Stitch
Buttonhole
A tight rectangle of dense zigzag stitching with reinforced bartacks at each end. The slit is cut between the rails after sewing, and a button passes through.
Keyboard: Space play/pause · → step · R reset · V view
The four stages
A standard buttonhole is sewn in four programmed stages:
- Left rail — the machine sews forward along the left side of the buttonhole with a tight, narrow zigzag (this becomes one wall of the buttonhole)
- Bartack at the far end — the machine sews several wide zigzag stitches in place to lock the far end of the slit
- Right rail — the machine sews backward along the right side, again with a tight narrow zigzag (the other wall)
- Bartack at the near end — wide zigzag in place to lock the start
Then you stop sewing, remove the fabric, and cut the slit between the two rails with a seam ripper or a sharp pair of small scissors. The two bartacks prevent the cut from running past the ends of the buttonhole.
On most machines
Modern machines have a one-step buttonhole foot — you drop a button into the foot, and the machine measures it and sews a buttonhole the right size automatically. On older or simpler machines, you set the buttonhole stitch and the machine cycles through the four stages while you press the foot pedal.
Either way: mark the buttonhole position with chalk first, and sew a practice buttonhole on a fabric scrap of the same weight as your project. The buttonhole length should be the diameter of the button plus its thickness — a tight buttonhole won't close, a loose one will gap.
Cutting the slit
This is the step most likely to ruin a buttonhole. Two tricks:
- Pin across both bartacks. Place a pin perpendicular across each end of the buttonhole, just inside the bartack. If your blade slips, it hits the pin instead of cutting through the bartack.
- Cut from each end toward the middle. Start your cut at one end and work toward the center, then flip and cut from the other end. Cutting all the way through in one motion is how slips happen.
Common mistakes
- Not testing first. Every fabric weight behaves differently. The same buttonhole stitch can look perfect on one fabric and like a tangled mess on another.
- Bartacks not dense enough. If the bartack only has a few stitches, the cut will run through it the first time the button is forced. Slow down through the bartack stage.
- Cutting before securing the threads. Pull your top thread to the back, tie off both threads with a square knot, then cut.