Buttonholes are functional, but they can also serve as a decorative element. Louise Cutting, a Threads contributing editor, reveals several ways to use buttons and buttonholes to personalize garments you’ve sewn or purchased.

Buttonhole spacing

An important aspect of a button closure is the button spacing. Louise shows how to use a SimFlex Expanding Sewing Gauge to properly and evenly space buttonholes. She suggests starting with a buttonhole at the level of the bust apex, to prevent gaping, and spacing buttonholes evenly above and below this point.

Creative button closures

Among the design ideas Louise mentions are using a single, long buttonhole to accommodate several small, closely spaced buttons; stitching many nonfunctional buttonholes along an edge as an embellishment, and mixing different buttons on a garment’s placket for a playful effect.