How to Sew a Button on a Garment

W.C. Fields
(1880 - 1946)

"Button, button, who's got the button?"

A missing button can be fun, if you are playing the traditional children's game. However, if you should suddenly misplace a button from an important spot of your personal attire, this can be no fun at all. In fact, popping a button may be downright embarrassing!

How can you mend this sticky situation?

First, you must find the missing button, if you can. Look closely at your garment. What do the buttons look like? Did the errant button fall into a pocket, sleeve or pant leg? Is it in your sock, your shoe or another part of your attire?

If you cannot find the missing piece, check the inside of your garment. Often, clothing manufacturers will sew an extra button or two into a jacket, blouse, or pair of pants. Look at the inside seams for a ready supply.

Sometimes, a store-bought garment will include a tiny plastic bag of extra buttons. When you clipped the price tag off your new dress suit, cardigan, trousers or skirt, did you save the bag of buttons? This will make matching easy! Just use one of the extras!

Of course, if these solutions do not prove to be fruitful, then you will have to try to obtain a new button to match the remaining ones as closely (in color, shape and size) as possible. In fact, some handy sewers choose to replace all of the buttons on a garment, just to make sure they all match.

Suppose you found a lovely jacket at a thrift shop or vintage clothing store, but a couple of buttons were missing. Or, you might have spotted a super deal on a casual shirt, but you wish to dress it up with fancy fasteners. New buttons to the rescue!

If you are replacing a single button, as on a waistband or a back neck closure, you need not match anything. Just select a button that fits the buttonhole or loop.

Where can you purchase new buttons?

Fabric and craft stores usually offer varieties of buttons. Department stores (such as WalMart) that carry fabric and sewing notions will generally have them as well. Online button retailers offer almost unlimited choices, although most do require minimum orders (often a dozen buttons or more).

Buttons come in countless styles and sizes. Although creative charm-like buttons are growing in popularity, basic buttons generally are manufactured in two basic formats.

Shank buttons include the round or toggle cap (which is inserted through the buttonhole on a garment), mounted on a little pillar-like stump. This shank includes the hole, through which the button is sewn to an article of clothing. Shank buttons are ideal for use in heavyweight fabrics, such as blazers and coats.

Sew-through buttons are usually flat and round, although they may come in various shapes. These buttons may have two or four holes through their centers. These accommodate the needle and thread for attaching the buttons to clothing.

How can you sew your button onto your garment by hand?

Shank and sew-through buttons may be sewn quite simply by hand. First, determine exactly where your button will be placed on your garment. If you have popped a button from a waistband, you may wish to affix your new button in a new spot to change the fit of your garment slightly.

Mark this exact spot with a pencil or chalk. (The button will cover your marking, so it will not show.)

Thread your needle with a sturdy thread. All-cotton or a cotton/polyester blend will work nicely. To sew one button securely, you will need about 36 inches of thread.

Knot your thread for double-strength stitching. From needle to knot, you will now have a doubled strand, almost 18 inches long.

Begin at the top of the garment, at the spot you marked. Poke the needle down into your marking and through all thicknesses of the garment. Pull the thread through to the end, so the knot rests on your marking. Stick the needle back up through all thicknesses and right through one of the holes on your button (or the hole in the button shank).

Pull the thread through and taut. Poke the needle down into another hole in your button and through all thicknesses of the garment. Pull it taut again. Stick it back up through the garment and one of the button's holes. Repeat this process several times, until the button is securely attached.

To finish, you will create a sturdy wound knot. Poke the needle through the button, but not through the garment this time. Wind the thread in a loop, under the button, and poke the needle back through this loop before pulling it taut to close the loop. Repeat this several times before trimming off the end of the thread.

Can you also use your sewing machine to affix your button onto your garment?

Skilled sewers and tailors often attach sew-through buttons by machine. If you can set your stitch selection on your sewing machine to an adjustable zigzag stitch, this can be quick and easy to do. Select a stitch width that will accommodate the space between the holes on your button. Choose the shortest stitch length possible. Basically, you will be sewing in place.

Put the garment into the sewing machine, positioned for stitching. Set the button exactly where you want it to be attached. Gently put down the pressure foot, while holding the button in place. Machine-stitch at least a dozen times, back and forth, before stopping. Lift the pressure foot, and carefully slide the garment, so that you can line up the second set of holes on your button for stitching. Repeat the process. Trim off extra top and bobbin threads.

Now you're all buttoned up!