From The Rainey Sisters Ravelry Group: March 24, 2018 Tip of the Week
This week’s tip is about sewing buttons onto knitted garments. Buttons can make or break a garment and are an essential finishing detail.
We use matching sewing thread instead of yarn. If possible, we prefer to buy buttons with shanks, but sometimes the perfect button doesn’t have a built-in shank, so you need to make your own with thread. The shank lifts the button off the surface and should be deep enough to match the thickness of the buttonband. This lets the button rest on top of the buttonband when buttoned, instead of unsightly pulling.
You can use anything as a spacer when making the thread shank – a dpn the thickness of the buttonband fabric works well. Sew the button on using the spacer to create the required gap and then wrap the thread tightly to form the shank.
Because knitted fabric stretches, it is often helpful to attach the button with a backing button. This is a non-ornamental button attached to the wrong side behind the actual button to create stability. It keeps the button from pulling when in use.
Your tips are great! Thanks! 🙂
Comment by Raymonde — March 24, 2018 @ 7:19 pm
Thank you!!! This helps a lot.
Comment by Anya — March 25, 2018 @ 12:42 am
You are the best!
Comment by Marlys m — March 25, 2018 @ 3:51 am