Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Handmade Buttonholes

These are the most beautiful buttonholes I have ever seen and are definitely a lost art. They are too lovely to even cover up with a button. The twine is gorgeous! via

7 comments:

Catherine said...

My mother always made me do button holes that way. She also made me put in a zipper by hand. Which caused me to flunk home economics. My teacher didn't appreciate being countered by my mothers superior skills. I was supposed to do it on the machine.

Linda Sand said...

This took me back to high school when a friend of my mother paid me to restitch the buttonholes on his coat. They didn't have that cording over which to stitch so I had to use a true buttonhole stitch with them placed very close together. That sure made me grateful for a thimble!

Content in a Cottage said...

Catherine -- Your mean Home Economics teacher should have given you an A+. But you were lucky your mother was such a great teacher. Mine was too. She would drop everything to pin up a hem or help me in any way with sewing. I loved HomeEc. and always had great teachers.
xo, Rosemary

Content in a Cottage said...

Linda Sand -- I am impressed with your button hole skills. You must have been so proud of yourself when you finished them on that coat back in your high school days. They don't teach home arts in school anymore and it's a pity.
xo, Rosemary

jusaweecatnap said...

I'm captivated by this photo. I've made so many lousy buttonholes on my sewing machine, maybe I should start doing them this way. My SIL gave me a kimono she bought in Japan. She said it was used and inexpensive, and she cut the sleeves down on hers to make it more comfortable to wear. I decided I'd never wear mine unless I did the same, so I started taking it apart. I was captivated by the quality of the hand sewing inside it. Alas, I took it apart and never got around to putting it back together, but it was a lesson in appreciation for sewing skills, mostly unseen. We really need to get back to fewer clothes, better made, made to last.

Sally said...

Rosemary, these are truly works of art!
My grandmother and mother taught me to hand-sew buttonholes, but not at the level of a haberdasher's art -- thank you for sharing these.
For those that love sewing, you might enjoy the Merchant and Mills site: https://merchantandmills.com
Enjoy!
Warmest regards, Sally

Franki said...


This looks like it might be a waistcoat and the buttonholes are works of true craftsmanship. Rosemary your blog is interesting, spirit lifting, informative and visually lovely! I read you almost daily. PA