For most buttonholes on woven fabrics, use a good-quality, 100 percent cotton thread. Cotton thread is slightly “fluffier” and fills in the buttonhole stitches for better overall coverage. Use polyester thread when sewing buttonholes in knits and wovens with spandex.
In this post
The thread generally used is a T-21 or T-27 spun or T-24 corespun thread. If the buttons have any sharp edges like metal buttons, we recommend corespun threads.
Buttonhole thread
It depends on the fabric you are using for your project. For fine lightweight silk fabric use 100% silk thread – it’s strong and flexible, wouldn’t twist or tangle, and leaves a very clean edge. For thick wool and other heavyweight fabric use Pearl cotton, embroidery thread #10, or embroidery floss.
With a high strength to weight ratio, nylon is one of the strongest threads available, making it a great choice for stitching upholstery, leather, and vinyl.
16 wt. 3-ply filament silk thread. Designed for hand sewing and embellishment.
Thread – you’ll need about 12″ to do the whole process. If you double your threads over (a bit stronger and easier to knot), use 24″. Try to use a thread that matches the garment color, but in a pinch, black or navy are unobjectionable. Button – the original, if possible, otherwise simply use what you can find.
All buttonholes need interfacing. Buttonholes have a lot of dense stitching, and without interfacing you’ll get a sad, puckered buttonhole.
What is 50 weight thread used for?
Higher quality 50 wt. threads offer a nice thin thread that won’t add a lot of bulk to seams when piecing a quilt. They are also ideal for machine quilting, appliqué, hand piecing, and hand appliqué.
How can you tell if a thread is cotton or polyester?
Want to know what type of threads your jeans are made of? Simply take a lighter to a loose thread, cotton will burn away to ash while polyester melts down to a plasticky nub. Just try not to light the rest of your pants on fire in the process!
How do I choose a thread?
Thread comes in different weights or thicknesses. The heavier or thicker your thread the more visible your stitches will be. Use thicker threads for sewing thicker fabrics, they will be stronger. Consider what your project will be used for and the stresses and strains on the seams before choosing a thread.
What do you use silk thread for?
Use for: quilting and light and medium weight fabrics, machine embroidery and with synthetic and stretch fabrics. Silk is made from the silk worms cocoons and is thinner and more elastic with a high lustre. It tends to sink into garments, when sewn which is good for hand embroidery and needlework.
Gimp is a stiff cord that lifts the stitches off the surface of the cloth and gives a smooth surface for the buttonhole stitches to sit on. Silk buttonhole twist also comes in various weights. The thicker size F is easier to work with and requires fewer stitches but produces a bulkier buttonhole.
Should you wax silk thread?
Cotton and silk thread should always be waxed before hand sewing with it. Waxing is also important to keep polyester thread from tangling and achieve some needed stiffness.
Buttonhole Size
The general rule of thumb is, the buttonhole needs to be 1/8” bigger than the button, for ease of going through the hole.
Definition of buttonhole
(Entry 1 of 3) 1 : a slit or loop through which a button is passed. 2 chiefly British : boutonniere.
Blanket Stitch is spaced a bit apart so that you see the fabric between each stitch. Buttonhole Stitch has no space and you cannot see the cloth.
How to sew buttonholes and buttons
- Interface the buttonholes.
- Mark the buttonholes.
- Set your machine in place for the first one.
- Place pins to protect the bar tacks at top and bottom.
- Start the top and bottom.
- Finish opening the buttonhole.
- First, establish where the buttons will go.
- Set the buttons in place.
What is 100 weight thread used for?
Have you ever heard about 80 and 100wt thread? These ultra-fine threads are totally game changers when it comes to piecing, appliqué, quilting, and even as a bobbin thread.
What do you use 40 wt thread for?
Medium Weight Threads
These are the types of threads that you will most frequently find, most often 40 or 50wt. They can be used for most construction, quilting, machine embroidery, sergers, and general purpose sewing.
Which thread is thicker 40 or 50?
When discussing weight of thread, the smaller the number, the thicker the thread. The weight is determined by how many meters of thread it takes for a skein to weigh one kilogram. In this case, the 40 wt thread is slightly thicker (heavier) than the 50 wt thread.