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OK, I know sewing on a button doesn’t sound very creative, or challenging, for that matter. And maybe it’s not. But the very act of sewing, even mindless sewing like sewing on a button, is meditative, and who says the thread you use has to be the same color as the fabric you’re sewing into or the button you’re using? Get creative and make your mending more fun.
How to Sew on a Button
I would hope that people visiting a crafty website would know how to sew on a button, but a guy who works at my daughter’s school informed me that many (guys especially) in his generation don’t know how to do it, so here’s a quick overview, using my winter coat as an example.
If you’re replacing a button that has fallen off, you can probably see where the old button was and put the new one in the same place. If you’re sewing on a new button, line it up as best you can with any other buttons or the button hole it needs to go through. You can also sew buttons onto garments (like a little girl’s skirt) that are simply decorative, in which case you can put them wherever you want.
Get some thread and a sewing needle. I like to use a double thickness of thread as I sew because it makes the stitching stronger.
Tie a knot and come up through the fabric from the inside out, through a hole made for the original button if possible.
My button has four holes, so I’m making an x shape with my stitching. I like to do one side at a time, so bring the thread up through one hole and down the hole on the opposite side, making half an x, and going back through the fabric as you go.
Repeat that move four or five times.
Then move to the other half of the x in the same manner.
At the end, leave the needle at the back, tie another knot and stitch just into the lining if you’re sewing a button on a coat, or underneath the stitching you just made. Trim off the extra thread. (Yes, mine is super ugly on the back, but I don’t really care.)
Smile every time you see that one oddly colored button thread. I know I will.
Do you ever do visible mending or sew wacky buttons onto an otherwise normal garment? I’d love to hear about it!
