How to Repair a Button in Upholstery

Repair a button in upholstery to restore your furniture.

When your couch or chair pops a button, your furniture instantly takes on a worn and tattered appearance. Professional upholstery repair can be pricey and inconvenient if you have to remove the furniture from your home. You can fix a small issue like a popped button yourself for virtually no cost and restore your furniture to its former condition.

Things You'll Need

• Button twine
• Scissors
• Upholstery needle (curved)

Instructions

1. Cut a 12-inch length of button twine with the scissors.

2. Thread the twine through the eye of the upholstery needle and pull the twine through so you have a double length of twine on the needle. Tie the ends of the upholstery thread in a double knot.

3. Insert the needle through the furniture at the point where you want to sew the button and push the needle back up to the top of the fabric again. The curved needle makes this easy to accomplish. Pull the needle through until the knot on the ends of the thread pops through the upholstery fabric and disappears to the other side of the fabric.

4. Insert the needle through the shank of the button and then back through the upholstery fabric at the same spot you inserted it before. Push the needle back up again to the right side of the fabric and pull the needle through to tighten the thread. Repeat this process four or five more times to sew the button securely back to the furniture.

5. Tie a double knot in the thread, insert the needle back into the upholstery fabric and then push the needle back up again. Pull the needle until the knot pops through the upholstery fabric and disappears on the other side of the fabric again (burying the knot).

6. Cut the button twine off even with the upholstery fabric with the scissors to finish sewing on the button.

References

• Sewing: Replacing a Button
• Antique Upholsterer: How to Do Button Tufting