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Teach Yourself to Sew

How to Select the Right Buttonhole for the Job

Hand-sewn-look buttonhole

In “Buttonhole Basics” from Teach Yourself to Sew, Threads #168 (August/September 2013), author Linda Lee shares her favorite buttonhole tips and techniques. There are many different buttonhole options and its important to know the differences among them. To help make that all-important decision, we’ve put together a handy guide on how to select the best buttonhole for your garment type and fabric choice.

     

Print the buttonhole selection guide and keep it at your sewing station. You’ll never second-guess which buttonhole to sew again!

NEW FROM TEACH YOURSELF TO SEW
We’ve been busy working on two new projects: Teach Yourself to Sew, Season 4 and the new edition of Teach Yourself to Sew, Special Issue. Season 4 will be available for pre-order in July 2013, and our special issue will hit newstands in November 2013. Learn more!

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  1. JoyElbert | | #1

    Thank you for the great article on buttonholes in the September 2013 issue. I might want to suggest one very important ommision to the steps in creating the perfect buttonhole - threading the "finger" on your bobbin case. I went on for years doing buttonholes until I went to a training for my new Bernina machine some years ago and the instructor pointed out the hole on the "finger" is for threading the bobbin thread thru before making buttonholes. The difference was incredible. It took my buttonhole making to a higher level immediately. Please pass this along to the readers - they will be amazed as I was. Happy sewing.

  2. User avater
    user-2737395 | | #2

    Joy, Thank you for the post. I am a beginner so I had to go look for this hole on the bobbin case and mine does not have one. Is this something on an upscale machine? I have a Jenome.

  3. dickie_davis | | #3

    Machine buttonholes are quick, but they are so very ugly. I would urge people to learn to sew real hand-worked buttonholes; even if they are not used for every garment. Once the technique is mastered (and it's not as difficult as people like to make out) one can produce them at 1 every 20 minutes, or faster.

    Learning to sew means more than just buying a machine and learning its functions.

  4. seanbell3 | | #4

    Congratulations ! Great work

  5. Januk | | #5

    Thank you so very much for the free download about different types of buttonholes.
    Happy Easter too everyone.

  6. FrancesC | | #6

    I don't think machine made buttonholes are ugly. Mine look just fine to me. And I have an old sewing machine (an Elna) that doesn't do templates, so I can only do the standard rectangular buttonholes. No rounded ends or other fancies.

    If you don't want to make bound buttonholes, and I don't, then the standard is fine. I think that you make things more difficult or complicated than necessary.

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