How to Replace a Button

There are repairs for which a tailor is properly employed, but the replacement of an ordinary button is scarcely among them. Ten minutes, a reasonably bright lamp, and thread near enough in colour will settle the matter, provided one begins before the neighbouring buttons have followed the first into retirement.

Method

Choose a button of the same size and colour, with the same number of holes. Many garments carry a spare inside a seam or upon the care label, where it is generally discovered only after an inferior replacement has been purchased. Cut a length of thread from fingertip to opposite shoulder, pass it through the needle, bring the ends together, and tie a small knot.

Mark the proper position by looking at the buttons above and below. Bring the needle from the inside of the garment so that the knot remains concealed. Pass through the button holes six or eight times, following the same pattern on each journey.

For a coat or thick shirt, leave a little room beneath the button by laying a matchstick across its face while sewing. Remove the stick, wind the thread several times around the stitches beneath the button, and take the needle to the inside.

Make two small securing stitches on the reverse and cut the thread closely. Fasten the button once before putting the garment away.

Common errors

Upon thick cloth, a button sewn flat against the surface will pull and sit badly, which is the reason for making the little shank described above. Check its position against the buttons on either side before the first stitch is secured, and do not continue sewing merely because thread remains upon the needle; six or eight orderly passes hold better than the small nest produced by enthusiasm.