How to Sew A Button

When one of your favorite garments loses a button, there is no need to banish it to the back of your closet! Even if you have never sewn before, this method is easy to learn, and will help you keep your wardrobe in good repair.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• button
• thread
• needle
• scissors

1. 

   Select thread that either 1) matches the button, or 2) matches the thread used on all the other buttons on the garment. Use an all-purpose hand sewing needle that is not too thick. It should pass easily through the layers of your fabric.

2. 
   Click on the image for a closer look.

   Thread the needle. Pull a long length of thread off the spool and cut. Fold the length in half, then poke the loop end into the eye of the needle. You will have four plies, as pictured. (Four plies will sew the button twice as fast as two.) Knot the end.

3. 

   Locate where your button should be sewn on. This may be easy to do if the button fell off recently, as there may be threads left behind (remove them carefully) or tiny holes where the thread once was.

4. 

   If the fabric shows no indication of where the button was, lay the other side of the garment down over the spot, positioning the buttonhole right where it should be when worn. Stick your threaded needle through the buttonhole, and pull it all the way through the fabric beneath. Be careful to avoid catching the buttonhole with the needle! Now move the buttonhole side out of your way; you'll be working only with the button side.

5. 

   On the underside, push the needle back up to the topside. Thread the button onto the needle and all the way down to the fabric.

6. 

   Position the button, noting how the other buttons on the garment are sewn, and put the needle down through the hole next to where it came up through the button first. Make one more pass up through and down again.

7. If your button has only two holes, skip to the next step. If it has four holes, come up from the underside through the next hole, and repeat the step six.

8. 

   To finish, push the needle through to the topside again, but still under the button. Wind the thread around the shank under the button a couple times, then push the needle through the shank. Make a knot and cut carefully, so that the threads are hidden under the button. All done!

Tips & Warnings

• As you pass the needle up and down through the fabric, try to use the same holes and not make new ones each time. The result will be much neater!
• Make note of which direction the thread runs through the holes on the other buttons on the garment - side to side, or up and down - and make sure you do this one the same way.
• If you have lost the original button, look for the extra button that came on the tags when you bought it (if there was one, and if you kept it). You might also find an extra button sewn right onto the inside seam at the bottom of the garment. Carefully remove it with pointed scissors, or a seam ripper if you have one.
• Even the eye of the needle can be sharp! A thimble can protect your finger as you push the needle through thick folds of fabric.

[akchrist]

on 6/10/2008 Great article, it's amazing that most kids now a days don't know how to sew a button on but know how to build a website!