James Williams

The next step in creating a buttonhole is to make some four-cord, or gimp, if you are not using the ready-made gimp that Gutermann makes. The purpose of the gimp is to stiffen the buttonhole a little and give it a more pronounced, three-dimensional shape. Start by taking a roughly 4 foot long piece of …

With all of the preparation done and out of the way, we are finally ready to begin the buttonhole stitch itself. It’s not really difficult, but it takes a lot of practice to get truly comfortable with the stitch. For a 7/8″ buttonhole, you’ll need about a yard of waxed buttonhole twist, and more if …

To begin our buttonhole journey, we’ll first start with preparing some fabric samples to imitate the front of a coat. I’m using scraps of wool, linen, and silk, but you can use whatever you have available. It’s good to practice on a variety of fabrics to further your skills, as each feels a bit different …

In this lesson, we will work on cutting open the buttonholes and securing them to prevent fraying, both while working on them and during the life of the garment. To begin with, baste around each buttonhole with a diagonal stitch to prevent all movement of the fabric layers. I like to start on one end …