Getting Ready for Buttonholes
Next week’s challenge asks us to make something with buttons. Now, that doesn’t mean they have to be working buttons. Embellishments are fine too! But if you’re going to attempt buttonholes for the first time, here are a couple tutorials that should help:
- How to Use The Dritz Bound Buttonhole Tool over at the Coletterie. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve run into this vintage tool at Alameda, estate sales and flea markets. And they’re usually still in their packages. I know I have at least three of them (Why I buy them each time, I do not know?0 Without detailed instructions, the tool seems a bit overwhelming. Thankfully, The Coletterie has photo-illustrated instructions on how to use this little tool. For this week’s challenge, I’m going to attempt to make bound buttonholes. One, because it’s a technical challenge. And two, I can’t find my buttonhole foot for my machine.
- Gertie’s Bound Buttonhole Tutorial. Gertie explains how to make bound buttonholes without using a fancy tool like the Dritz one above.
- Handmade Buttonholes in Three Variations from the Coletterie. Old school.
- How to make Hand Worked Buttonholes from A Fashionable Stitch
- How to Make a Buttonhole from Sew, Mama, Sew!
- Brother Buttonhole Snap-on Foot Tutorial. This is the foot I use when I can actually find it.
- Sewing Buttonholes and Buttons from Dana Made It. This uses a standard buttonhole, not automatic buttonhole foot.
I chose a pattern with buttons and cut all the pieces out then realised in needs bound buttonholes where I was just planning normal button holes. Oh well! It’s all about giving yourself a challenge isn’t it? I hope they work out. Thanks for sharing the tutorials.
You can substitute worked buttonholes for bound, just put them in the same place. I do, anyway. :)
I will have to pass the buttonhole challenge out because I have too much paid work piling up, but thanks for those links. I love that Dritz Bound Buttonhole tool – it seems to make bound buttonholes quite easy (I have shyed away from these so far). It won’t be easy to get one of these since I am living in Germany. Will have to try to get one when we visit the Bay Area this year.
Great post! I found the brother buttonhole tutorial the most helpful since I have one and couldn’t figure out how to use it. I didn’t know the lever pulled down…no wonder it wouldn’t work. :)
Thank you posting this buttonhole information. I want to learn buttonholes and just have not gotten the hang of it. Maybe with all of these information links I will actually learn how to make them.