Buttonholes

buttons, buttonholes, covered buttons, dmbuttons

THE SERVICE
PREPARATION
COST
NOTES


THE SERVICE

We machine sew a range of buttonhole styles including:

  • straight
  • keyhole fishtail
  • keyhole bartack
  • lapel

All our button holes can be sewn cut (working/open) or uncut (sham/closed).

DMButtons_buttonholes_styles_keyhole fishtail straight hole london soho

HIGH-RISK GARMENTS – we do not buttonhole leather, pleather, piped lace, wadded, brocade, netting and sheer, knit, pleather nor PVC/plastic finishes. We may not buttonhole lightweight, unstabilised jersey or other stretch fabrics.


PREPARATION

Bring your garments/placket/fabric marked correctly along with the button and if you need a specific colour, the thread. If you are not coming in person enclose clearly written instructions, the easiest way is to print out and fill in our Buttonhole Order Form

Buttonhole Checklist

  1. garment marked correctly – see instructions below
  2. send a swatch of fabric for testing – approximate size A5
  3. fuse thin or stretchy fabrics (organza, lightweight silks, leather/PU, PVC, jersey and knitted are unlikely to be suitable for buttonholes)
  4. loosely tack facings around the buttonholes to avoid facing slippage.
  5. attach a button(s) or enclosed for buttonhole sizing
  6. if sending threads to check they are the correct weight – see details below

Buttonhole Marking

  • straight buttonholes = mark on the FACE SIDE (outside) with chalk or light pencil in a line or dots
  • keyhole and lapel hole = mark on the WRONG SIDE (inside) with chalk or light pencil in a crucifix to show the direction and where the eye will sit.

“Thread tacks can be used although best in a tonal colour as they may need to be picked out after”

NO PINS

embroidery, buttons, buttonholes, covered buttons, dmbuttons
DMButtons – keyhole buttonhole marking
embroidery, buttons, buttonholes, covered buttons, dmbuttons
DMButtons – straight buttonhole marking

Buttonhole Thread

Bring your own thread for a better colour match.

  • straight buttonholes = 1 spool of 120 weight, ideally Gutermann 120
  • keyhole and lapel hole = 2 spools of 70 weight, ideally 2x Coats Tre Cherchi 40 or 2x Gutermann Mara70

Helpful thread stockists: William Gee, London Trimmings, or locally MacCulloch & Wallis

“Buy the correct spool of threads”

The above two images show the spools to use, not an indicator for the thread weight

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Buttonhole Sizing

“We make the button hole to fit the button”

Bring your button to get an accurate buttonhole size. Our machines do not work in metric units, we will need to see the button to get the correct size. The charts below show the available sizes and the approximate millimetre equivalent.

buttons, buttonholes, covered buttons, dmbuttons
Buttonholes -styles and sizes


COST

Buttonholes are priced per unit, meaning: garment/ panel / pattern piece at a minimum charge, up to the quantity of 10 buttonholes. More than 10 buttonholes on the unit (garment/ panel / pattern piece) will be the minimum charge plus price per additional buttonhole.

  • straight buttonholes – minimum charge per unit = £5.00 / 10+ holes per unit = +£0.50 per hole.   For example, a garment/panel with 13 straight buttonholes will be £6.50 
  • keyhole fishtail – minimum charge per unit = £6.00 / 10+ holes per unit = +£0.50 per hole.   For example, a garment/panel with 12 fishtail buttonholes will be £7.00
  • keyhole bartack – minimum charge per unit = £7.00 / 10+ holes per unit = +£0.50 per hole.  For example, a garment/panel with 12 bartack buttonholes will be £8.00
  • lapel hole – minimum charge per unit = £7.00 / 10+ holes per unit = +£0.50 per hole.    For example, a garment/panel with 12 lapel style buttonholes will be £8.00

Tailored gents suit jackets are charged at the keyhole rates, this will include a lapel hole. 


NOTE

HIGH-RISK GARMENTS – we do not buttonhole leather, knit, pleather nor PVC/plastic finishes. We may not buttonhole unstabilised jersey or stretch.

No pins in the garments – we are not liable for blood stains. Damaged machine parts due to pin negligence can incur a £250 charge.

We may not cut your buttonholes if the fabric is unpredictable, you don’t have a button or if the marking is not accurate.

If your garments are not marked correctly we may send you away to remark

We reserve the right to refuse clients who have not followed the preparation instructions