How To Sew Jeans Buttonholes
Sewing Buttonholes in Jeans Firstly, How to Choose Sewing Threads My preferred thread manufacturer is Gütermann This is their Sew All Thread and it is plenty strong enough for sewing jeans Recognize it by the creamy white spool and I quite happily use it for top stitching as well if I haven’t got the time to swap threads This is their Extra Strong Thread as the name says it gives extra life to your seams on really hardworking jeans and comes on a grey spool and this is their Top Stitch Thread which is silky and is thicker than the other two threads and is wound on a yellowy green spool Buttonholes in jeans are not easy for the home sewer.
Automatic Buttonholes don’t look right You’re not looking for perfection This is one way to achieve the authentic look Be prepared to do testing Dig out all your denim fabric scraps You will need Jeans Machine Needles or Top Stitch Needles I’m going to use Extra Strong Thread in the needle and for the bobbin Despite all the advice that tells you to loosen tension when sewing with thick thread I assure you, you want it tight, top and bottom I like to keep a special bobbin case for extreme tensions rather than mess about with my standard bobbin tension Tighten the screw clockwise Testing will help you get it right I’m using a standard zigzag foot and also a Braiding Foot for the cord reinforced buttonholes I’m using the Top Stitch thread as cord It’s much the same as the traditional Gimp Thread Cut a generous length and thread through the braiding hole The thread will be encased in the zigzag and this will make your buttonhole stronger So to testing Do loads of trials You won’t regret it You’re jeans have involved hard work and you don’t want an amateurish looking button hole To test the tension for thick thread get the straight stitch right first I’m using a stitch length a little shorter than the standard setting For the zigzag I found a stitch width set to 2.
3 mm and a stitch length of 8 mm works best for these buttonholes Here is the underside looking good I have the top tension as tight as it will go and the bobbin tension so that there is resistance when pulled - see, no loops! As a general rule I start the buttonhole just under 2” from the waistband edge with a stitch width of 2. 3 mm and a length of 8 mm If you have the feature on your machine set it to stop with the needle down Take a few stitches straight then start to swing very slightly to the left When you see about ½” of stitching emerging from behind the foot you are ready for the turn Reduce stitch length to 4 mm With the needle down raise the foot and turn the fabric a little You will soon learn how much is needed Do one stitch at a time with a turn in between Until you are more or less pointing towards the beginning.
Then Very importantly reset your stitch length to 8 mm Straighten up when you reach the beginning and do a few more stitches to finish That’s not bad and the underside is very neat too Let’s do that again on a waistband mock up In practice the top of the waistband will be to the left with the body of your jeans to the right The end of the buttonhole should end up about ¾” from the waist band edge The beauty of this method is that you can do it on any basic zigzag sewing machine Getting good Yes, practice makes perfect For extra strength use the corded buttonhole method There are other feet you can try that have a hole to take the cord Use a generous length of cord in front of and behind the foot Leave it alone as you sew It will fall into place within the zigzag You don’t need to guide it If your machine is not good at starting and stopping with single stitches turn the hand wheel by hand as I am doing here (sorry, this is causing my sewing table tow obble somewhat!) Using a new sharp needle keeping your machine free of fluff and properly oiled especially the hook race will solve many of the problems sewers experience with sewing denim This may seem like a long process but from my experience setting up the automatic buttonhole method takes longer If you manage to do this number of buttonholes and with the reverse side as good you will be ready for your jeans Neaten your threads by taking them to the wrong side and knotting or sewing in Finally, the cutting I like to use a buttonhole cutter like this It’s precise and is safer than using a stitch ripper Finish with scissors and tidy any rogue threads I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial Like many sewing tasks it takes trial and error to find the best way If you enjoy these Free Sewing Tutorials please consider Supporting my site angelakane.
Automatic Buttonholes don’t look right You’re not looking for perfection This is one way to achieve the authentic look Be prepared to do testing Dig out all your denim fabric scraps You will need Jeans Machine Needles or Top Stitch Needles I’m going to use Extra Strong Thread in the needle and for the bobbin Despite all the advice that tells you to loosen tension when sewing with thick thread I assure you, you want it tight, top and bottom I like to keep a special bobbin case for extreme tensions rather than mess about with my standard bobbin tension Tighten the screw clockwise Testing will help you get it right I’m using a standard zigzag foot and also a Braiding Foot for the cord reinforced buttonholes I’m using the Top Stitch thread as cord It’s much the same as the traditional Gimp Thread Cut a generous length and thread through the braiding hole The thread will be encased in the zigzag and this will make your buttonhole stronger So to testing Do loads of trials You won’t regret it You’re jeans have involved hard work and you don’t want an amateurish looking button hole To test the tension for thick thread get the straight stitch right first I’m using a stitch length a little shorter than the standard setting For the zigzag I found a stitch width set to 2.
3 mm and a stitch length of 8 mm works best for these buttonholes Here is the underside looking good I have the top tension as tight as it will go and the bobbin tension so that there is resistance when pulled - see, no loops! As a general rule I start the buttonhole just under 2” from the waistband edge with a stitch width of 2. 3 mm and a length of 8 mm If you have the feature on your machine set it to stop with the needle down Take a few stitches straight then start to swing very slightly to the left When you see about ½” of stitching emerging from behind the foot you are ready for the turn Reduce stitch length to 4 mm With the needle down raise the foot and turn the fabric a little You will soon learn how much is needed Do one stitch at a time with a turn in between Until you are more or less pointing towards the beginning.
Then Very importantly reset your stitch length to 8 mm Straighten up when you reach the beginning and do a few more stitches to finish That’s not bad and the underside is very neat too Let’s do that again on a waistband mock up In practice the top of the waistband will be to the left with the body of your jeans to the right The end of the buttonhole should end up about ¾” from the waist band edge The beauty of this method is that you can do it on any basic zigzag sewing machine Getting good Yes, practice makes perfect For extra strength use the corded buttonhole method There are other feet you can try that have a hole to take the cord Use a generous length of cord in front of and behind the foot Leave it alone as you sew It will fall into place within the zigzag You don’t need to guide it If your machine is not good at starting and stopping with single stitches turn the hand wheel by hand as I am doing here (sorry, this is causing my sewing table tow obble somewhat!) Using a new sharp needle keeping your machine free of fluff and properly oiled especially the hook race will solve many of the problems sewers experience with sewing denim This may seem like a long process but from my experience setting up the automatic buttonhole method takes longer If you manage to do this number of buttonholes and with the reverse side as good you will be ready for your jeans Neaten your threads by taking them to the wrong side and knotting or sewing in Finally, the cutting I like to use a buttonhole cutter like this It’s precise and is safer than using a stitch ripper Finish with scissors and tidy any rogue threads I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial Like many sewing tasks it takes trial and error to find the best way If you enjoy these Free Sewing Tutorials please consider Supporting my site angelakane.