Tuesday, October 29, 2013

So Sew! Day 29: Putting in a Buttonhole

Welcome to day 29 of our 31 Days sewing series! Lets learn how to make a buttonhole.


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Today's tutorial explains how to make a buttonhole in a garment. Your machine will probably be a bit different than mine, but hopefully this will help you get an idea of how it works. This is one project when I can honestly say your machine does most of the work. Gotta love that, right? =)

To put in a buttonhole, you need a special foot for the job. Here is a picture of mine:


It attaches to the machine just like any other foot. Here it is compared to a regular presser foot.


Practically the only work you have to do with this is the prep work. Measure how big a buttonhole you'll need. If you are using a pattern, it will have the exact measurements and position on the pattern. If not, just measure and mark it yourself.


I also have to measure that length on my foot, to know how to line it up.


Put the foot on the machine and line it up with the marks on your fabric. Start at the top of the buttonhole.


Here are the settings on my machine dials for this stitch. The stitch length dial needs to be in the red, which means a very close stitch.


My stitch dial actually has 3 different settings for this stitch. I start in position 1 - a very good place to start. :)


 Start sewing. The machine will make tiny stitches down the right side of the foot.


When you get to the bottom, change the dial to position 2/4:


This will make stitches across the whole width of the bottom of the buttonhole. Make as many as you want!


Then change the dial to position 3, and the machine will automatically go backward making stitches up the left side.



Lastly, put the dial back in position 2/4 again and make some stitches across the top. Then because I feel my machine doesn't make close enough stitches, I go around one more time to make sure this thing is going to hold for the long haul.


This finishes the sewing part. See how the machine did it all? All you have to do is turn the dial!


Now just open that buttonhole up in the middle. I find using a seam ripper is the easiest way.



Aaaand, you're done! Great job!


Challenge: Read your machine's manual to find out how your buttonholer operates. Test it out a few times on some scrap fabric. Do you find it easy or complicated? What are the settings for your machine?


Other posts in this series:
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2 comments:

  1. AmandaOctober 30, 2013 at 9:18 AM

    I loved it when I figured out my button hole settings. It was the most amazing discover to me, lol. However, let me just say, that you can use this setting without the foot, lol...I lost mine, sigh. It's somewhere in this big ol' apartment but I have yet to find it and have some necessary projects that needed finishing. But it did work without the foot, lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NicoleOctober 30, 2013 at 10:05 PM

      Well, that is good to know! Although I hope you find it! =)

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