When I was briefly in tailoring school we were shown a video of a woman at one of the Saville Row tailors whose one job was to do the buttonholes, and it was scary how fast she produced a perfect buttonhole
I use a flatiron (for hair) to iron thread, so that it doesn't have kinks and bends and bumps. Really helps with sewing, and the flatiron is great for other similar sewing/pressing tasks.
@@lauramathews3151 with a low enough heat setting, you can do this with polyester and nylon, I work with synthetics all the time, actually. You do have to get a flatiron with a wide range of heat settings though, and just keep it low, and test it out on the various fibers.
This is the best buttonhole tutorial I've come across in the past 3 years. Thank you so much for your clear instructions and visuals. I love your work!
It was so incredibly helpful that you chose to film this from a perspective where I can easily imagine your hands as mine. It aids immensely with the orientation and direction of stitching. When sewists film things from the opposite perspective, my brain has a hard time reorienting and my stitches never turn out correctly. I also appreciated all the helpful tips and tricks, like anchoring the thread without knots. I have never actually seen it done like that before despite all my years of sewing, so definitely going to adopt that. Really appreciate this one Nicole, thank you.
I grew up on the little house on the Prarie books. And any time I was frustrated, my da told me to remember that practicing buttonholes would make me better and quicker, and it was the same with anything. I'm in my mid 40s, and hand sew more often than not, cos... sewing machines take space and electricity mostly. And.... just like figuring out maths, and spelling, I buttonhole a lot. This tutorial is fantastic, and I am always gleeful to see old skills kept alive!!! Keep being amazing, keep history alive. :) just wanted to tell you that you are awesome :)
Thank you for introducing the large flat loop stitch. Decades ago my mother, who was English girls’ school trained, taught me the loop around the needle technique. While her buttonholes were enviously impeccable, mine were never satisfactory. II now realize that I would mix up the loop direction and also be less consistent than she was in the angle of pull. Your excellent tutorial makes me actually believe that my hope for a decently finished closure is still in reach. ❤
My great-grandfather was one of the leading tailors in his time, he had customers from all over the country, and my grandmother so proud all her life of how she as a young lass had been allowed to sew buttonholes on these suits for very important sirs. She's already long gone, but I like to think this video will help me achieve buttonholes she would approve of.
@oldasyouromens I'm a sewer(wait, that's not right). Umm...I like to sew. Wish I had learned to knit tho. I'm too old now, don't think my 40yo brain could comprehend
@@beautyonabarnbudgetif you decide to change your mind Very Pink Knits here on YT has excellent video tutorials :) My mom learned to knit in her late 30s
@@beautyonabarnbudget You are a sewist. Knitting is much more like weaving, except you shape the garment as you go. It's complicated but beautiful to make something from nothing like that. Sewing, though, I don't know how a corset or elaborate ruffled costume can be so stiff that it holds its shape, and you can still stitch that and wear it.
Watching this video now _and_ saving it for later. I have a couple projects that involve buttonhole/eyelet hand sewing, and I have seriously struggled to get it right despite watching other tutorials. Even the part about thread type is usually a minute or two glossing over it. This one is so much more in depth!
I cannot express my gratitude for this video. I watched it and realised that for my whole life I've done buttonholes with a wrong stitch. I wonder why it never looked right 😂 I need more hand sewing lessons with professor Nicole, I will be manifesting them.
Thank you for the tutorial! I hope you'd do more tailoring 101 videos (still hoping that you'd do more fabrics 101 videos for semi-synthetic/rayon & full-on synthetic fibers)
Buttonholes have been the bane of my sewing life, and without a machine I have no choice but to sew them by hand. This has given me the confidence I need to not avoid them so much in future, and I'll definitely come back to rewatch for a refresher! Thank you so much!
Thank you for this explanation and demonstration. It instantly improved my button holes. I had inadvertently been producing a blanket stitch instead of the proper one and hadn’t understood why they looked wrong.
Thank you! I recently made some awful buttonholes, largely from lack of knowledge but also from lack of experience. I think this detailed tutorial will help me so much the next time I do a buttonhole.
I know these videos recieve less attention than some of your other works so it is important for me to press that I really appreciate them. The throughness and grounding in actually explaining *why* you might want to do something a certain way is very helpful.
Nicole this is just in time for one of my summer projects! I was literally just about to look up how to do a buttonhole by hand as I have tried and failed several times with my machine 😅 This is a godsend! Thank you
Wonderful video! Have to sew many buttonholes by hand soon so hopefully this will get me through. Fyi, Japanese wood carving chisels make for wonderful buttonhole chisels - they're a flat-edged blade instead of curved, very sharp, and are easy to find in a variety of sizes
Ooh this is exciting! I've never tried a corded buttonhole before. And I'm glad to have a good tutorial to link to when people ask me buttonhole questions! I like to wax a little bit of the very tip of my thread when I first start my buttonhole stitches, so it sticks in the fabric better. And on my everyday shirts and pants I like to go around once with my machine buttonhole attachment and then do a hand stitched buttonhole on top, to save time on overcasting and make it a bit sturdier.
I took your suggestions from one of your Twitch streams about getting some heavier thread and yeah, from regular thread, topstitch thread makes a world of difference. I can't wait till I can get my hands on some actual buttonhole twist. I mean, my button holes still look like they were done by someone who needs a lot more practise (not untrue) but they're at least serviceable. I've used cotton crochet thread for eyelets twice and that works very well with linen with either a few cotton layers or one canvas, I've got the exact right sized needle for it and it seems to be a decent combination of flexible enough to squish but sticky enough to pull tight and stay there. Probably not going to be all that resistant to friction, but they're not garments I lace up that often. Also I found a fun place to practice my buttonhole stitches - lining the pocket edges of my work pants where they wear out from having knives, flashlights and measuring tapes clipped to them.
I got distracted by the Kinkame thread. "Ooh, I can read that. 金龜. hmm. Gold Turtle. I bet that's easy to find over here in the pacific Islands." and it was. Yay.
*I AM TERRIBLE* at hand-stitched button holes - and I have practiced and practiced. They have gone from looking like a spider smashed with a hammer on the fabric to the dizzy heights of "a bad buttonhole", but they are still terrible. I will be saving this to my "sewing" file for when I come to my NEXT button hole
Hahahaha!! I promise, I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing because the smashed spider image is so familiar to my early buttonholes and every eyelet I've ever done. Mine got a bit better with heavier thread and I also did a lot of practising by lining pocket edges on my work pants where they wear out from having my knife/flashlight/tape measure clipped to it. Still making bad but passable buttonholes now. For some reason my eyelets look better than my buttonholes... probably because for those I use a cotton crochet yarn. I think that's too thick for button holes though.
Absolutely fascinated by watching Ms. Rudolph's needle work. The burgundy red thread against the sage green takes it to the next level, compared to a matching thread. I got so caught up in my admiration that I forget to actually pay attention. 😅 As a beginner sewist, thank you!
I spent a really long time hating buttonholes because they always looked terrible. I even learned how to do bound/welted buttonholes to avoid hand stitching them (which is also quite an endeavor tbh). Didn’t have a machine that did buttonholes. Years of hating and avoiding buttons. Then I… learned that I was stitching them backwards. I like them now. They look great. 😂
Thank you! I really appreciate your very specific instructions, such as the direction of the needle, and the spacing of the knots vs the stitches. I think using the techniques in your video will improve my hand-sewn buttonholes.
Thanks! The only sewing I've ever really done is what I taught myself as a child watching my mother - you know, making clothes for your dolls but of course the head or arm doesn't fit even though you jumped through hoops. In short, I usually just mend things but this was a nice, simple explanation 😊
i really like the look of the gimp with more spaced buttonholes it has much more depth to it and i could see myself playing with different colours and lusters could be a neat way to decorate and add interest to a more subtle piece
Fabulous tutorial! I recently opted to make hand sewn buttonholes on a coat for my wife and I really enjoyed it even though I had to sit up half the night to finish them in time! They're barely visible tbh, black on black, but it was a nice luxurious touch and I don't think my sewing machine would have dealt with the thick cashmere layers... thanks again
Thank you; brilliantly done with video and explanation (including the difference regarding thread types). This is exactly the kind of video the new sewist (like me) needs to accomplish decent work on our own.
i make crochet bags and i’m putting buttonholes in the lining and the combination of skills makes me so happy since i get to learn new things, thank you for this demonstration!
I am SO glad that Nicole has such a pleasant voice as I will be watching and listening to this video multiple times. I have been doing it all wrong, including my thread choice (always knots accidentally, now I know why). Excellent direction and editing also!
Gurrrlll thank you, I'm currently making my very first shirt to perfect my bodice blocks , and yesterday I made the most rookie mistake 😭 I french seemed my short sleeves together as the reinforcement of my back shoulder piece 😂, which made my arm holes (that were perfect), have 4 extra inches, ooops but oh well it's blk linen and can be a boxy shirt, but I didn't know how to do the buttholes until today 🙏🏽🦄 also I'm remaking my linen shirt correctly to see where the real corrections need be made, thanks for inspiration of knowing I got this and failure is triumph in drag ❤
Thank YOu!!! I'd learned buttonholes from an ole French Couturier in '91, she'd retired in '57, sadly she only taught me about wrapping the thread after inserting the needle, later had someone at Saint Laurent teach me a hidden thread button holes where you use two small pieces of fabric for the edges like an inserted pocket...both had used auto adhesive interfacing...so nice to learn more technics.
An amazingly clear and succinct presentation! Thank you for your level of detail combined with real world applications. Your filming is perfect, and I was pleasantly surprised at being able to pinch my screen and get even closer to things. The best thing for my aging eyes!
Thanks a lot for this video! Very detailed instructions on hand sewing buttonholes and proved to be very helpful for a first timer! I'm glad I stumbled upon this video because you saved me a lot of time and stress.
Thanks a ton!! I used it to make the buttonholes on my 1900 cycling skirt and it looks lovely! They are much easier to make than what I thought and it's a relaxing activity.
Hi, thank you very much for the video video It was excellent I'm 50 years old and just started to sew unfortunately. I think I've started too late, but better late than never. An excellent video that has been very well shot and explained. I look forward to watching this another 50 times until I'm able to do a button by hand.
I measure my threads by "wingspans" that is the width of my arms fully extended, I am 5'5" tall, I measure from the center of my chest to my finger tips so HALF a wingspan is 33" or 84cm.
Thank you very much. I've always had trouble making buttonholes that work at all, let alone look nice. There's nobody I'd rather have a tutorial from. You give good information and answer more questions than I could think to ask.
Thank you so much for this. It is concise and detailed enough to understand the entire process. One of the best hand sewn button hole tutorials I have seen.
Thank you for this masterclass! I now finally know why my buttonholes were always ugly and clunky. I pulled he knot to the side, thinking it was correct and would help the buttonhole stay closed. 🙈 I hope I can enjoy my buttonholes more!
I used this video to help me add an extra button hole to the cuffs of my husband's shirt so he can use cufflinks with it. I used thread that matched the shirt color and they turned out pretty good for my first time!
I'm so glad you posted this. I really like my hand sewn eyelets now, and fighting the machine to make nice buttonholes is just not worth it to me. Now I'll try some hand sewn button holes!
Button holes are one of the scariest tasks in sewing ... Right up there with modern zippers. My modern machine has a button hole foot which allows me to produce consistant button holes quickly based off of the exact buttons being used on the project. However, nowhere in the operators manual does it tell me all the details needed to actually make the stitching turn out correctly. Now, that I have seen your tutorial, I'm less intimidated by buttonholes with a better understanding as to why even the machine stitched ones always turn out terribly. According to your expertise, my two biggest problems are the fact that my machine uses the commerical thread which you pointed out as being no good, and that the interfacing I have generally used is also a cheap commerically available option that I now understand to be just as useless as the aforementioned thread. Thank you as always for the amazing insights that even most PBS experts just don't have. Also, as another commentor pointed out, thank you for filming in a first person perspective. It makes it far easier to understand and duplicate the work.
Update: I used horrible modern all purpose thread with this technique to repair a fraying button hole on a pair of denim shorts. It isn't beautiful, but this was for a hidden button which only needed function. I thank you again. This skill is going to get used a lot more now.
Thank you! That was great, I learned so much. I often have to look it up to remember how to do a buttonhole stitch, so I will definitely come back to this video again and again
even though I was just adding a hidden button to jeans, I found this tutorial super useful! the camera placement was on point and you did a great job at explaining everything as well as why you made those decisions. I do have a question tho: if you were to use 30m polyester thread what problems may come up in the long term?
This is a fantastic video done very well. Very informative. I don't have good sewing patience, but my buttonholes are much better off than they would have otherwise been (probably non-existent)
Ok! I am going to do this today. I kinda hope you are on Twitch in case I have questions. I've never made a buttonhole before and I'm scared. I did add some beetled linen, so at least I should have a good foundation.
As always, so, so interesting and informative. For your last example, if your buttonhole was only open so far, would you put the bar tack in at the end of the opening, or at the end of the complete long buttonhole, or both? Thank you, Nicole, you are an amazing créatrice and historienne du costume. E-pou-stouf-flante !
Gina B Silkworks has videos on both of those that I've found very helpful! (I have a video on Death's head buttons too, and one on 18th century fabric covered buttons)
Some things in regards to 18th century button holes. Warning, what amounts to a not so small essay ahead, but if you want some good tips and facts I collected together in some years of making 18th century men`s wear, this might be informative/helpful. First, Nicole said that she does not wax her silk thread/twist. From what I have seen in my research, waxing the silk twist was common practice in the 18th century. No only as it helps to make the button hole stitching cleaner and more regular, but also to shape them. (less common later on, as with the button holes she makes here, so she is correct for the 19th century here.) On making the more regular and cleaner, a thing one should do when preparing the silk thread for 18th century buttonholes is, to take the thread after waxing and "strumm" it. To do that one either ties it to something thats not going to move, grabs the other end pulling it taught and then goes along the legth with the other hand strumming it like an instruments string, or, you hold one end tightly with your non dominant hand and grab the thread next to it with your four fingers pressing it the the palm to pull it taught, and then let it slip out under a good amount of tension while at the same time strumming it with the thumb going along the whole length. Might sound like some superstitious thing to do, but it really does make the thread easier to work with and makes the buttonhole a lot straighter. The going thery is that it evens out the tension in the thread and aligns all the fibres, so that there will be no pulling in the finished button hole due to residual tension or the thread being a bit more tightly wound in some areas that leads to it becoming a bit wonky. The wax is an important part there as it helps to even out the thread and bind the fibres together so they can be evened out better. The shaping part is just as, if not more important. Many people ask how people in the 18th century managed to stitch those very long and decorative raised buttonholes so clean and especially straight. The truth is, they didn´t. There is a trick to it and it´s ridicoulusly simple. They used a buttonhole mould to shape these raised buttonholes after stitching, the wax working as a binder to help and shape them into the heated metal slit of the "craquette". Basically a small rectangular iron with a slit in it that the buttonhole would be pressed into. If you want to know how those looked, there is two depicted on Plate II in the Tailoring part of Diderot`s Encyclopaedia. (If you don´t speak french or don´t have a translator that can deal with "ye old`french", there is a translation floating around on the net authored by R.W. Trump also known as Robert Sartor, who also penned a few other interesting publications on historical clothing and was a pattern maker and tailor for the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and the Opera Theatre of St. Louis.) While one will be hard pressed to find one of these today, there is a simple way to do the same thing with a modern steam iron and an improvised tool quickly made at home. All one needs is a piece of hard wood (important that it is not a wood that seeps resin, that a quick way to ruin a garment thats just about finished) and some very basic tools. All that needs to be done is to take the piece of wood (something around 1" wide, 0.5-1" thick and 2-4 inch long) and make a slit in it lengh wise. Usual width for the slit are 1/8" to 1/4" depending on how wide and pronounced the buttonhole will be. Then the stitched buttonhole is layed into the slit with the inside of the garment up, and with the iron on a low heat is pressed with a bit of steam into it. After the steam hold the iron a ferw more seconds in place to drive out some of the residual moisture, take it away and take a clapper or if you won´t burn yourself your fingers to hold it in till it´s cooled off. Voila, a perfectly straight and even buttonhole. And another tip, If you cannot find a colour matching gimp, you can just twist one yourself from your buttonhole thread. There is even historical sources mentioning "tailors twisting the gimp". Here is how that is done: th-cam.com/video/ZJ487_bCm34/w-d-xo.html As the video says, it can also be used to make thicker button hole twist from thinner threads. While I use a drill and don´t do it by hand, (a lot quicker than by hand, just take a length a bit more that twice as long than your piece of button hole twist should be, fix it to a solid point on one end and into the drill on the other, hold the drill quiet loose, let it turn a bit, when it rapidly starts to pull on the drill stop and don´t pull against it or hold it into position or the tread will snap, stop. Then carefully without letting it go and keeping both hlaves seperate, fold it in hald, al let it twist together controlled from the folded end so it does not bunch up or create knots.) it´s how I make my twist because I simply cannot get the right weights of button hole thread/twists where I live. But I can get a wide variety of thin silk sewing thread. The benefit is that I also can to pretty good colour matching because of the wide offer of colours and not being bound to just buying the right weight of silk twist. On the construction of 18th century button holes. The truth there is that they were very varied. Not only in regards to quality, fashion of the decade or price, but also regionally. There is an interesting divide between the colonies (what is now the US) and the continent (Europe). Namely that for some so far inexplicable reason, People in the colonies tended to take a lot more care in making them, working longer on them and being more careful and cleaner. I have seen many colonial extant garments, and they usually have pretty nice buttonholes, even the "cheaper" stuff although you can tell they were made not as carefully. But that has nothing on the stuff I have seen with European buttonholes. From absolutely wonkey to barley any stitches, you can find everything, even on pretty nice garments. The most agregious example got to be a french broadcloth coat that didn´t even have any button hole stitches at all. Just a few wonky whip stitches to stop the cloth from ripping in half instantly. While you also easily can find clean buttonholes in Europe, there definitely is a noticable difference in mentality. Construction wise, the button holes had two bar-tacs, one on each side, and did not feature just one and a rounded part on the side the button sits in. Buttonholes for your average garment would often not be longer with a closed and purely decorative part, just a functional button hole fitting the buttons that was stitched "good enough to last". These often also featured no gimp, but just a one length, or at times doubled, of the same thread the stitches were made from as cording to stop it from stretching and warping under strain. Gimp would be used the moment one got into the more decorative variations. And in regards to colour matching, while in general the more common choice was to match the colour with the fabric/cloth, it generally wasn´t perfect, except for pretty expensive colthing that could even have thread dyed specifically for it. And matching colours is also not the be all end all. From paintings (because oftentimes the still existing garments are unreliable as the thread often bleaches different to the fabric) we know that, especially with clothing of the more "common" people, contrasting or complimentary colours also were used to make button holes. One example for example I have seen is a painting, depicting a man in a read coat featuring yellow (definitely not gold) button holes. Another was a blue waistcoat with undyed? silk buttonholes, probably imitating/implying corded button holes made in silver metal thread (basically the equivalent of todays cheap Brand Plagiarism from the 18th century). If anything Else comes to mind I will either edit this, or add it as a comment. Have a nice day, Peer.
I’ve watched this video so many times & learned such a lot, my buttonholes look so much better now thank you Nicole. By the way, there is no ‘T’ in the word ‘across’.
Oh man those key hole button holes are so pretty! And the cording 😍 I have hand sewn button holes before, but I messed up the knots by doing blanket stitches. I am looking forward to use your fool-proof technique! P.S.: could I use sewing thread as well? Or is it too thin?
Do you steam and press your buttonholes afterwards? I always do, and usually give it a tap with a mallet from the backside to completely set the stitches to the fabric. Yes, it's probably overkill, but it works for me, so do it I will.
![How to Hand Sew Buttonholes (18th Century) [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cRdEBCgE0zs/mqdefault.jpg)
When I was briefly in tailoring school we were shown a video of a woman at one of the Saville Row tailors whose one job was to do the buttonholes, and it was scary how fast she produced a perfect buttonhole
I use a flatiron (for hair) to iron thread, so that it doesn't have kinks and bends and bumps. Really helps with sewing, and the flatiron is great for other similar sewing/pressing tasks.
That’s genius!!! 🤯
As long as they're natural fibers...
@@lauramathews3151 with a low enough heat setting, you can do this with polyester and nylon, I work with synthetics all the time, actually. You do have to get a flatiron with a wide range of heat settings though, and just keep it low, and test it out on the various fibers.
Clever 😮
Thank you for sharing this tip. Now I know what to do with my old flat iron since it still works 😬
This is the best buttonhole tutorial I've come across in the past 3 years. Thank you so much for your clear instructions and visuals. I love your work!
Agree
It was so incredibly helpful that you chose to film this from a perspective where I can easily imagine your hands as mine. It aids immensely with the orientation and direction of stitching. When sewists film things from the opposite perspective, my brain has a hard time reorienting and my stitches never turn out correctly.
I also appreciated all the helpful tips and tricks, like anchoring the thread without knots. I have never actually seen it done like that before despite all my years of sewing, so definitely going to adopt that.
Really appreciate this one Nicole, thank you.
I grew up on the little house on the Prarie books. And any time I was frustrated, my da told me to remember that practicing buttonholes would make me better and quicker, and it was the same with anything. I'm in my mid 40s, and hand sew more often than not, cos... sewing machines take space and electricity mostly. And.... just like figuring out maths, and spelling, I buttonhole a lot. This tutorial is fantastic, and I am always gleeful to see old skills kept alive!!! Keep being amazing, keep history alive. :) just wanted to tell you that you are awesome :)
Thank you for introducing the large flat loop stitch. Decades ago my mother, who was English girls’ school trained, taught me the loop around the needle technique. While her buttonholes were enviously impeccable, mine were never satisfactory. II now realize that I would mix up the loop direction and also be less consistent than she was in the angle of pull. Your excellent tutorial makes me actually believe that my hope for a decently finished closure is still in reach. ❤
Blimey, who knew sewing button holes for half an hour would be so utterly fascinating!
My great-grandfather was one of the leading tailors in his time, he had customers from all over the country, and my grandmother so proud all her life of how she as a young lass had been allowed to sew buttonholes on these suits for very important sirs. She's already long gone, but I like to think this video will help me achieve buttonholes she would approve of.
THANK YOU! For my wedding dress, I'd need to sew like 10 button holes, and have never done this before. You are a godsend!
I am very slowly learning to sew, but I have been knitting for 15 years. It's so funny to me that buttonhole stitches look exactly like a cast on row!
What's a cast on row
@@beautyonabarnbudgetthe way you start knitting. A set of loops, around the needle, with knots right next to each other holding them in place.
@oldasyouromens I'm a sewer(wait, that's not right). Umm...I like to sew. Wish I had learned to knit tho. I'm too old now, don't think my 40yo brain could comprehend
@@beautyonabarnbudgetif you decide to change your mind Very Pink Knits here on YT has excellent video tutorials :) My mom learned to knit in her late 30s
@@beautyonabarnbudget You are a sewist. Knitting is much more like weaving, except you shape the garment as you go. It's complicated but beautiful to make something from nothing like that. Sewing, though, I don't know how a corset or elaborate ruffled costume can be so stiff that it holds its shape, and you can still stitch that and wear it.
Watching this video now _and_ saving it for later. I have a couple projects that involve buttonhole/eyelet hand sewing, and I have seriously struggled to get it right despite watching other tutorials. Even the part about thread type is usually a minute or two glossing over it. This one is so much more in depth!
This is what got me and I’ve been hand sewing for 51 years!!
Thanks, yt for actually alerting me right away when this most excellent and relevant content was uploaded. 😂 I'm so excited for this, thank you!
I cannot express my gratitude for this video. I watched it and realised that for my whole life I've done buttonholes with a wrong stitch. I wonder why it never looked right 😂 I need more hand sewing lessons with professor Nicole, I will be manifesting them.
I have also just realised exactly this!!
@Noel.Chmielowiec - Me, three. (All those little blanket-stitched buttonholes that never looked quite right - - - >_< )
Thank you for the tutorial! I hope you'd do more tailoring 101 videos (still hoping that you'd do more fabrics 101 videos for semi-synthetic/rayon & full-on synthetic fibers)
Buttonholes have been the bane of my sewing life, and without a machine I have no choice but to sew them by hand. This has given me the confidence I need to not avoid them so much in future, and I'll definitely come back to rewatch for a refresher! Thank you so much!
Thank you for this explanation and demonstration. It instantly improved my button holes. I had inadvertently been producing a blanket stitch instead of the proper one and hadn’t understood why they looked wrong.
Thank you! I recently made some awful buttonholes, largely from lack of knowledge but also from lack of experience. I think this detailed tutorial will help me so much the next time I do a buttonhole.
This is by far the most thorough buttonhole tutorial I've ever come across. Much appreciated!
I know these videos recieve less attention than some of your other works so it is important for me to press that I really appreciate them. The throughness and grounding in actually explaining *why* you might want to do something a certain way is very helpful.
thankyou for explaining thread and needles and showing the loopy way of doing the stitch rather than having to stop and wrap the needle 💜
Nicole this is just in time for one of my summer projects! I was literally just about to look up how to do a buttonhole by hand as I have tried and failed several times with my machine 😅
This is a godsend! Thank you
Literally just said that out loud to myself
Wonderful video! Have to sew many buttonholes by hand soon so hopefully this will get me through. Fyi, Japanese wood carving chisels make for wonderful buttonhole chisels - they're a flat-edged blade instead of curved, very sharp, and are easy to find in a variety of sizes
FYI, chisels means the flat blade, "gouge," is used for the curved blades.
Ooh this is exciting! I've never tried a corded buttonhole before. And I'm glad to have a good tutorial to link to when people ask me buttonhole questions!
I like to wax a little bit of the very tip of my thread when I first start my buttonhole stitches, so it sticks in the fabric better.
And on my everyday shirts and pants I like to go around once with my machine buttonhole attachment and then do a hand stitched buttonhole on top, to save time on overcasting and make it a bit sturdier.
I took your suggestions from one of your Twitch streams about getting some heavier thread and yeah, from regular thread, topstitch thread makes a world of difference. I can't wait till I can get my hands on some actual buttonhole twist. I mean, my button holes still look like they were done by someone who needs a lot more practise (not untrue) but they're at least serviceable.
I've used cotton crochet thread for eyelets twice and that works very well with linen with either a few cotton layers or one canvas, I've got the exact right sized needle for it and it seems to be a decent combination of flexible enough to squish but sticky enough to pull tight and stay there. Probably not going to be all that resistant to friction, but they're not garments I lace up that often.
Also I found a fun place to practice my buttonhole stitches - lining the pocket edges of my work pants where they wear out from having knives, flashlights and measuring tapes clipped to them.
I got distracted by the Kinkame thread. "Ooh, I can read that. 金龜. hmm. Gold Turtle. I bet that's easy to find over here in the pacific Islands." and it was. Yay.
*I AM TERRIBLE* at hand-stitched button holes - and I have practiced and practiced.
They have gone from looking like a spider smashed with a hammer on the fabric to the dizzy heights of "a bad buttonhole", but they are still terrible. I will be saving this to my "sewing" file for when I come to my NEXT button hole
Hahahaha!! I promise, I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing because the smashed spider image is so familiar to my early buttonholes and every eyelet I've ever done. Mine got a bit better with heavier thread and I also did a lot of practising by lining pocket edges on my work pants where they wear out from having my knife/flashlight/tape measure clipped to it. Still making bad but passable buttonholes now. For some reason my eyelets look better than my buttonholes... probably because for those I use a cotton crochet yarn. I think that's too thick for button holes though.
Absolutely fascinated by watching Ms. Rudolph's needle work. The burgundy red thread against the sage green takes it to the next level, compared to a matching thread. I got so caught up in my admiration that I forget to actually pay attention. 😅 As a beginner sewist, thank you!
I spent a really long time hating buttonholes because they always looked terrible. I even learned how to do bound/welted buttonholes to avoid hand stitching them (which is also quite an endeavor tbh). Didn’t have a machine that did buttonholes. Years of hating and avoiding buttons.
Then I… learned that I was stitching them backwards. I like them now. They look great. 😂
Thank you! I really appreciate your very specific instructions, such as the direction of the needle, and the spacing of the knots vs the stitches. I think using the techniques in your video will improve my hand-sewn buttonholes.
Thanks! The only sewing I've ever really done is what I taught myself as a child watching my mother - you know, making clothes for your dolls but of course the head or arm doesn't fit even though you jumped through hoops. In short, I usually just mend things but this was a nice, simple explanation 😊
i really like the look of the gimp with more spaced buttonholes it has much more depth to it and i could see myself playing with different colours and lusters could be a neat way to decorate and add interest to a more subtle piece
Fabulous tutorial! I recently opted to make hand sewn buttonholes on a coat for my wife and I really enjoyed it even though I had to sit up half the night to finish them in time! They're barely visible tbh, black on black, but it was a nice luxurious touch and I don't think my sewing machine would have dealt with the thick cashmere layers... thanks again
I watched lots of Nicole's videos, but I think this is the first time I use her video as a tutorial 😺
Thank you; brilliantly done with video and explanation (including the difference regarding thread types). This is exactly the kind of video the new sewist (like me) needs to accomplish decent work on our own.
FINALLY buttonholes actually make sense and look even! Every other tutorial just wasn’t teaching it right when I tried to follow them.
i make crochet bags and i’m putting buttonholes in the lining and the combination of skills makes me so happy since i get to learn new things, thank you for this demonstration!
Suspiciously close to a certain other video that showed how to make thread buttons. All my favs are conspiring to make me happy, I think.
You literally read my mind! I was just wondering this morning if such a video existed and POOF 💥, it manifested! Amazing and thank you!
Love these resource/teaching type videos. They're great to have when trying out a new skill for us visual learners.
One viewing, and my buttonholes just leveled up in quality and in speed. Thank you very much!
I am SO glad that Nicole has such a pleasant voice as I will be watching and listening to this video multiple times. I have been doing it all wrong, including my thread choice (always knots accidentally, now I know why). Excellent direction and editing also!
Excellent! You are just the best teacher and your voice is so soothing.
Beautifully clear directions. Nothing classier than a perfect handmade buttonhole!
Gurrrlll thank you, I'm currently making my very first shirt to perfect my bodice blocks , and yesterday I made the most rookie mistake 😭 I french seemed my short sleeves together as the reinforcement of my back shoulder piece 😂, which made my arm holes (that were perfect), have 4 extra inches, ooops but oh well it's blk linen and can be a boxy shirt, but I didn't know how to do the buttholes until today 🙏🏽🦄 also I'm remaking my linen shirt correctly to see where the real corrections need be made, thanks for inspiration of knowing I got this and failure is triumph in drag ❤
Thank YOu!!! I'd learned buttonholes from an ole French Couturier in '91, she'd retired in '57, sadly she only taught me about wrapping the thread after inserting the needle, later had someone at Saint Laurent teach me a hidden thread button holes where you use two small pieces of fabric for the edges like an inserted pocket...both had used auto adhesive interfacing...so nice to learn more technics.
Thank you so much for this. I've made my first buttonhole on a bit of cambric and it completely works. I have been afraid to try for years.
An amazingly clear and succinct presentation! Thank you for your level of detail combined with real world applications. Your filming is perfect, and I was pleasantly surprised at being able to pinch my screen and get even closer to things. The best thing for my aging eyes!
Thanks a lot for this video! Very detailed instructions on hand sewing buttonholes and proved to be very helpful for a first timer! I'm glad I stumbled upon this video because you saved me a lot of time and stress.
One of the most useful videos I have ever watched. I am back for my third helping - bravo! 👏👏👏
Thanks a ton!! I used it to make the buttonholes on my 1900 cycling skirt and it looks lovely! They are much easier to make than what I thought and it's a relaxing activity.
Hi, thank you very much for the video video It was excellent I'm 50 years old and just started to sew unfortunately. I think I've started too late, but better late than never. An excellent video that has been very well shot and explained. I look forward to watching this another 50 times until I'm able to do a button by hand.
That reminds me of the peaceful feeling I have when hand sewing, thank you. There is always something to learn when watching others.
Birdy
I measure my threads by "wingspans" that is the width of my arms fully extended, I am 5'5" tall, I measure from the center of my chest to my finger tips so HALF a wingspan is 33" or 84cm.
Thank you very much. I've always had trouble making buttonholes that work at all, let alone look nice. There's nobody I'd rather have a tutorial from. You give good information and answer more questions than I could think to ask.
Thank you so much for this. It is concise and detailed enough to understand the entire process. One of the best hand sewn button hole tutorials I have seen.
Thank you for showing the button hole scissors! I have two but didn’t know that was why they were notched like that.
This is just what I needed! Thank you Nicole for being so thorough and detailed in your emplanation!
Thanks, I have some modifications to do to my daughter's dress (replacing zipper with buttons), this vid gives me all I need to know!
Thank you- my brain needs directional hand holding - I have watched this so many times!!! Thank you so very much
Hey there Nicole! That was the best buttonhole tutorial I’ve ever seen!
Thank you for this masterclass! I now finally know why my buttonholes were always ugly and clunky. I pulled he knot to the side, thinking it was correct and would help the buttonhole stay closed. 🙈
I hope I can enjoy my buttonholes more!
I was watching a necessary gardening video. Then saw this up. Saving the garden will wait
I used this video to help me add an extra button hole to the cuffs of my husband's shirt so he can use cufflinks with it. I used thread that matched the shirt color and they turned out pretty good for my first time!
Interesting that the stitches are generally more spaced out than I make mine. Looks far better !!
Thanks!
I'm so glad you posted this. I really like my hand sewn eyelets now, and fighting the machine to make nice buttonholes is just not worth it to me. Now I'll try some hand sewn button holes!
Button holes are one of the scariest tasks in sewing ... Right up there with modern zippers. My modern machine has a button hole foot which allows me to produce consistant button holes quickly based off of the exact buttons being used on the project. However, nowhere in the operators manual does it tell me all the details needed to actually make the stitching turn out correctly.
Now, that I have seen your tutorial, I'm less intimidated by buttonholes with a better understanding as to why even the machine stitched ones always turn out terribly. According to your expertise, my two biggest problems are the fact that my machine uses the commerical thread which you pointed out as being no good, and that the interfacing I have generally used is also a cheap commerically available option that I now understand to be just as useless as the aforementioned thread.
Thank you as always for the amazing insights that even most PBS experts just don't have. Also, as another commentor pointed out, thank you for filming in a first person perspective. It makes it far easier to understand and duplicate the work.
Update: I used horrible modern all purpose thread with this technique to repair a fraying button hole on a pair of denim shorts. It isn't beautiful, but this was for a hidden button which only needed function. I thank you again. This skill is going to get used a lot more now.
I only have to hear your intro music to know I'm in for a treat. This was soooo interesting, many thanks.
You are an absolute godsend Nicole! Thank you so much for the time and effort you spend to share your knowledge.
Thanks so much for this video! It was super informative. I like making hand buttonholes and now mine are going to look really nice!
This is fascinating! I enjoyed seeing the garments up close. Thank you.
Have you ever thought about putting together a technique book? I would completely love a book from you
Thank you! That was great, I learned so much. I often have to look it up to remember how to do a buttonhole stitch, so I will definitely come back to this video again and again
even though I was just adding a hidden button to jeans, I found this tutorial super useful! the camera placement was on point and you did a great job at explaining everything as well as why you made those decisions.
I do have a question tho: if you were to use 30m polyester thread what problems may come up in the long term?
This is a fantastic video done very well. Very informative.
I don't have good sewing patience, but my buttonholes are much better off than they would have otherwise been (probably non-existent)
The way these loops are created and joined reminds me of crochet.
I saw only the butt part of the buttonhole and had never clicked the video so fast.😂 I was expecting a video about butt ruffles 😂
Ok! I am going to do this today. I kinda hope you are on Twitch in case I have questions. I've never made a buttonhole before and I'm scared. I did add some beetled linen, so at least I should have a good foundation.
I’ve also sewn buttonholes with two strands of embroidery thread. It’s wonderful if you want a more decorative look
Thank you for this valuable learning tool - your video was so clear and easy to follow - you have a flair for teaching I think.
This is such a great tutorial! Thank you for explaining and showing everything so clearly.
Why did I read "how to sew buttholes" and yet, seeing it's Nicole's video still clicked right away? 😂 Love You, You beautiful, talented being!
Excellent tutorial. Thank you for the detailed explanations and insights. This is very helpful!
As always, so, so interesting and informative. For your last example, if your buttonhole was only open so far, would you put the bar tack in at the end of the opening, or at the end of the complete long buttonhole, or both? Thank you, Nicole, you are an amazing créatrice and historienne du costume. E-pou-stouf-flante !
Thank you so much, I love the in depth tutorial. I hope that there are more to come!
Trying to teach myself Death head buttons and Dorset buttons. Would love you input on those!
Those are my favorites! I'm always looking for an excuse to make those.
Gina B Silkworks has videos on both of those that I've found very helpful!
(I have a video on Death's head buttons too, and one on 18th century fabric covered buttons)
Thank you, vincentbriggs1780. I did find Gina B Silkworks videos. I also watched yours, great videos! New subscriber!
Спасибо за подробный мастер-класс! 😊👏👏👏👏👏
Saving to my sewing folder! Will need to refer to this later! Thank you!
Muito obrigado pelos ensinamentos. Me tirou muitas dúvidas. Parabéns pelo trabalho 👏🏼👏
Some things in regards to 18th century button holes. Warning, what amounts to a not so small essay ahead, but if you want some good tips and facts I collected together in some years of making 18th century men`s wear, this might be informative/helpful.
First, Nicole said that she does not wax her silk thread/twist. From what I have seen in my research, waxing the silk twist was common practice in the 18th century. No only as it helps to make the button hole stitching cleaner and more regular, but also to shape them. (less common later on, as with the button holes she makes here, so she is correct for the 19th century here.)
On making the more regular and cleaner, a thing one should do when preparing the silk thread for 18th century buttonholes is, to take the thread after waxing and "strumm" it. To do that one either ties it to something thats not going to move, grabs the other end pulling it taught and then goes along the legth with the other hand strumming it like an instruments string, or, you hold one end tightly with your non dominant hand and grab the thread next to it with your four fingers pressing it the the palm to pull it taught, and then let it slip out under a good amount of tension while at the same time strumming it with the thumb going along the whole length. Might sound like some superstitious thing to do, but it really does make the thread easier to work with and makes the buttonhole a lot straighter. The going thery is that it evens out the tension in the thread and aligns all the fibres, so that there will be no pulling in the finished button hole due to residual tension or the thread being a bit more tightly wound in some areas that leads to it becoming a bit wonky. The wax is an important part there as it helps to even out the thread and bind the fibres together so they can be evened out better.
The shaping part is just as, if not more important. Many people ask how people in the 18th century managed to stitch those very long and decorative raised buttonholes so clean and especially straight.
The truth is, they didn´t. There is a trick to it and it´s ridicoulusly simple. They used a buttonhole mould to shape these raised buttonholes after stitching, the wax working as a binder to help and shape them into the heated metal slit of the "craquette". Basically a small rectangular iron with a slit in it that the buttonhole would be pressed into. If you want to know how those looked, there is two depicted on Plate II in the Tailoring part of Diderot`s Encyclopaedia. (If you don´t speak french or don´t have a translator that can deal with "ye old`french", there is a translation floating around on the net authored by R.W. Trump also known as Robert Sartor, who also penned a few other interesting publications on historical clothing and was a pattern maker and tailor for the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and the Opera Theatre of St. Louis.)
While one will be hard pressed to find one of these today, there is a simple way to do the same thing with a modern steam iron and an improvised tool quickly made at home. All one needs is a piece of hard wood (important that it is not a wood that seeps resin, that a quick way to ruin a garment thats just about finished) and some very basic tools. All that needs to be done is to take the piece of wood (something around 1" wide, 0.5-1" thick and 2-4 inch long) and make a slit in it lengh wise. Usual width for the slit are 1/8" to 1/4" depending on how wide and pronounced the buttonhole will be.
Then the stitched buttonhole is layed into the slit with the inside of the garment up, and with the iron on a low heat is pressed with a bit of steam into it. After the steam hold the iron a ferw more seconds in place to drive out some of the residual moisture, take it away and take a clapper or if you won´t burn yourself your fingers to hold it in till it´s cooled off. Voila, a perfectly straight and even buttonhole.
And another tip, If you cannot find a colour matching gimp, you can just twist one yourself from your buttonhole thread. There is even historical sources mentioning "tailors twisting the gimp". Here is how that is done: th-cam.com/video/ZJ487_bCm34/w-d-xo.html
As the video says, it can also be used to make thicker button hole twist from thinner threads. While I use a drill and don´t do it by hand, (a lot quicker than by hand, just take a length a bit more that twice as long than your piece of button hole twist should be, fix it to a solid point on one end and into the drill on the other, hold the drill quiet loose, let it turn a bit, when it rapidly starts to pull on the drill stop and don´t pull against it or hold it into position or the tread will snap, stop. Then carefully without letting it go and keeping both hlaves seperate, fold it in hald, al let it twist together controlled from the folded end so it does not bunch up or create knots.) it´s how I make my twist because I simply cannot get the right weights of button hole thread/twists where I live. But I can get a wide variety of thin silk sewing thread. The benefit is that I also can to pretty good colour matching because of the wide offer of colours and not being bound to just buying the right weight of silk twist.
On the construction of 18th century button holes. The truth there is that they were very varied. Not only in regards to quality, fashion of the decade or price, but also regionally. There is an interesting divide between the colonies (what is now the US) and the continent (Europe). Namely that for some so far inexplicable reason, People in the colonies tended to take a lot more care in making them, working longer on them and being more careful and cleaner. I have seen many colonial extant garments, and they usually have pretty nice buttonholes, even the "cheaper" stuff although you can tell they were made not as carefully. But that has nothing on the stuff I have seen with European buttonholes. From absolutely wonkey to barley any stitches, you can find everything, even on pretty nice garments. The most agregious example got to be a french broadcloth coat that didn´t even have any button hole stitches at all. Just a few wonky whip stitches to stop the cloth from ripping in half instantly. While you also easily can find clean buttonholes in Europe, there definitely is a noticable difference in mentality.
Construction wise, the button holes had two bar-tacs, one on each side, and did not feature just one and a rounded part on the side the button sits in. Buttonholes for your average garment would often not be longer with a closed and purely decorative part, just a functional button hole fitting the buttons that was stitched "good enough to last". These often also featured no gimp, but just a one length, or at times doubled, of the same thread the stitches were made from as cording to stop it from stretching and warping under strain.
Gimp would be used the moment one got into the more decorative variations.
And in regards to colour matching, while in general the more common choice was to match the colour with the fabric/cloth, it generally wasn´t perfect, except for pretty expensive colthing that could even have thread dyed specifically for it. And matching colours is also not the be all end all. From paintings (because oftentimes the still existing garments are unreliable as the thread often bleaches different to the fabric) we know that, especially with clothing of the more "common" people, contrasting or complimentary colours also were used to make button holes. One example for example I have seen is a painting, depicting a man in a read coat featuring yellow (definitely not gold) button holes. Another was a blue waistcoat with undyed? silk buttonholes, probably imitating/implying corded button holes made in silver metal thread (basically the equivalent of todays cheap Brand Plagiarism from the 18th century).
If anything Else comes to mind I will either edit this, or add it as a comment.
Have a nice day, Peer.
Excellent, thank you for taking the time to show all these details!
I’ve watched this video so many times & learned such a lot, my buttonholes look so much better now thank you Nicole. By the way, there is no ‘T’ in the word ‘across’.
Perfect timing! I'm just about to sew some button holes!
Like many comments above, thank you so so much, this was so helpful, you really thought us how to do this professionally.
Thank you for this fantastic tutorial What TYPE &!SIZE NEEDLE IS BEST TO USE FOR THESR BUTTPNHOLES PLEASE?
Thankyou so much Nicole.
Oh man those key hole button holes are so pretty! And the cording 😍 I have hand sewn button holes before, but I messed up the knots by doing blanket stitches. I am looking forward to use your fool-proof technique! P.S.: could I use sewing thread as well? Or is it too thin?
Do you steam and press your buttonholes afterwards? I always do, and usually give it a tap with a mallet from the backside to completely set the stitches to the fabric. Yes, it's probably overkill, but it works for me, so do it I will.
Masterful, thanks Nicole.
This was such a good tutorial. thank you for uploading ❤😊❤