top of the material where you intend to sew it into place. You can put a match or a coin between the button and the material to give it the necessary slack.

Step8 - From under the material, push the needle up through the material and one of the holes on the button. Pull all the way through until the knot is about an inch from against the material. You will pass the needle through that loop with the knot when it comes back down to lock the button in place.

Step - Push the needle diagonally down through the next hole on the button and through the material and through the one inch loop on the back. Pull the thread tight from the top to lock your thread in the bottom loop to fix your first stitch in place.

Step9 - Repeat previous step from under the material, push the needle up through the material and go back diagonally through the vacant hole on the button so that the threads forms an X pattern.

Step 10 - Repeat steps 9 and 8 once more , going up and down through the hole on the button and through the material, so that each hole is secured by an X made of double strands of thread. End this step with the thread emerging from the fabric on the button side, just a bit away from the other threads.

Step 11 - The key step: grasp the fabric under the button firmly with your left thumb and forefinger and with your right hand tightly wrap the loose end of the thread around the threads connecting the button to the fabric THREE TIMES between the button and the material, then pass the needle through the wraps of thread and pull the needle and thread out the other side.

Step 12 - Repeat the previous step, wrap the loose end of the thread around the threads that connect the button to the fabric three times and then poke the needle through the middle of the wrap and pull the thread tight two more times.

Step 13 - Cut off the thread close to the button and knot the end of the thread which is still connected to the needle for use on the next button.

 

[dschonn]

Well written. I sew buttons on in almost exactly the same way, but I start on the outside of the fabric, so that when I pull the needle back up through the fabric and the loop of thread, the button will hide the knot. Also that way I don't have to hold the button and match in place until I have the thread well secured.

I seldom have the proper thread for sewing buttons, so I end up doing a few more stitches and wrapping a few more times around at the end.

 

[scotrace]

Worth bumping.

 

[Tiki Tom]

This is an important skill that every young man should learn before he leaves the nest. This and how to do his own laundry, iron his own shirts, balance his checkbook, and cook 2 or 3 decent meals, including how to make the perfect omelette, in case he is ever so fortunate as to have an overnight guest. (Throw in how to tie a bow tie, and he is really ahead of the pack.)

 

[Lean'n'mean]

I would add being able to undo a bra strap with one hand to the list above but that may be upping the skill level a tad too hastily. Button sewing first.

 

[Fading Fast]

This is an important skill that every young man should learn before he leaves the nest. This and how to do his own laundry, iron his own shirts, balance his checkbook, and cook 2 or 3 decent meals, including how to make the perfect omelette, in case he is ever so fortunate as to have an overnight guest. (Throw in how to tie a bow tie, and he is really ahead of the pack.)

If you grew up in my home - where I had to do housework as soon as I could and more as I grew and matured - you'd have all those skills except

- Ironing, rarely ever done in my house and not of a proper men's dress shirt.
- Cook three meals / make a perfect omelet - my mother hated cooking, was a horrible cook and meals were a holy and haphazard mess in our house (I can make pasta, hard-boiled eggs, toast bread and I can spread things on bread - which is how I got through college and the early years of my career)

But before leaving home, I could do laundry and clean a house like a pro / do basic sewing / not only balance a check book, but run a family budget and negotiate with tradespeople / do basic home repair / tying a bow tie came a bit later, but not that much later.

I'm with you and am quite glad my parents viewed my role as to be a full contributor to the household work and, as it was such a fact, I rarely even questioned it (and only to myself when I saw how some other kids didn't have to do some / all of this).

Add in good hygiene, good manners, reasonable dressing skills - and some intelligence and sparkle to your conversation - to the above, and you will capture a number of women's attention as the competition lacks a lot of these basics.

Once a woman lives enough to have familiarized herself with the competition - you'll stand out for what in your mind is doing nothing more than what seems normal.

 

[scotrace]

I really can't thank my mom enough, may she rest in peace, for making sure I knew how to do all this stuff on my own. It has made any woman in my life grateful.

 

[captzak]

Thanks for sharing.