How to Sew a Buttonhole (and let your machine do all the work!)

Today we are talking buttonholes…and I know, I really do know.  Some of you are still afraid of them.  I was.  I would *conveniently* ask my Home Ec. teacher to “show” me how to do a buttonhole over and over and she would end up “showing” me but doing the whole thing for me.  It was my trick for years.  And then later it was my mom…until one day, I said that it was time to learn the buttonhole.  That was years ago and now I laugh at how scared I was of something….but it seemed so daunting.

Trust me, if I can do it—you can too!

And by the way, your sewing machine will really do all the work for you these days!  (REALLY.)

I put together 2 videos with two different types of buttonhole attachments so hopefully you can relate to one of them.  Or at least have the courage today to open your manual and figure it out.  I promise after you have done the first set of 3 you will be hooked!

So here you go.  One more thing….liZ and I were laughing the other day that we are the “Julia Child” of sewing.  Seriously.  Just watch the video and me dropping things and saying “left” when I mean “right.”  Sheesh…….it’s quite embarrassing.  But if it takes a little embarrassment to get you to put in a buttonhole I will take it…..well, maybe….but not show my face doing it 😉

And the second one is here.

(Again, no judging…..just button-hole sewing!)

And one of our favorite tips with opening buttonholes is to put a pin in the top!  Then your seam ripper won’t rip through the beautiful buttonhole you just made.

Any other buttonhole tips you want to share?  I really would love to hear them.

Our sewing tip today is from Beverly from Flamingo Toes (whom we absolutely adore!).  Here is what she said……

There are so many things I wish I’d known when I started sewing! I think the biggest thing for me though is to not be afraid to try new ways of doing things. I tend to get stuck in a run with different techniques – just because I’ve always done it that way. But as I’ve sewn more – and I know more amazing ladies who sew – I see new methods of doing things that are sometimes soooo much easy than the way I’m doing it! Which kind of leads into my other bit of advice – find some friends that love to sew and share your ideas and projects! Even if you don’t know anyone locally, it is so easy to connect now online. Having a group of friends who sew has really made me a better sewer. I’ve learned so much and I am braver. I’m more willing to try new techniques, patterns and play with fabrics I’ve never used before – maybe having a sewing group will do the same for you!