Therefore I decided a while back to take on the buttonhole in a quest for buttonhole perfection. And it seams to have worked, because I don't find buttonholes scary anymore.
This is why I have decided to share my findings with you, so you, too, can be free from buttonhole phobia and know that the very last step in sewing your garment won't ruin it.
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In order to achieve this perfection we need to understand one thing: the buttonhole stitch on your machine is essentially an embroidery stitch.
Because when the sewing machine sews a buttonhole it uses an embroidery stitch: the satin stitch. Therefore we need to approach sewing buttonholes, like we would approach machine embroidery.
This teaches us two lessons:
Lesson No.1: The bobbin thread should not show on the right side of your buttonhole.
You know how you always learn that correct tension means that the top thread and the bobbin thread meet in the middle of your fabric. So, if I showed you the buttonhole below, what would you think?
Maybe you'd think that something was up with the tension, because the black top thread is pulling through to the wrong side. Stop! Don't start fiddling with your tension wheels! Above patient is a perfectly normal buttonhole.
In embroidery, as with buttonholes, we don't want the bobbin thread to show on the right side. Instead we want the machine to tug ever so slightly harder on the bobbin thread so that the bobbin thread pulls the top thread through to the other side.
Most machines should set the tension for buttonhole stitching correctly automatically. On some machines you may have to adjust the tension yourself. For example, on Berninas, you need to put the bobbin thread through the little hole on the bobbin case for extra tension when sewing a buttonhole. But your manual will tell you what to do.
So, don't despair next time you see your top thread pulling through to the other side like this. This just means that your machine is doing a fine job.
Lesson No.2: Use stabilizers
Now think of all the pulling and tugging that's going on in our sample buttonhole above. No fabric in the world could survive that without puckering and bunching up. Therefore, just like in machine embroidery, we need to use stabilizers to avoid puckering and to give the fabric the strength to hold all these close, tiny little stitches. Have a look at these buttonholes and see what you think:
Which one is your favourite?
I made buttonhole No.1 with no stabilizers at all - only fabric. The buttonhole is all misshapen and there a puckers at the ends.
For buttonhole No.2 I used light-weight interfacing, as I would with the type of cotton fabric I used in the sample. However, as you can see, the interfacing is not quite enough to keep the buttonhole from puckering. True, the buttonhole looks a lot better than No.1, but there is still some pulling at the ends.
This is where we turn to the embroidery department and borrow some supplies: tear-away stabilizer. For buttonhole No.3, which shows no puckering whatsoever I used tear-away stabilizer in addition to my regular interfacing and, ta-da, we have an almost perfect buttonhole. Certainly a passable buttonhole.
Now for buttonhole No.4 my absolute favourite: it's essentially the same as buttonhole No.3, only I added a little cord that runs along underneath the buttonhole beads. This gives the buttonhole extra strength, and a slightly raised and tighter appearance. This is what I call perfect. Or as close as I can get to it on my basic mechanical home sewing machine.
So what's tear-away stabilizer, you might ask?
Tear-away stabilizer, also known as Stitch'n'Tear, feels like a mix between paper and fabric. You can buy it in haberdashery shops and it usually comes on a roll and is very cheap. You put it underneath your fabric when sewing and stitch over it. When you are done, you can tear away the stabilizer. Some bits might stay stuck behind but don't worry, they'll come off in the wash. I practically never sew a buttonhole without that stuff. It's magic!
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So, to sum up: Do not attempt to make a buttonhole without interfacing your fabric first. After all, these little stitches need something to hold onto while you keep tugging at them when you close and open your button. And use a stabilizer, that you can either wash away or tear away afterwards to avoid puckering in your fabric.
That's all from me today. I hope this helps some of you who might be struggling with buttonholes on their sewing machines.
Do you have any other tips? What have you learnt from sewing buttonholes? Please share!