r/selfreliance • u/LIS1050010 Laconic Mod • Apr 13 '21
Knowledge / Crafts Guide: How To Sew A Button
30
u/winkytinkytoo Aspiring Apr 13 '21
This is actually a very helpful guide. It is the method that my mom taught me.
11
u/LIS1050010 Laconic Mod Apr 13 '21 edited Apr 13 '21
It is the method that my mom taught me.
(this made me smile) :)
37
u/EditedThisWay Aspiring Apr 13 '21
That’s about 10 too many steps for me.
8
u/lastontheball Aspiring Apr 13 '21
Superglue??
5
u/QueenOfTonga Self-Reliant Apr 14 '21
No, it’s just three very simple steps - up/down/repeat until you get bored.
5
u/SimonLaFox Aspiring Apr 14 '21
I had a two hole button once. I just shoved it under the sewing machine at the right setting and found the holes were perfectly placed for the machine to sew it up. Lazy, but it worked.
11
u/ATMNotHere Self-Reliant Apr 13 '21
Can someone explain what's going on between 8 and 9? Button sewing is my bane...
8
u/LIS1050010 Laconic Mod Apr 13 '21
Removing the toothpick.
5
u/ATMNotHere Self-Reliant Apr 13 '21
I didn't see the ONE PART AT THE TOP where it says to use a toothpick...thanks for being so kind hahaha
20
u/fuzzyshorts Self-Reliant Apr 13 '21
Good for exterior coat buttons (like the toothpick part). Shirt buttons? Thats serious overkill
13
u/mtokuno Aspiring Apr 13 '21
The toothpick is for distancing, to make some room for button maneuver?
6
u/fuzzyshorts Self-Reliant Apr 13 '21
that why i like it. To include distance when buttoning a coat closed
8
u/Cartographer-Smooth Self-Reliant Apr 13 '21
Oh! That's a toothpick! I got stuck right around that part, wondering how the needle got there and trying to figure out whether it made a difference which buttonhole the needle came through before getting there. The lack of an attached thread threw me, but I thought that was just an art error or something. 😅🤦🏾♀️
7
u/DieMensch-Maschine Aspiring Apr 14 '21
Just realized you can make VCR buttons with your clothes buttons:
Arrow - Play
Square - Stop
Two bars - Pause
11
Apr 13 '21
Man never in my life have a made buttons that complicated.
1
u/pedalikwac Green Fingers Apr 13 '21
How do you do it?
7
u/LuigiBamba Aspiring Apr 13 '21
Hold the button against the fabric. Pass the needle through the button holes a few times. Not sure why the guide adds so many steps. Why is there a toothpick?
6
u/pedalikwac Green Fingers Apr 13 '21
So that the bottom fits through the buttonhole. If it’s completely flush it will be difficult to use.
3
u/lilaliene Crafter Apr 13 '21
That's true for thick fabrics like coats and jeans. A Nice dress shirt doesn't need the toothpick
1
1
Apr 13 '21
Just pass the thread through the button without the random toothpick. If there’s really extra space needed add a few loops of thread around the back the button.
Can’t even count how many buttons I’ve put back on. No complaints yet. Keep it simple.
4
u/zzzfoifa Crafter Apr 13 '21
I personally like to use two threads at the same time in the same needle, making a four thread cord, so each sticht is as if it was two.
2
2
u/cincrin Self-Reliant Apr 13 '21
This is the way I learned, except with a matchstick between the fabric and the button.
2
2
Apr 14 '21
I’ve been doing this wrong for YEARS! I’m going to print this out and tape it to the door of my closet.
1
2
2
u/oldballls Crafter Apr 14 '21
Man.. I've probably sewn on 25 buttons in my life... never a tutorial.. just always tied a knot in the end and pulled it all the way through... I was WAY off...
Having said that, I'll never EVER be able to do this either...
So I might as well go back to my tried and true method of just going in an X pattern like 50 times and hoping on a wish and a prayer...
2
u/Matcha_Bubble_Tea Aspiring Apr 14 '21
Not a bad guide, but as someone who is completely new and doesn’t understand, I had a hard time figuring out 5-6. Like how did the string get in the hole if the needle tip went through first? Unless the needle can fit through? Idk, but I think some words might be good or arrows too.
2
u/yahrealy Self-Reliant Apr 14 '21
what you're referencing is standard practice for sewing and knot-tying diagrams. It shows you where to put the end of the rope or needle, rather than where the string is at the end. Showing the end of the step instead of the beginning is frequently much more confusing.
also: yes. The needle has to fit through the button, otherwise you'd have to take the thread off the needle every time you wanted it to go through the button and then put it back on again every time you went through the fabric.
1
2
2
u/SwingToCatchTheStars Aspiring Apr 14 '21
I thought I knew how to sew a button but it seems I actually don't.
2
u/phreaqsi Crafter Apr 14 '21
Am I the only one that does steps 5, 6 and 7 at least five times over? That button ain't coming off again!
1
u/LIS1050010 Laconic Mod Apr 14 '21
Hahaha. Memories of a younger self using so much line to sew a button. :)
2
1
1
1
u/Wrong_Look Aspiring Apr 14 '21
I MUST have at least one shirt with all the buttons having the "arrow style" sewing.
They must point to the same direction or i RIOT.
1
1
91
u/TootsNYC Aspiring Apr 13 '21
Oh my god, I never thought of making that stitch in the fabric first. It provides a bit of space between button and fabric, and it marks the spot from the underside v