How to Make a Buttonhole by Hand

You don't have to have a fancy sewing machine or any kind of sewing machine at all to make a buttonhole. You can make one by hand. It may take a bit longer, but you have complete control over the placement of the stitches without being at the mercy of a machine. If you can sew a blanket stitch, you can do the buttonhole stitch. It's the same stitch, only the buttonhole stitches are sewn closer together.

Things You'll Need

• Heavy thread or embroidery floss
• Large-eyed needle
• Thimble

Instructions

1. Measure and align the position of the buttonhole with the position of the button you will be bringing through it. There are two ways to create the buttonhole. One is to cut the hole first, and cover the edges with stitching. The other way is to place the stitches around where the hole will be slit after the stitching is done. You may want to practice on some scrap fabric first to determine which way you wish to do it. These instructions are for slitting the hole after the stitching is completed.

2. 

   Bring the needle up through the fabric at the place where you want the outside edge of the buttonhole to be. Hold the thread down with your thumb while bringing the needle up through the fabric at the inside edge of the buttonhole.

3. Bring the needle up through the fabric again at the outside edge of the buttonhole. Repeat these steps until one side of the buttonhole is finished.

4. Keeping the stitches close together, round the corners of the buttonhole and do the other side, taking care to keep the stitches as uniform as possible so the two sides look alike.

5. When your stitching is done all the way around the buttonhole, knot the thread on the underside of the fabric and secure. Before going any further, make certain the buttonhole is in precisely the right place. If everything is aligned and positioned properly, using a seam ripper or a single-edged safety razor blade, slit the fabric in the middle of the stitching to create the hole.

Tips & Warnings

• Take the time to make a couple of practice buttonholes on scrap fabric first to see which method you wish to use, and to improve your technique so the finished buttonhole will look better.