Welcome to 30 Days of Homemaking for Girls at Homegrown Mom, Sponsored by Plan to Eat – Simple Meal Planning
Today’s post is from Island Girl
It is the simplest things we forget sometimes or take for granted “everyone knows that” attitude. I am going to teach, or rather attempt to teach how to sew a button. It is not the most glamorous things to teach your tween daughter, but important nonetheless.
First thing you need a button (of course), you need thread either matching and a coordinating color. You need a pair of scissors and a measuring tape if you need it a certain measurement.
You thread the needle and tie a small knot at the opposite end.
When you have this done – hold the button exactly where you want it, start the threaded needle from the underneath of the button on the material. Basically continue this about six times then switch to the other two openings. (some buttons only have two openings if that is so, then go to next step)
After sewing each side of openings when needle is underneath the cloth, tie it off by doing two stitches just on the cloth itself. Cut any extra strings off and you’re done!
All it takes is a little practice and if you get a stitch off here or there. No worries, probably it will go unnoticed and button will stay on just the same!
I would love to hear about your experience with this!
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Thanks for sharing this! I am so excited to start sewing my own buttons on instead of pawning it off on my husband! And thank goodness my girls will know soon, too!
I love sewing buttons myself. I have even been known to decorate tops in piles of random buttons. I have been meaning to teach my GirlGuide Unit (GirlScouts) to sew their badges on and have been really scared … but now I am keen to get them all started on buttons. YEAH! Thanks ever so much for this!
You are right, I think it is something that gets overlooked when we are teaching homemaking skills! My kids had to make hats for crazy hat day at our co-op and we found fun buttons, sewed them on swatches of fabric, and then glued the fabric on the hats — it was a fun way to learn about sewing buttons and the hats were cute, too!
You explained this very well. Good job!
A suggestion or tip for button sewing – Once you have sewed the button on, send the needle back down through a button hole, but not through the cloth… so it comes out between the cloth and the button. Pull the thread through tight.
Next, wrap the thread length coming from the needle around and around the thread holding the button on. Three or four wraps is nice. Then push the needle through the cloth and tie it off as you instructed. The wrapped thread reinforces the thread looped through the button (fewer lost buttons from wear) and it raises the button ever so slightly, making it easier to grab when buttoning the article of clothing (nice for children and aging hands).
Penny: this is exactly the method that I used for sewing buttons.
It’s a great skill for every child to learn and is one way to practice/build fine motor skills. Even children as young as 3 can work on sewing large buttons. My daughter loves this as an activity.
Welm explained! Allow me to add: I close the garment so the button hole marks where the button goes and thread the needle through there, then slide the button over the needle. Or, you can use fabric pencil to marl an x where the button goes. But first, push the un-sewed button through the button hole to measure. It should go through easily but have a diameter about equal the length of the button hole so it doesn’t come open easily when wearing. Thanks for the idea to set all my children down (boys too) and review this basic skill.
Great Post!
If you have a button that gets a lot on wear and tear and in ALWAYS coming off {My hubs uniforms}. Try sewing them on with dental floss. That stuff takes a beating.
Thank you Angela, for letting me participate in this great series!! Glad everyone likes this post and thank you so much for the helpful hints! 🙂
You can also use “clear” thread which is thick and I think it might be like a plastic or nylon type thread. It comes on a spool of thread and you can find it with the other threads – ask the employee for it. I like to use it for quilting sometimes. It looks like a thicker fishing line and would be easy for little hands to learn to thread a needle as it’s stiff and they can practice on material like a cordoroy, canvas or even a nice calico.
Ha! I just sewed my partner’s shirt button a few nights ago after not having made simple repairs (or elaborate sewing projects) in almost a year. I felt a wave of prided at being able to take up the shirt from him, his vulnerable, helpless look rather endearing (he asked me if I’d do him a big favor if I had the time–as if it would take me hours of work), and have a new button sewn in place of the broken one in under five minutes.
I realized that every time I repair a garment, I smile, because I’m thinking of my grandmother who taught me. I never learned her needle- and petit-point she loved so much, but thanks to her, I learned how to hand sew seams, hem a garment, darn socks, and mend buttons. She made such a strong impression on my life during the few years we lived together, and I don’t think I ever understood or shared with her how much I appreciated all she gave me. I hope she knows it now.