Buttons, how to sew on

August 11, 2010 3:00 PM

(Sewing Filter) Judith Neukam explains how to sew on a button

Which is at least as useful as knowing how to choose a meat cleaver.

posted by IndigoJones (25 comments total)

Huzzah Work-tip Wednesday!
posted by filthy light thief at 3:02 PM on August 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

So what?
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SEW BUTTONS!
posted by Parasite Unseen at 3:06 PM on August 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

It's kind of amazing that stuff that dads and moms used to teach their sons and daughters now require Internet tutorials. Next up, how to fix a toilet that runs.
posted by fixedgear at 3:14 PM on August 11, 2010 [2 favorites]

Vaguely related: 8 ways to replace or repair aglets (those nubbins on the ends of shoelaces), 17 different ways to tie shoelaces and 33 ways to lace shoes, courtesy of Ian's Shoelace Site (pre-vious-ly). Also, 85 Ways to Tie a Tie, an out-of-print book that sells for a good bit, though the wiki page has some decent information. If you still want help, there's Tie-A-Tie.net, with a scant 4 ways to tie a tie, plus how to tie a bow tie.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:22 PM on August 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Next up, how to fix a toilet that runs.

Cut off its legs?
posted by inigo2 at 3:27 PM on August 11, 2010

I love the button lady.
posted by mdonley at 3:32 PM on August 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

This would have been super useful for showing my old roommate. He'd just started his quarter life crisis metal phase, and he wanted to customize a hideous denim vest thing with patches and buttons, but refused to learn how to sew. When he entreated me to sew on a button, I told him I'd teach him instead. He said "but doesn't it require some kind of special knot or whatever?" If only I'd had the button lady to smack some sense into him. Instead, the second I sat down to show him how to start a button, he fled the room.
posted by Mizu at 3:46 PM on August 11, 2010

It's kind of amazing that stuff that dads and moms used to teach their sons and daughters now require Internet tutorials. Next up, how to fix a toilet that runs.

It's almost like the world is changing.
posted by mecran01 at 3:55 PM on August 11, 2010

I thought there were a lot of useful tips in the video. I never knew you could sew with more than two strands of thread. I also liked that she showed how to create a shank. Thanks for posting this.
posted by marsha56 at 3:59 PM on August 11, 2010

It's kind of amazing that stuff that dads and moms used to teach their sons and daughters now require Internet tutorials.

Not really. In the boom years, a lot of people got into the habit of just handing things out to others. For pay. Now that hard times have returned, there's plenty of helpless folk who need a little help.

That said, my extremely accomplished seamstress mother who was taught to sew by her extremely accomplished seamstress mother, as well as a number of professional sewing people I know aged well into their eighties found it enlightening, so I kind of figured that aspects of it would be new to others as well. It's a little more involved than your running toilet, a video which I would not have put up.
posted by IndigoJones at 4:20 PM on August 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Really? In the boom years folks paid others to sew a button on for them? I must have missed that.
posted by fixedgear at 4:45 PM on August 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Since Tim and Eric I can't tell if anyone is serious any more. Should I be working on my "How to Fill the Ice Tray" video?
posted by cmoj at 4:51 PM on August 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Why do I bother?

Yeah, a lot of people did do stuff like that. And many I expect still do. I can attest to people who called electricians to replace light bulbs. They also hire people to clean their houses, eat out instead of cooking their own food, and do not have a basic tool kit. They take clothing to the cleaners and have them sew them on.

But that's by the way. Reason for the post was, Buttonlady does it better than I've ever seen. And I'm willing to bet, better than you've ever seen.

So button up.
posted by IndigoJones at 4:53 PM on August 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

(sew buttons on. Note to self - never post when in a snit.)
posted by IndigoJones at 4:54 PM on August 11, 2010

I love stuff like this. My dad was a weirdo who had spent his life as a builder being asked favours from widows who'd relied on their husbands for practical stuff. My dad's favourite saying was that awful relationships wouldn't even exist if women could change a plug and that it trapped women more than even birth control could help.

So he spent all his spare time making sure we could plumb in a washer and none at all recognising that everyone needs to sew at some point. His heart was in the right place although I still can't cook for shit. I get sick of paying £5 every time I need a few buttons changing over.
posted by shinybaum at 5:18 PM on August 11, 2010

That was awesome, thank you.
posted by smoke at 5:30 PM on August 11, 2010

Thanks for posting this because I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't know how to sew a button on properly. Sure, I can attach it, but it's never very tight and it starts to fall off pretty quickly.
posted by victoriab at 5:52 PM on August 11, 2010

As a knitter, I was baffled by how to sew on buttons. Knitting patterns will typically say something helpful like "Sew on buttons" with no further explanation provided.

Which is why I was so thrilled when I found this tutorial a while ago: Sew Buttons Securely on Hand-Knits
posted by ErikaB at 5:54 PM on August 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Very useful. I could sort of sew a button - now I'm sure I can do a good job. Awesome!
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 6:15 PM on August 11, 2010

I loved her brother's video games.
posted by Evilspork at 7:19 PM on August 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

This was very timely for me: A button just came off of my favorite pants today. There are written tutorials online of how to sew a button, but this video does a much better job of illustrating how you're supposed to make the various knots. Thanks!
posted by JDHarper at 7:40 PM on August 11, 2010

I hate anything to do with sewing by hand. That's especially funny as I quite enjoy sewing with a machine, and have actually made myself clothing. But be sure, I never choose any pattern that involves buttons. Zippers, elastic, snaps, great! Buttons, not so much.
posted by Goofyy at 1:04 AM on August 12, 2010

Really? In the boom years folks paid others to sew a button on for them?

Magazines frequently advise a trip to 'local dry-cleaners' to put in zips or hem trousers. As someone who's happy customising and stitching, it amazes me when people throw out clothing rather than spend five minutes fixing a seam or a hole. MrMippy used to get many free pints at university as his mother had told him how to repair a button.

Now, knitting and crochet, on the other hand - I've been trying to learn the latter and watching umpteen tutorials and I just can't manage that.
posted by mippy at 1:30 AM on August 12, 2010

I love the pun at the end: "I'd say we have this pretty well buttoned up. And it was a snap!" The timing between the two sentences gives you a perfect beat before finishing the 1-2 combination. Pun KO!
posted by Xoder at 5:33 AM on August 12, 2010

I can attest to people who called electricians to replace light bulbs. They also hire people to clean their houses, eat out instead of cooking their own food, and do not have a basic tool kit. They take clothing to the cleaners and have them sew them on.

Now that the hard times have hit, I hope they can afford to call in a professional Googler to look this stuff up for them.
posted by DU at 8:53 AM on August 12, 2010 [1 favorite]