How To Machine Sew A Buttonhole And Button
Tools
To start, you'll need:
your machine
fabric
a buttonhole foot
button
thread
That's it!
Sewing a Machine Buttonhole
You'll want to start by making sure your buttonholes are clearly marked on your fabric. This is essential to making sure the spacing is even and a row of them will line up correctly. For the purpose of this tutorial, I'm sewing a single hole on a scrap, so I don't have marks, but on an actual project I would.
Once you have your markings in place, grab your buttonhole foot. It should look something like the picture above. Long and plastic, with a movable piece at the back end. This is where you place your button. And this button is how your machine knows what size to sew the hole. I always find it easier to add the button before attaching it to my machine.
Once the foot is attached and the button in place, you're ready to go. Place your fabric under the foot, making sure the needle is directly over the end of the buttonhole nearest to you and is straight. Also, make sure you lower the lever to the left of your needle (silver in my picture). That lever and the button are your machine's way of getting the hole the perfect size.
For this tutorial, I used the standard buttonhole setting ("0" here), but there are other buttonholes you can do too, shown below:
30-33 are all different types of buttonholes too. For the purpose of lightweight woven fabrics, the standard setting is best. Once you have your setting chosen, just hit the pedal and the machine does the rest! Super easy!
The last step is to cut down the center, taking care not to clip any of the stitches. A small, sharp pair of scissors or nippers is best for this job.
Sewing a Button
This is one thing I have always been terrified to try, so I'm sure there are a lot of you out there who feel the same. I can confidently say though, that it isn't as bad as you think! So, grab your button and the standard sewing foot and let's do this!
Youll start by placing your button under the foot with the holes centered on the foot.
Set your machine to the button setting. Mine looks like a simple drawing of a button.
Now, slowly lower your needle by hand until it goes through the first little hole. Re-adjust as needed. Keep turning until the needle comes up and moves over the next hole. Make sure you're doing all of this by raising the lowering the needle by hand. If it's outside the second hole, pause, and readjust the width of your stitch until you have it right. Once you've been through both holes by hand in a row, hit that pedal! It'll finish it up and stop on its own when it's done! See, I told you it was way scarier in your head!
Now you have a perfectly sewn pair... button and buttonhole together!
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