Archer Sew Along: Buttons & Buttonholes

Alright, final day here guys, WHOO HOO!!! Lets put some buttons in! Buttons get a bad wrap in the sewing world a lot of the time, maybe it's the two step button & buttonhole process, but it's really easy. Start by marking the position of the buttonholes on the right button band of the shirt. The pattern includes a guide for the buttonholes but you can generally follow this rule for the measurements. The first buttonhole is 2.5" down from the collar stand and each additional button band is 3.5" down from the buttonhole mark above it.

The collarstand buttonhole falls in line with the center of the front buttonband and also halfway between the top and bottom of the collarstand.

After you've marked all your buttonholes, align your buttonhole foot with your mark and stitch them up. The size of your buttonhole will depend on the size of the buttons you are using so you may want to test on a scrap of fabric first.

For the cuff the buttonholes are inserted horizontal to the cuff.

Next cut your buttonholes out. I use this little tool who's name I can't seem to come up with at the moment (or in the moments since I first typed this). I purchased it at my local small sewing store in an unmarked plastic bag. I prefer this to a seam ripper because it's harder to slice through the threads.

Once you've opened your buttonholes the next step is to mark the button placement. I do this based on the buttonholes because this ensures that they line up properly. I like to pin the two button bands together and stick a pin through the buttonhole where I would like the button to go.

Sew your buttonholes on either by hand or machine. I love LOVE this buttonhole foot for my Bernina. It's literally my favorite foot. I'm not really a user of fancy feet, I use the quarter inch foot for everything but buttonholes but this foot I could not live without. Anyway, that's it! You are now done with your Archer Button Up! Congrats!