Bound Buttonholes (3953 Views)

Bound buttonholes are fabulous on coats and jackets. All you need is a little patience..and oh, practice on scrap fabric first :)

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Step 1 of 9

Mark the position of the buttonholes on the fabric. This project is for a 3/4 to 1 inch button. The hole is 3/8 by 1 inch. Draw a line at the center of the figure, making sure it's centered properly, since this will determine the proportion on the face of the buttonhole.
Step 2 of 9

Cut pieces of 3" by 3" cloth (you may cut a different colored fabric for design).
Step 3 of 9

Pin the patches on the back of marked fabric, right side facing each other. I placed the patches in a bias.
Step 4 of 9

Sew along the marking (except the middle line).
Step 5 of 9

Slit the center and cut the ends at an angle. The angles should be cut to the point of the stitches but make sure not to graze the stitches.
Step 6 of 9

Turn the patch to the inside part, passing through the cut center. Iron flat.
Step 7 of 9

Pin upper and lower part towards each other, bind the raw edge inside the pinned portion.
Step 8 of 9

Taking care not to misplace the pins, flip over the fabric and sew the edge twice to secure the buttonhole form. Do this on both sides. Iron flat.
Step 9 of 9

This project is a reversible vest so I just did the bound buttonholes on both sides without doing any hand basting. But for projects with lining or facing, just sew an identical rectangle on the facing/lining as marked on exact spot of the bound buttonhole. Slit as you did the buttonhole and fold back all cut fabric inside. Handstitch the facing/lining into place around the back of the buttonhole.

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COMMENTS (9)

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nayantara Ï Posted 11 October 2007 at 2:37 PM
http://miseryandco.tumblr.com/

This is a great How To! Very well explained. I'll admit these buttonholes have never been my strong suit, but maybe I'll give them a try!
elainemay Ï Posted 14 October 2007 at 5:25 AM

thanks myk :) maybe i'll work up the courage to use these on a project soon!
merixf Ï Posted 14 October 2007 at 4:24 PM

Ask and ye shall receive! I just submitted this as a suggestion for a how-to a couple of weeks ago, and voila! Thanks so much for this!
Myk Ï Posted 15 October 2007 at 8:40 AM

Thanks! I'm glad this could be of help to you guys. It just so happened that we have been into bound buttonholes in school :)
squirrellypoo Ï Posted 16 October 2007 at 11:28 AM
feisty

I'm with you right up until step 7 - I honestly can't see what you did from 6 to get to 7... are you sewing just through the little piece of fabric or the garment? I can't visualise what you're doing there. :(
Myk Ï Posted 16 October 2007 at 2:06 PM

Hi Squirrellypoo, from from the 6th step up to the 7th requires no sewing first, this is setting up the face of the buttonhole. From the 6th step, facing the wrong side of the garment with the patch laid out in front of you, fold the top of the patch towards the center of the rectangle you cut in the middle. Do this again with the bottom part (with the little piece of the extra cloth in rectangle bound inside). If you flip the garment on the right side, the folded patch should be equal. Then the sewing part for step 8. :)
squirrellypoo Ï Posted 17 October 2007 at 7:18 AM
feisty

ahhh. I think I've got you now, thanks! So step 7 is just creating the little "lips" that show through the hole?
Myk Ï Posted 17 October 2007 at 9:21 AM

yup :)
Lilo Ï Posted 24 October 2007 at 5:57 AM

thanks, great how-to! I'll try it out one of these days, looks great on winter jackets.