Hand sewing buttonholes on my Edwardian blouse

Hello there,
I hand stitched the buttonholes on my Edwardian blouse. In fact, I hand stitched the whole blouse. I absolutely love their imperfection!
If you'd like to see how I made the blouse itself, you can watch it here:
• Making a 1908 Edwardia...
It was mainly inspired by one of my favourite Avonlea characters, Anne Shirley and the blouses she wore in the 1987 Canadian film production Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel.

[@bhelliom3]

Thank you for having this little video separately from the full blouse video, I spend so much time just scanning through long videos looking for one specific piece of information, this saves me so much time lol. The buttonholes are gonna take long enough on their own 😂

[@Wonderfullymade00]

Wow, i gotta say, as a newbie in sewing, it's the most helpful video I've seen so far, doing the buttonholes like this is a very nice and neat way! I'll definitely try doing them like that some time! Thank you!

[@APenchantforSewing]

I'm really glad that you find my video useful. I practised a lot before making the buttonholes on the garment. Happy sewing!

[@rosanarivera4644]

😊

[@AnastasiaTennant]

Thank you so much!! By far the best tutorial I’ve seen!

[@APenchantforSewing]

Thanks!

[@frankdearr2772]

Great topic, thanks 👍

[@jessicah.8322]

These are so great!!

[@APenchantforSewing]

Thanks!

[@yul498]

Oh 🙏 I find my mistake. I did a top of loop external. Very nice sew job !

[@APenchantforSewing]

I made buttonholes the wrong way for decades! Since I know how to properly make them they've become much easier to stitch.

[@nynurse2]

Sooo BEAUTIFUL ❤! What SIZE & TYPE of needle should I use please? I am a new subbie now!

[@APenchantforSewing]

Hello, I'm sorry for the late reply. I don't know much about needle sizes. I can only handle size 11 needles, but they are too tiny, so I don't recommend using them unless you are experienced.

[@larissadoval6567]

So beautiful! Which thread do you use?

[@APenchantforSewing]

www.etsy.com/listing/702755276/white-cotton-1000m-sewingquilting-thread It's my general sewing thread. I have my doubts about the quality, though. For buttonholes you might wish to use something thicker (it'very thin), but I've never had any issues with my buttonholes, so I stick to my thin thread.

[@lilymcghee8363]

Thank you. This is very helpful. Can you tell me if this will work on linen? My cuff is a double layer of linen and I’m not sure how to proceed. I’m worried it will fray.

[@APenchantforSewing]

The more densely vowen your fabric is, the easier it is to stitch buttonholes. If you have interfacing, it also helps. Practise first on a piece of your fabric (double layer). I always practise before I cut into the garment because every kind of fabric is different and my hand needs to get used to it. Before you cut the hole you may want to make small running stitches around your mark. Then you bring the needle through the fabric under these stitches when you make the buttonhole stitch. Unfortunately, it will always fray because the hole is cut along the grain. It's difficult to say what's best without seeing the actual fabric. I sometimes cut off the thread that comes lose, I sometimes hide it under the stiches. My best advice is to practise first.

[@APenchantforSewing]

Always cut only one buttonhole at a time otherwise while you're working on one the others will keep fraying.

[@lilymcghee8363]

@@APenchantforSewing Thank you so much for all this advice. I will take it because all your advice has been wonderful including all the help you gave me with my walking skirt. The skirt is finished but I am now working on making improvements to the hem where the braid caused some puckering issues. Are you on Instagram? I joined about 2 weeks ago and if you check my account you can see the skirt. It’s Sew-back-in-time. Recently I’ve been working with linen and making aprons to practice my sewing skills and stitches. I must now master the art of the button hole. As you say. You learn by doing.

[@APenchantforSewing]

@@lilymcghee8363 I'm sorry I haven't replied. Have you made the buttonholes?I had to give up buttonholes on a project because the fabric frayed too much. I would have ruined the garment had I not tested the fabric first. And I think I'm pretty good at stitching buttonholes. Guess what that project is. An apron. I'm just editing the video. I'd love to see your skirt! I'm sure it's beautiful! I'm not on Instagram, I don't think I'll join it for different reasons.

[@lilymcghee8363]

@@APenchantforSewing Hello again. I made the button holes and it was difficult and they are certainly not perfect but I’m quite happy with them. I watched your video and copied what you did and it really helped so thank you again. My apron is on my Instagram sew-back-in-time. I can’t wait to see yours. I actually have 3 on Instagram and I’m wearing the brown linen one daily. I made matching sleeve protectors and that’s why I needed to sew the button holes. I wish you could see my work as you’ve helped and inspired me so much. I am just starting on a chemise 🙂