Mastering Hand-Sewn Buttonholes

It may never have occurred to you to hand sew button holes. But after spending 40+ hours of a labour-of-love coat, or investing in a delicate silk, hand-sewn buttonholes might be the least scary means of finishing that masterpiece.

Nicole Rudolph may convince you. It's a long tutorial – more than a half hour – but it is well worth it, and unlike so many sewing videos, her voice is easy to listen to. She explains so many things I had no idea about, despite having been sewing for a long time.

If you take nothing else away, do watch the section at 12:26 in which she shows you how to start handsewing without knotting the end, which for me is always a giant ugly tangle despite endless attempts.

But I also really appreciated her counsel on what thread to use – it had never occurred to me to use thicker thread. And until recently, I knew nothing about buttonhole gimp, a thread you lay down to sew the buttonhole over to give it a bit of heft. I'm left with questions - waxing thread? Huh? Exactly what thread should I use?

After watching the video, I made my own first attempt. It was awful. Dreadful. My needle was too big. I couldn't see well enough to get the stitches lined up. The loose weave of the fabric didn't help.

It's definitely a skill that requires practice, but I can see me using it for challenging fabrics that the buttonhole foot can't manage. And done well, the finished product can be gorgeous.