{"title":"How to Sew a Buttonhole That Fits Your Button Exactly","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/sewing/how-to-sew-a-buttonhole","category":{"slug":"sewing","name":"Sewing"},"creator":{"name":"Sewing Parts Online","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2QfralkpSNApY81B8Fp8Eg","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om_r2EhLApA"},"tldr":"Your machine sizes a buttonhole off the button itself. Load the button in the foot, drop the lever, stitch it in one pass, cut it open with a seam ripper.","totalDurationSeconds":289,"difficulty":"easy","tools":["sewing machine","automatic buttonhole foot","seam ripper","fabric marking pen","small scissors","iron","straight pins"],"materials":["fabric","buttons","all-purpose thread","fusible interfacing","tear-away stabilizer","topstitch machine needle","machine embroidery thread"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Clamp Your Button Into the Back of the Buttonhole Foot","text":"Pull the sliding tray at the back of the buttonhole foot open and drop your button in, then push the tray closed until it grips. A large button pushes the tray wide open. A small one barely moves it.That gap is the measurement. The machine reads it off the foot and stitches a hole long enough for the button to pass through, with a little ease built in. Nothing to calculate."},{"number":2,"title":"Slide the Buttonhole Foot Under the Presser Bar","text":"Take your regular presser foot off the way you normally would, then lay the buttonhole foot on the bed and slide it under the presser bar. Line the bar up over the little groove in the shank so it drops straight into place.Lower the presser bar and it clamps on. The foot is long, so it will hang off the front of the bed. That is correct and it stays that way."},{"number":3,"title":"Pull the Buttonhole Lever Down Behind the Needle","text":"Look behind the needle bar for a slim lever hanging off the machine head. Pull it down as far as it goes, then push it back so it rests behind the white tab on top of the foot.This is the sensor that tells the machine where the foot is in the cycle. With it seated, the machine stitches one side, the bar tack, the return side and the second bar tack, then stops on its own."},{"number":4,"title":"Line the Fabric Up Under the Buttonhole Foot","text":"Slide the fabric under the foot with your mark where you want the buttonhole to start, and drop the needle there by hand so you can see it land. The rest of the hole stitches back away from that point.Lower the presser foot onto the fabric and check the fabric is lying flat, not stretched. On anything lightweight, slip a piece of stabilizer or fusible interfacing underneath first."},{"number":5,"title":"Let the Machine Stitch the Buttonhole in One Pass","text":"Select the buttonhole stitch, hold the tail of the top thread out of the way and start the machine. It runs down one side in a tight satin stitch, lays a bar tack across the end, comes back up the other side and finishes the second bar tack.Keep your hands off the fabric and let the foot feed it. Steering here is what makes one bead fatter than the other."},{"number":6,"title":"Check the Finished Buttonhole Before You Move the Fabric","text":"The machine stops on its own. Raise the needle, lift the presser foot and pull the fabric back so you can look at the hole.Both beads should be the same width, both bar tacks solid, and the length should match the button with a whisker to spare. Test it by sliding the button alongside. If it comes up short, check that the button seated properly in the tray."},{"number":7,"title":"Cut the Buttonhole Open With a Seam Ripper","text":"Push the point of the seam ripper through the fabric just inside one bar tack, then run it toward the middle of the hole. Turn the work around and do the same from the other end so the two cuts meet in the center.Cutting from both ends keeps a slipping ripper away from the bar tacks. Trim the thread tails once it opens."},{"number":8,"title":"Sew a Buttonhole on Knit Fabric With a Topstitch Needle","text":"The same foot handles knits, it just needs help. Double the knit over or back it with a tear-away stabilizer so it cannot stretch while the bead builds up.Fit a topstitch needle and thread it with embroidery thread. The bigger eye handles the heavier thread without shredding it, and the bead comes out dense and glossy. Cut it open the same way."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-09-16T19:26:45.774Z","published":"2026-09-16T19:26:39.355Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}