Category: Machine Techniques

  • Bound Buttonholes Through a Lining or Facing, Video Tutorial

    Bound Buttonholes Through a Lining or Facing, Video Tutorial

    How to Sew Bound Buttonholes through a facing or lining, video tutorial | Vintage on Tap

    Bound buttonholes can seem intimidating, but they don’t have to be.

    The fear of bound buttonholes seems to lay in the perceived amount of steps that go into the process.

    To be honest, there aren’t as many steps as you might think. 

    Adding fuel to that fire is that there are multiple ways to sew bound buttonholes. With the sheer amount of ways to get the job done, anyone encountering the technique for the first time can be intimidated.

    For me, I was put off from them for a long time because I kept using a tutorial that was making it harder for me to understand the concept, not easier.

    At one point I had made over 20 buttonholes and they all kept coming out wrong.

    I was using what I’m dubbing the “two lips” method. With that technique, you were instructed to cut out two tiny lips and then attach them to the buttonhole and in the process, becoming stressed out and angry.

    Yikes.

    Sewing bound buttonholes should not make you angry.

    Bound buttonhole close up, showing you what the completed button looks like | Vintage on Tap

    When getting started with bound buttonholes, expect to make multiple samples before tackling your fashion fabric.

    Ultimately, practicing ANY new technique, it’s a good rule of thumb to go through at least four or five iterations. One or two iterations to mess up the technique entirely, but then by the time you get to version five+, the process looks and sews cleaner and more gorgeous.

    Setting up a bound buttonhole sample, perfect for practicing a vintage-style technique for a better buttonhole! | Vintage on Tap

    Step One: Sew your bound buttonhole rectangles.

    In my video tutorial, my rectangles were 2in x .5in (5.08cm x 1.27cm.)

    Trace your rectangle onto both your fashion fabric and the fabric that I’m dubbing the “lips” of the buttonhole. Using a couple pins, line up both rectangles as closely as possible (timestamp 1:30) and then pin the two layers of fabric together.

    Sew along the rectangle, all the way around. Start and end your stitches as exact on the corners as possible.

    Marked rectangles for a bound buttonhole. This video tutorial shows you step by step the sewing process for this vintage technique! | Vintage on Tap

    Step Two: Mark your cut lines, cut, and turn inside out.

    Starting at timestamp 2:38, draw your cutting lines. You need one line directly down the middle of the buttonhole, then as you approach the corners, create Y-shape from the center line to the corners.

    Making a quick snip into a bound buttonhole guide line, making the opening for this technique | Vintage on Tap

    Using a pin, find the center of the bound buttonhole (timestamp 2:50) and then snip down the guidelines, careful not to cut through your previous stitch line.

    Carefully turn inside out.

    Snipping through the center of bound buttonholes is definitely not scary! Practice this technique for perfect bound buttonholes | Vintage on Tap

    Snipping guide lines on bound buttonholes. Learn how to make bound buttonholes with this tutorial! | Vintage on Tap

    Turning a bound buttonhole inside out. | Vintage on Tap

    Step Three: Tack your Bound Buttonhole “lips” in place.

    Inside out tab for bound buttonhole. | Vintage on Tap

    At your iron, press the buttonhole lips in place, taking care that the corner tabs are laying correctly (timestamp 4:53.) Also be sure that your buttonhole lips are straight and look correct from the right side.

    When everything is pressed and pinned, stitch the short ends of your buttonhole, through all layers, stitching “in the ditch” (the crease.) This step will keep the buttonhole from pulling open and and will tack everything in place, timestamp 6:34.

    Trim from the wrong side any excess buttonhole lip fabric, leaving roughly 3/4″in around the buttonhole.

    Press!

    If you’re attaching a facing or lining to your bound buttonhole…

    Be sure to complete the steps above before attaching the facing or lining. You want to be sure the shell is prepared with its buttonholes so you can focus entirely on the facing/lining.

     Tacking down facing and lining to bound buttonholes, stabilizing the area for finishing the area. | Vintage on Tap

    Step Four: Stabilize the facing or lining around the bound buttonhole.

    After sewing your lining or facing to the garment as a whole, pin the facing/lining approximately 2in (5cm) around the buttonhole.

    The exact amount of pins or the exact distance is not important, however, you’re aiming for the facing/lining to not wiggle or pull during the remaining process. 

    Using pins at the edges of the bound buttonhole, identify the center of the buttonhole, timestamp 7:34.

    Back of bound buttonhole, specifically sewing the stitching attaching the lining or facing. | Vintage on Tap

    Step Five: Cut through facing/lining and handsew in place.

    Carefully snip through the facing/lining, careful not to cut through the lips of the buttonhole. Cut all the way to the edges of the opening.

    Fingerpress the facing/lining approximately 1/16in-1/8in (0.15cm – 0.32cm) under, pinning it carefully in place. Hand sew the facing to the lips of the buttonhole.

    Press and admire your work!

    Sewing bound buttonholes does not have to be a chore.

    If anything, with this type of technique you can consistently make something small but beautiful. For me personally, because I tend to use older machines with considerably janky-er buttonhole attachments, this comes out more beautifully long term. It also gives my sewing more of that Intentional Vintage Sewing look, elevating it past the standard machine made buttonhole.

    Have you made bound buttonholes before? What was your experience?

    Pin this Post!!

    How to Sew Bound Buttonholes Through a Facing or Lining, video tutorial and walkthrough for making perfect buttonholes in your favorite coat! | Vintage on Tap


    This post is part of the Vintage Vogue 9280 Video series! Check out the other installment of this series by clicking the image below:

    Sewing Vintage Vogue V9280 video series! This series breaks down the fitting and sewing process for this 1940s piece | Vintage on Tap

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  • How Sew a Bias Facing, Video Tutorial

    How Sew a Bias Facing, Video Tutorial

    How to Sew a Bias Facing, video tutorial | Vintage on Tap

    Sewing a bias facing is simple and satisfying.

    I actually love how clean and professional the technique is and have used it on almost every type of project. Whether its an armhole or a neckline, it makes for a quick finish.

    The most common place you’ll use a bias facing is on an armhole. 

    There are definitely plenty of ways to finish an armhole, including:

    • Sewing a full facing
    • Turning the edge and then stitching in place with a straight stitch
    • Serging

    While all of the above options have some pros and cons, I think bias facings are a really nice, clean solution of finishing an edge if you’re working with a woven. Its stable and the wear and tear holds up over time.

    I also used this bias facing technique in my recent short-sleeve Simplicity 1364 which was posted recently.

    Before you begin sewing your bias facing:

    Don’t skip the prep work for your armholes, which mainly includes figuring out your seam allowance situation!

    What do I mean by seam allowance situation?

    Most seam allowances are 5/8 inch, with armholes occasionally at 3/8 inch. The width of your bias binding (or bias tape, as I describe in the video) will affect how this technique works, but it can be easily accommodated for. In my video, I used a bias binding that was 1/2 inch wide. The seam allowance, when all was said and done was a scant 3/8 inch in my video.

    How did I calculate that?

    The bias tape is 1/2 wide, folded (1 inch wide, unfolded.)

    Line #1 in the video is sewn at 1/4 inch (at the first fold.)

    The bias binding, when turned and pressed, creates a lip of roughly 1/8 inch before Line #2 is sewn in place.

    If you’d like to stick to a 5/8 seam allowance, I would recommend using a 1 inch wide piece of bias binding (2 inches wide, unfolded); Line #1 stitched at 1/2 inch. 

    How to Sew a Bias Facing, video tutorial | Vintage on Tap

    Step One

    Pin your bias binding in place, time stamp 1:20.

    If you’re using commercially purchased bias binding, unfold one edge of your bias binding and pin it to the right side of your fabric. (If you’re using a simple strip of bias tape that you’ve made yourself, you probably won’t have to unfold an edge.) Do this with right sides together.

    Please note, if you’re working on a curve, please steam your bias tape into an approximate shape of the curve it will be matching before completing Step One.

    Taking the time to press the bias binding into a curve will allow the tape to naturally curve in the direction you want it to lay, making it easier to pin and sew. I go over this step at timestamp 1:11 in the video tutorial.

    Step Two

    After pressing, sew Line #1 of stitching, time stamp 2:17.

    In the sample in the video, I stitched Line #1 at roughly 1/4 inch, which coincided with the memory fold line in the bias tape. If you’re using a wider bias tape, as noted above, Line #2 may be stitched at a different seam allowance.

    How to Sew a Bias Facing, video tutorial | Vintage on Tap

    Step Three

    Press the bias tape closed at the stitch line, and then turn under, time stamp 2:36. Turn the bias tape to the wrong side of the fabric and repin in place.

    If you’re working on a curve, you’ll need some steaming action to ease the bias tape in place. Steam like crazy, aiming to shrink the bias tape as it curves in on itself and have the bias tape lay as flat as possible.

    How to Sew a Bias Facing, video tutorial | Vintage on Tap

    Step Four

    Sew Line #2, closing the bias tape, timestamp 3:25. Make sure you sew Line #2 at a location that works for your garment and that can still close up the bias tape with no problem.

    How to Sew a Bias Facing, video tutorial | Vintage on Tap

    Overall, sewing a bias facing is straight forward.

    I didn’t discover this process until after I’d been sewing a while and only because I thought I was going to tackle something complicated. The name almost hints at it being inherently difficult, but its really not.

    Definitely take the time to make a sample on a scrap of fabric of both the straight seam and curved seams, just to get the hang of it and see if you like the technique and see it being part of your sewing arsenal!

    Hopefully this video made the process a little more straight forward to understand and easy to tackle! Taking a moment to deep dive on new techniques can really build up your knowledge and I’m all about making samples of absolutely everything, just to get better and better at what you do.

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    How to Sew a Bias Facing, video tutorial | Vintage on Tap

    Do you see yourself using this technique in your future projects? Have you tried this technique before? What do you like or dislike about it?

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links :)


     
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