submitted by Linda Boston
from Threads #114
When I want to position a series of buttons, buttonholes, snaps, or any sewing detail, I place equally spaced marks on a piece of elastic. I align the first mark on the elastic with the starting point on the garment and stretch the elastic until the correct number of marks fit the space; then I transfer the marks to the garment.
Could you please be more specific about how this works for the buttonholes - I don't have buttonholes set an inch in from the edge so can't picture which way you are doing this?
ie if I have my buttonholes on a shirt or jacket front they are horizontal (not vertical) so putting a line of masking tape down the fronts wouldn't be suitable for my application.
I understood that buttonholes on a jacket/blouse front have the greatest strain happening along the length of the buttonhole - therefore a buttonhole needs to be placed horizontally to allow for the wearer's movements.
If the hole is vertical then any strain on the garment is going to pull the buttonhole open surely?
Cheers
woodsculpting
You would only use this to mark one point on a buttonhole. If you are using horizontal buttonholes, this would obviously be the center line. If you are doing vertical buttonholes, you would need to decide for yourself if the lines yielded by this method are the top, center, or bottom of the buttonholes, then draw the height as usual with your preferred method.