Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, we'll be discussing a necessary skill for any well-dressed gentleman, sewing
buttons onto your garments.
We're going to share techniques for shirts, trousers, jackets, outerwear, and these techniques
can be applied to most any other kind of garment as well.
It's safe to say that most of us, if not all, have probably had some experience with a button
coming loose on a garment.
Not only can it be embarrassing if it happens in front of others but it can also shorten
the useful life of a garment.
You could, of course, take the garment into a tailor to have the button reattached but
a simple and cost-effective solution is just learning how to reattach a button yourself.
With this in mind, let's get started on today's tutorials by outlining the different materials
you're going to want to have handy.
Of course, a sewing needle is going to be your main tool here.
Any type of basic needle will do but generally, the slimmer the needle you have, the better
for this application.
In terms of thread, having about nine to twelve inches will be enough for most situations,
however, if you want to double your thread over to make it stronger, doubling the amount
of thread would also be necessary.
Therefore, you'll probably want about eighteen to twenty-four inches of thread in total.
Ideally, you're going to want to have a thread that matches the thread used on the garment
but if you don't have something in exactly the same color, it's typically safe to just
use a light colored thread for light garments and dark colored thread for dark ones.
We're also going to need a button, of course.
Most button-up shirts will have spare buttons on the inside of the bottom front of the shirt's
placket.
Most jackets and outerwear will come with some spare buttons typically in a small plastic
bag inside one of the pockets and many pairs of trousers will often have a spare button
on the inside of the waistband.
As another note, there are buttons with differing amounts of holes.
The standard button will have four holes but you'll also occasionally see buttons with
two holes or even less commonly some other amount.
The main methods we will be illustrating today concern four-holed buttons but they could
apply to buttons with different amounts of holes as well.
There are also certain types of buttons that have no holes whatsoever, these are referred
to as shank buttons and they require a slightly different method of sewing which we'll cover
toward the end of the video.
You're also going to want a small implement called a spacer to be placed on top of the
button while sewing, this will leave a little bit of extra room between the button itself
and the fabric and we'll explain why that's important later on.
For your spacer, you could use another sewing needle, a matchstick, or any similarly sized
tool.
Some sewing kits will also come with a small metal rod that has two blunt ends, you can
use this one without having to worry about poking yourself as you would if you were using
a second needle.
You're also going to need a cutting tool, this could be a pair of scissors, a pocketknife,
a seam ripper, or any other sharp-edged object.
A water-soluble marking pen, fabric pencil, or tailor's chalk can also be helpful if you
want to make a small mark on the fabric of your garment where the button is going to
be located.
An optional tool here is a thimble.
If you've ever wondered what that monopoly piece is actually for, when you're working
with thick fabric, it can sometimes be a little painful to actually push the needle all the
way through.
As such, you can wear a thimble on the thumb or finger that primarily does the pushing.
If you're traveling and don't have some or any of the above supplies, you can ask the
front desk at a hotel for an emergency sewing kit.
We'll start with what we're going to call step zero which is removing a loose button
from a shirt.
If your button is loose but still hanging on, you should use your cutting tool to take
away the thread that's still keeping the button on the shirt.
A seam ripper will work best for this but you can also use a different type of cutting
tool, just make sure that you're not damaging the fabric of the shirt itself.
Next, just use your cutting tool or your fingers to remove any excess old thread that still
happens to be hanging on to either the button or the garment.
Step one then is to thread your needle and knot the end of the thread.
Another optional tool you might want to have handy is a little implement called a needle
threader, these will come in some sewing kits and they make the process of threading a needle
much easier.
If you're just working with single thread, just pass the thread through the needle and
tie a couple of simple overhand knots to make sure things are secure.
If you have doubled your thread over, you can create a knot by wrapping the thread around
your forefinger several times, roll the loops that are created into a tight bundle with
your thumb, then slip that bundle off of your finger.
You can grip the bundled loops with one hand and tug the long end of the thread tight with
the other hand, this should pull the loose bundle into a tight knot that you can work
with.
Step two is to create your anchor point.
This is the time to make a small mark on your fabric where the button will be located if
you so choose but this is optional.
To create your anchor, start by looking at the back side of the fabric, run the needle
through from the back side to the front then move a short distance, the distance between
holes on your button and run the thread back through from the front side to the back side.
Repeat this process one more time perpendicular to the first small line of thread you created
on the garment.
This will create a small X where the button is going to be centered.
The X is also the anchor for your thread to make sure that that doesn't loosen up while
you're sewing.
Step three is to position the button.
Put your button on the anchor X point and begin sewing by pushing the needle from the
back side through to the front side and through the hole of the button.
You can place your spacer on top of the button and put the needle through the opposite hole
in the button, back to the backside of the fabric.
You can put a finger on the button to make sure that things are secure while you're making
your first few passes.
Using the anchoring X on the fabric as a guide, you can alternate between sets of holes or
you can do one set and then the other.
You can make six passes in total; three for each set of holes on the button.
When the button is secured, you can remove the spacer.
Step four is to create what's called the shank.
On your final pass from the backside to the front, come back up through the fabric but
don't go through one of the holes of the button.
Turn the needle slightly and bring it out from underneath the button.
Wrap your thread tightly around all of the threads beneath the button at least six times
in total.
You've now created a shank which will stand the button away from the fabric, this will
make it easier to button your garment since the button won't be sitting directly and tightly
against the fabric.
Pull to make sure things are secured here and then put the needle back through from
the front side to the back side.
Step five is to tie things off to make sure they're secure.
With both ends of your thread on the backside of the fabric, you can use your needle to
make a small loop in one part of the thread.
You can use the needle to guide the thread through that loop to create a knot or you
can snip the thread off of the needle and just tie the knot with your fingers.
Either way, it's key to make sure that your knot is tight here.
For extra security, you can always add a few more knots just to make sure things aren't
going to come loose.
Cut off the excess thread on the back side of the fabric when you're done and your button
is successfully reattached to your shirt.
These directions can be used particularly effectively on shirts and trousers but jackets
and overcoats are going to require some different methods that will work a little bit better.
Overcoat buttons can be sewn on in the exact same method as with shirts or trousers but
sometimes, you'll see this done with another smaller button swen on simultaneously to the
main button on the back side of the fabric.
Metal buttons can also benefit from having a stay attached on the reverse, as metal buttons
can be heavier or made from more valuable materials so you wouldn't want to lose them.
Also, to get metal buttons to stand up as straight as possible, you can use a waxed
thread which is going to be a little bit more durable.
Metal buttons are quite often shank buttons, we will cover how to sew on a shank button
in a moment.
Sewing buttons on to a suit can be done in the same way that we've just outlined for
shirts but it's often done with a slightly different technique so that there's no visible
knotting on the backside of the fabric.
Here, you can start the same way as before by marking your button placement if you so
choose, threading your needle, and making a large knot in your length of thread which
should still ideally be 18 to 24 inches and doubled over for strength.
Next, insert your needle into the front side of the fabric about 3/4 of an inch away from
your mark but stop the needle point between the layers of fabric.
Don't go all the way through to the backside.
Work your needle over to the mark you created and then bring your needle point back out
through the front.
Next, using the loop method we outlined before, create a small knot at your mark just to make
sure that things are secured at this point.
It's also helpful to do this another time or two just to make sure that things are absolutely
stable.
When knots are secured at your buttoning point, pull on the big knot, the one that you originally
created with the thread to bunch up the fabric and expose some of the internal threading
that's inside the layers of the jacket.
If you clip off the big knot and then release the bunched up fabric, the tails of the thread
will slip in between the layers of the jacket so you won't be able to see them.
In other words, you've got a good amount of thread to keep the knots at yourmarking point
secure but because it's neatly inside of the jacket's layers, you won't see it.
Next, insert your needle through one of the holes in the button.
Hold the button against the coat and place your spacer over the button as with the previous
method.
Put the thread through the button and again, in between the
jacket's layers.
You're going to repeat the sewing process without ever exiting out of the back side
of the fabric.
Each time you make contact with the front side of the fabric in other words, you're
just going to pick up a little bit of that fabric layer.
Never go all the way through the jacket.
Make your six passes as before, wrap around to create the shank, insert the needle at
the base of the shank, and knot a few times to secure it.
After knotting, put your needle in between the jacket's layers again.
Work the needle three-quarters of an inch away from the button and come out the front
side again.
Essentially, this is a reverse of the way we started this particular process.
Pull tight, clip the thread closely to the fabric and release so that your final tail
of thread will also be hidden between the jacket's layers.
Now, you've got your button reattached to your jacket with no visible tails of thread
anywhere and everything is knotted and secured.
Now, we've mentioned shank buttons a few times already throughout the course of the video.
As we said, a shank button differs from a standard button and then it doesn't feature
any buttonholes.
To sew a shank button on to a garment, start as before with 18 to 24 inches of thread,
doubled and knotted.
You can use less thread overall with a shank button if you wish though, as you won't have
to wrap the thread around itself to create the shank.
The anchor that you create on the fabric will probably be simpler here as well.
Start on the back side and run through to the front.
Move your needle a short distance only slightly greater than the width of the shank itself
and pull it through from the front to the back.
Move the needle back to your original point on this side and put it through from the back
side to the front side.
Now, your simple anchor for this style of button is done.
Next, run the needle through the button shank and then go through the fabric from the front
side to the back side.
Repeat this process several times until you feel that the button is secure against the
fabric.
With the thread on the back side, use a simple knot or two or more to tie off the thread
and then cut off the excess.
You can either run the needle all the way through the fabric as we've just outlined
or you can combine this method of sewing on a shank button with the method we outline
for sewing buttons onto a jacket without going all the way through.
Also, you can feel free to use a stay button on the back side of the fabric with a shank
button if you so choose and there you have it!
Armed with these simple sewing techniques, you should be able to attach or reattach buttons
to your garments and prolong their usable life.
What's more, you won't have to depend on a tailor in order to have this done.
Are there tips with any of these methods that you think we missed today?
Or do you prefer a different sewing method altogether that we didn't mention?
If so, share with us in the comments below
And as always a reminder to subscribe to the channel and hit the little bell icon so that
way videos like these will come straight to your inbox
in today's video I'm wearing items that feature different kinds of buttons my off-white shirt
which has French cuffs is from Charles Tyrwhitt it features conventional four hole buttons
and while my brown slacks are primarily held together in the front with metal sliding fasteners
they do feature conventional four hole buttons elsewhere meanwhile my vintage camel-hair
sport coat features shank buttons my socks are also brown in color and feature a subtle
diamond pattern and my shoes which you've seen before are my tan wingtip derbys that
feature heavy broguing most of my accessories today come from Fort Belvedere starting with
my silk bourette bow tie which features a beige and dark brown houndstooth also from
Fort Belvedere are my small Edelweiss boutonniere and my gold Eagle Claw cufflinks which feature
tiger's eye as the stone all of these accessories are available in the Fort Belvedere shop here
rounding out the outfit today is my vintage Brown pocket square which features a paisley
design at its center of green beige purple
and orange.