What Is a Shank Button?
Have you seen our beautiful fabric buttons? They are the kind of buttons that have a tunnel running along the back for the thread to pass through, instead of holes that go through to the front. They’re called shank buttons (and so are the ones that just have a loop at the back to sew through).
These kind of fittings mean that all the stitching stays hidden underneath so the front can be super beautiful. However, it does mean that they can’t be sewn on in the usual way, and unfortunately, it’s not safe to try sewing them on with a regular sewing machine. So let me show you how I like to stitch them in place.
Choosing The Thread
In general thread is best matched to the fabric type. So, if the fabric is a natural fibre like quilting cotton or wool then generally cotton thread is best. If you’re sewing anything synthetic like scuba, or synthetic blended like polycotton, then polyester is usually best. This is because it matches the strength of the underlying fabric so moves in a similar way. This stops polyester threads pulling and making holes in delicate cottons, and stops cotton threads from fraying and frequently snapping by trying to move between fibres of tougher synthetic fabrics.
However, because polyester thread is much stronger than cotton, there are times when we want a strong thread holding a larger button to make it more durable. So for example, if you want the strength of polyester but you’re using cotton fabric, then I would recommend adding some interfacing to reinforce the cotton fabric and strengthen it where you want the button to attach.
I like to double my thread for sewing buttons by hand. This means that every stitch is twice the strength so it takes me half the time!
How To Sew The Button
Starting Off:
When I’m sewing on a shank button by hand, I like to begin with a couple of small stitches in the fabric and knot them securely in place.
Once that’s done, I trim away the thread tail before sliding the button onto the needle.
Securing The Button:
Basic Technique for small buttons or low stress/wear and tear – For these buttons I just pass the needle through the tunnel and make a small stitch underneath the button next before coming back through again. So the thread is passing in a repeating loop – moving above the fabric though the tunnel (or loop), back under the fabric to the start point then through again, so the thread is always passing through the tunnel in the same direction. The more times the thread passes through the shank, the sturdier the button becomes.
What to change for large buttons or more stress/wear and tear – If the button is going to be pulled about or it needs to support more weight, then rather than sewing a basic loop, I secure the button to more points on the fabric to spread the load and support more directions of movement. To do this, I pass the thread through the tunnel. Rather than looping back to the start, I sew a small side stitch at the end of the tunnel then pass the needle back through the tunnel in the opposite direction. I sew a matching small side stitch then back through the tunnel, then repeat a few times.
How to adapt it for lightweight and delicate fabrics – Attaching a larger button to a particularly lightweight fabric will often need a bit of extra support. Most often I will just reinforce the part behind the button with a little interfacing, but there are times when this isn’t possible, so occasionally I will reinforce it by balancing the weight out at the back instead. I do this by sewing a small flat regular button on the reverse side to help distribute the strain. So I pass the thread through the tunnel of the shank button to the back of the fabric, through the holes of the small button, to the front of the fabric then back through the tunnel of the shank button, then repeat, so it’s all stitched together directly in each loop of the thread.
Finishing Off The Button:
To give the button extra strength and durability, I like to loop the thread around the base of the button and knot the loop. I repeat that 2 or 3 times before snipping the excess thread off.
Wrapping the threads together like this helps to protect the individual strands from rubbing and fraying, so it’s less likely that the button can be accidentally pulled off.
A Note About Buttonholes
One thing that’s worth keeping in mind is that shank buttons are often chunkier and have more depth to them than regular flat buttons. Because of that extra depth, they usually need a slightly larger buttonhole to pass through comfortably.
For a chunky button, I usually like to test my planned buttonhole size on a scrap of fabric first to make sure the button can pass through easily enough before committing to it for the finished project.
I hope that helps! If you have any more tips that you use, please do share them in the comments.
