How to sew on a button
Will Ferrell admitted on Amy Poehler’s podcast ‘A Good Hang’ that, at the age of 58, he still can’t sew on a button. So I made a little tutorial for him - and anyone else, if male or female, young or old.
Tools you need to sew on a button
Sewing thread
Sewing needle
Scissors
Optionally:
Fabric pen or pencil
Ruler
How to sew on a button - step by step
1
If you are re-attaching a button that has come off a garment, you can usually still see where the button was attached because the fibres of the fabric will be gaping where the thread held the button in place. You should aim to re-attach the button in the same position. If you can’t see any such traces, then measure and mark the desired position of the button with a ruler and pen before stitching.
2
Thread a needle and make a knot at the end of the thread.
Insert the needle from the inside of the garment (e.g. the inside of the button placket on a shirt or the inside of the trousers) and then make a few small stitches to secure the thread.
3
Push the needle through one of the button’s holes, and back down again into the diagonally opposite hole of the button.
4
Make a small diagonal stitch on the fabric using the same distance and direction as the holes on the button.
5
Bring the needle back up through the first hole of the button. Don’t pull the thread too tight, but leave some slack (for the shaft - see step 7 below). Take the needle down again through the second hole of the button and make a diagonal stitch through the fabric as before.
Repeat this 3-4 times.
6
Bring the needle up through the next hole on the button and down again through the diagonally opposite hole, forming an X on the button.
Make a stitch in the same direction on the fabric.
Again, repeat 3-4 times.
7
Bring the thread between the button and the fabric and wrap the thread tightly around 5-6 times to form the shaft.
The shaft raises the button away from the fabric making space for the buttonhole fabric to sit between the button and the fabric it’s attached to.
8
After your last wrap, insert the needle back down through the fabric to where you started and make a few finishing knots.
