Quilting Sewing Creating

I learned how to make buttonholes years ago in Home Ec Class. I didn’t even know that I should be nervous. So I wasn’t and you shouldn’t be either. I am here to help you. In fact, it’s my post as part of the Back to School blog hop.

Let’s learn how to make a buttonhole step by step. I think the most important step is to consult the manual that came with your sewing machine. Those suckers are full of great info!

As you can see, I have a Bernina. Previously, I had an Elna and before that, all Singers. The basic process is the same.

After reading your manual, find your buttonhole foot and the button you want to use. I have my Bernina foot here and an old Singer foot. They are very similar.

The main difference between the Singer and the Bernina is that the button fit into the foot for the Singer, I had to gauge the size I wanted on my Bernina. See the little red arrow? I placed it below the button.

Once the buttonhole foot is attached to your machine, find the stitch on your machine to make a buttonhole. I have one in the basic stitches and two more in the extended stitches.

Next check and see if your bobbin needs any adjustment for a button hole.

My Bernina did. Can you see the red arrow? I had to thread that hole to make the tension a bit tighter. It’s the only stitch for which I do that.

Insert your bobbin into the bobbin case and close. Thread the machine as you normally would. 

Check your machine to make sure that the buttonhole stitch is indeed selected. See the pink arrow? It shows which part of the buttonhole your machine is doing.

Really, the machine does all the work. If your machine doesn’t have a button hole stitch you will use wide, close zig zag stitches at the top and bottom and small ones on both sides.

Always make a practice buttonhole first. I just grabbed a scrap from my garbage can and used it. Don’t be mad that I was throwing a bit of fabric away!

Lower the pressure foot and press down on your pedal. The machine will do all the work except my Bernina doesn’t know when I want to stop on the first line of zig zags. See the pink arrow?

Next to it is the red guide on the foot itself where I measured against the button. That is where I want to stop.  On my machine I have to press the reverse button.

You can see it to the right. I put a thicker pink arrow there. If I don’t turn the machine off or change stitches it will keep that stopping and reverse point. See how smart these machines are?

You can see the half made buttonhole on the left. Once I pressed the reverse button, the machine made regular stitches back up to the top. Then it made the top tack.

Can you see the regular stitches? I put another, yes, PINK arrow!

The machine will now make another row of zig zag stitching and the bottom tack. 

Ta da! You are all done, your practice is over. I always do a couple of practice buttonholes because I don’t generally do them every day.  It looks great, yes?

I like it also. If it were a real buttonhole that you were putting into a project, you would need to slit it open.

I use my little scissors with very sharp points. I have slit through the tacks with my seam ripper, it just went too fast. I have more control with the scissors.

Once it is cut apart make sure there are no hanging threads. Also slip the button through it so if it’s too long or short you can adjust before you make the final ones.

You are now a buttonhole expert. Be proud. If you’re not, go make a few more practice ones.

Now you can make a shower curtain. Only twelve button holes! And garments or buttoned bags.

No problem for you, you just learned how to make a buttonhole.

Sew happy!

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Need help on sewing on a button? Putting in a zipper?

Did you check out all the other blogs on this blog hop?

The Back to School Blog hop kicked off on September 1 and runs through the entire month, and little of October too as there’s just so much great info to share! Hop along with some of our industry’s pros to get tips and tricks for your quilting and sewing studio.

Sept 1: Peta Minerof-Bartos of PetaQuilts – So, Does that Diagonal Method for a Pieced Backing Really Work

Sept 2: Cheryl Sleboda of Muppin.com – The Quilter’s Knot

Sept 3: Teresa Coates of Crinkle Dreams – The Importance of Pressing

Sept 4: Cath Hall of Wombat Quilts – Color Coding for Paper-piecing

Sept 5: Sam Hunter of Hunter’s Design Studio – How to Calculate and Cut Bias Binding

Sept 6: Melanie McNeil of Catbird Quilt Studio – Credit where Credit is Due

Sept 7: Mandy Leins of Mandalei Quilts – How to Keep a Perfect 1/4” Seam Between Different Machines

Sept 8: Rose Hughes of Rose Hughes – Fast Pieced Applique

Sept 9: Megan Dougherty of The Bitchy Stitcher – The Care and Feeding of the Domestic Sewing Machine

Sept 10: Lynn Krawczyk of Smudged Design Studio – Make a Mobile Art Kit

Sept 11: Susan Beal of West Coast Crafty – Log Cabin 101

Sept 12: Sarah Lawson of Sew Sweetness – Zipper Tips

Sept 13: Jane Victoria of Jolly and Delilah – Matching Seams

Sept 14: Jemelia Hilfiger of jemjam.com  – Garment Making Tips and Tricks

Sept 15: Ebony Love of LoveBug Studios – Curved Piecing Without Pins

Sept 16: Misty Cole of Daily Design Wall – Types of Basting

Sept 17: Kim Lapacek of Persimon Dreams – Setting your Seams

Sept 18: Christina Cameli of A Few Scraps – Joining Quilted Pieces by Machine

Sept 19: Bill Volckening of WonkyWorld – The Importance of Labels

Sept 20: Jessica Darling of Jessica Darling – How to Make a Quilt Back

Sept 21: Debbie Kleve Birkebile of Mountain Trail Quilt Treasures – Perfectly Sized No-Wave Quilt Borders

Sept 22: Heather Kinion of Heather K is a Quilter – Baby Quilts for Baby Steps

Sept 23: Michelle Freedman of Design Camp PDX – TNT: Thread, Needle, Tension

Sept 24: Kathy Mathews of Chicago Now Quilting Sewing Creating – Button Holes

Sept 25: Jane Shallala Davidson of Quilt Jane – Corner Triangle Methods

Sept 27: Cristy Fincher of Purple Daisies Quilting – The Power of Glue Basting

Sept 28: Catherine Redford of Catherine Redford – Change the Needle!

Sept 29: Amalia Teresa Parra Morusiewicz of Fun From A to Z – French Knots, – ooh la la!

Sept 30: Victoria Findlay Wolfe of Victoria Findlay Wolfe Quilts – How to Align Your Fabrics for Dog Ears

October 1: Tracy Mooney of 3LittleBrds – Teaching Kiddos to Sew on a Sewing Machine

October 2: Trish Frankland, guest posting on Persimon Dreams – The Straight Stitch Throat Plate

October 3: Flaun Cline of I Plead Quilty – Lining Strips Up