Easy Tutorial on How to Sew a Button and Buttonhole
I have plans this year to sew more garments to have more of a handmade wardrobe. There are quite a few patterns on my list that requires buttons, so I thought I would show you all how to use your sewing machine to sew buttons and buttonholes. Dresses with buttons have been making a comeback because they give a retro/vintage vibe which I absolutely love! This tutorial is also great if you want to mend clothes that are missing buttons – there is no need to throw them out! Adding buttons does not take a whole lot of time and you can save your clothes in the process!
Let’s get started!
What You’ll Need:
- Button
- Sewing machine
- Buttonhole presser foot (standard with most sewing machines)
- Button attaching foot
- Thread
- Seam ripper (or scissors)
To Sew the Buttonhole:
Step 1: Place your button in the buttonhole pressor foot. Attach the pressor foot to the sewing machine.
Step 2: Place the stitch length to the the appropriate length on your machine. In this case, in my machine it was between 0 and 1. The shorter the stitch length the tighter the stitches will be. Then set your machine to your buttonhole stitch. I started off with the setting below which stitches the top of the buttonhole.
Note: These steps may differ depending on your sewing machine. Your machine may have an automatic buttonhole setting where it does all the steps together.
I have a post all about learning how to sew and my Singer sewing machine which you can find here.
Step 3: Then a) switch the knob to the left to stitch down the right hand side. b) switch the knob to the centre to stitch the middle section at the bottom c) switch the knob to the left to stitch the left hand side
Step 4: Take a seam ripper or scissors and cut through the middle of the button hole. Leave this aside.
To Sew the Button:
Step 1: Attach the button pressor foot. Then place the button (on a separate piece of fabric) so that the button holes are centered between the two feet.
Step 2: Switch to the zig zag stitch. You want to then test out the length of the zig zag stitch works for the button holes by hand using the hand crank first. DO NOT try to stitch this unless the distance of the zig zag foot is sufficient for the two holes of the button – otherwise you may end up with broken sewing needles! Once you get the appropriate length stitch the button in place.
Note: For buttons with four holes, make sure to place the button holes in a diamond shape. Then after you stitch the two holes, rotate the button to stitch the other two.
And that’s it!
Follow along on Instagram @kukarudesigns.com or facebook at kukarudesigns. Tag me in your makes because I would love to see and share them over on Instagram!
Also check out some other easy beginner friendly projects:
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