Hey guys!  Look for my “Buttonhole Know-How” article in the April edition of SewStylish magazine.  Meanwhile, to see an advance copy with more details, read on:

Do you have occhiellophobia (fear of buttonholes)?

You spend hours finding a pattern and choosing fabric.  You carefully cut and sew.  Your garment is almost done.

Now it’s time to put in rectangles of tiny zigzag stitches that are almost impossible to remove if you make a mistake.

Has this struck terror in your heart?  If so, you are the victim of occhiellophobia (o-che’lo-fo’-be-uh)

You have a fear of buttonholes — with good reason.  A bad buttonhole can ruin your garment.

It’s time to face your fear and take my 7-step program.  You need to:

1) Ease your way into buttonholes.

Start with simple cotton tops.  Once you have conquered them, move to more difficult items.

2) Know the types of buttonholes and where to use them.

A shirt has a vertical strip of fabric, called a placket, on its center front.  So its buttonholes are vertical.

Where knits have plackets, their holes are vertical. Loose zig-zags give the hole stretch.

Blouses have no plackets and have stress points at the bust and waist, so their buttonholes are horizontal.

Jackets have horizontal buttonholes that end in a circle.  This “keyhole” is placed on the center front to hold the shank of a button.

3) Know what a professional buttonhole looks like.

Industrial buttonholers first stitch a box to keep the fabric stable.  Then they stitch each side in the same direction with the same width of stitch.  That makes each side the same length, each buttonhole the same size.  A “guillotine” blade slits the center exactly for a clean, non-fraying hole.

You won’t have the blade on your home sewing machine.  There’s a tool for that.  But you can find some of the other features.

4) Know your machine.

All new machines measure buttons and buttonholes in millimeters (mm).  No problem.  Button cards give this number.  Seam gauges measure mm.

Buttonhole feet are grooved underneath to slide over the stitches.

Low cost machines have you choose the buttonhole stitch, then the widest stitch width and the buttonhole section on the stitch length.  Higher cost machines do the last two steps automatically.

Most low cost machines have “4-step” buttonholes.  You mark the location, as well as the beginning and end of each buttonhole. Your marks must be the exactly the same. Step A sews one leg with narrow zigzags in one direction.  Step B widens the zigzag to close one end.  Step C sews the second leg in the opposite direction.  Step D repeats Step B.  You control the number of stitches at each step and must hit marks perfectly every time to have matching buttonholes.

Other machines have 1-step buttonholes that use special feet.

The feet on basic Pfaffs and some Singers have marks every 5 mm so you can keep track of the length of the buttonhole as you sew.  Choose a mark and start sewing.  The machine stitches forward. Press “reverse” when you reach the chosen mark.  The machine closes the end, reverses and completes the buttonhole.  The machine is now programmed to make all subsequent buttonholes the same length.

Computerized Pfaffs add a sensor bar that slides into the machine.  Choose the buttonhole length on the computer screen.  Start sewing and the sensor takes care of the rest.

The sensormatic foot on Vikings and the new high-end Pfaffs operates much the same way.  Plug in the foot, set the dial so the arrow on the dial lines up with the mark on the foot.  Set the length on the computer screen.  Start sewing.  These and the following machines stabilize fabric with a straight stitch then stitch sides in the same direction

Baby Lock, Brother and some Kenmores have you place a button in a holder on the back of the foot.  Slide down a lever from the machine and place it behind a metal pin on the foot.  Start sewing and the machine takes care of the size, length and shape from beginning to end.

Bernina machines range from manual to computer with the sensor as a lens on the stem of the automatic foot.

Program a buttonhole much the same way as a basic Pfaff.  Move a sliding arrow on the foot to the chosen length of the buttonhole.  Start sewing.  Hit reverse when a red line on the stem matches the arrow on the foot.

Or set the length on the computer screen.  Or set the length by placing the button on the screen, turning a dial and hitting “OK.”

Berninas are known for their beautiful automatic buttonholes, but the length is limited to 24 mm.

5) Use the right notions.

Interface the wrong side of the fabric where you plan to stitch your buttonholes and buttons.  This gives the fabric strength and keeps holes tidy.

Chalk pencils mark dark fabrics.  Blue water-soluble pens mark light fabrics.

All-purpose polyester (not cotton-wrapped) thread and a universal needle are best.  For jackets, use topstitching thread and a topstitching needle with polyester thread in the bobbin.

Or make a “gimp” of thick thread to give jacket buttonholes dimension.  Loop gimp on the back of the foot.  Place one side in the left groove, the other in the right.  Stitch over the gimp.  When done, tug the ends to pull the loop under the stitches.  Thread the ends into a needle.  Pull through to the wrong side of the fabric.  Trim.

Seam rippers fray holes. If you must use one, place pins at each end of the hole to keep from ripping through the hole and into the garment.  Or use a buttonhole cutter to give the same effect as the guillotine.

Seam sealing strengthens holes and keeps them from raveling.

On unstable fabric, stitch over water-soluble stabilizer then wash.  On knits, stitch over fusible web then steam 3 inches away with an iron.

6) Test, test and test again.

Before sewing a buttonhole on a garment, test it on a scrap of fabric.  Fold the scrap three times at the proper width to simulate the front, back and interfacing of the garment.

Make your buttonhole then slide a button through.  If it slides easily, you are ready to sew.  Start from the bottom of the garment where mistakes are less noticeable.

ButtonholesFinal7) Place your buttonholes, then buttons, properly.

Women’s buttonholes are on the right side.  Men’s are on the left.  Just remember:  “Women come right over; men get the leftovers.”

Place the top buttonhole ½ inch from top edge to avoid seam allowances, ¼ inch if it’s in a collar band.

Add the diameter plus the depth of the button plus another 2mm for the right length for the buttonhole.  Do this for all but Baby Lock type machines.

Space vertical buttonholes 3½ inches apart in the center of the placket.

Place horizontal buttonholes a button width away from the front edge and first at the bust and waist.  Space the rest evenly between and no lower than five inches below the waist.

After stitching the buttonholes, overlap the fronts of the garment matching top, bottom and center fronts.  Place the point of a chalk or marker at the center of a vertical buttonhole or the front of a horizontal buttonhole. Mark the location for the button on the fabric underneath.

Vertical button centers are centered in the placket. Horizontal button centers are a button width away from the front edge.

To attach sew-through buttons with a machine, drop or cover the feed dogs.  Set the machine to zigzag or button stitch.  Turn the hand wheel two stitches to make sure the needle goes through the button’s holes.  Place a toothpick across the button then zigzag six stitches.  The toothpick creates a “shank” so you can button without making the garment pucker.  Seam seal the back so the button never falls off.

That’s it.  Feel better?  Practice these seven steps, build confidence — and you too can cure occhiellophobia.