How to Sew a Button by Hand Sewing

This tutorial will demonstrate how to sew a 4-hole button onto a pair of pants. This hand-sewing button technique can also be used to mend a button that has come off any garment and sew a new button on projects or garments. This process can also be used to attach a two-hole button.

Although a button can be sewn on by hand or machine, sewing a button by hand is a useful skill everyone should have.

Many garments come with a spare button. After you purchase a garment with extra buttons, keep them in one place so you can find them when you need them. I like putting my spare buttons in my nightstand drawer, but I also have boxes with many spare buttons. If the button is not provided separately on a handling tag, look inside the garment near the bottom hem. Sometimes, a spare shirt button is attached to the shirt.

Sewing a button by hand is a straightforward procedure. Learning to sew a button is one of the basic sewing skills.

What are the three different types of buttons?

The three most common types of buttons are two-holed, four-holed, and shank. This tutorial demonstrates attaching a four-holed button, the most common type. Two and four-hole buttons are flat and are most commonly used on pants, trousers, and shirts.

A shank button is not flat and has an attachment that protrudes from the bottom of the button with a hole. These can be attached as demonstrated in this tutorial, except you stitch through the hold in the shank.

Sewing Kits

A button will inevitably fall off a garment, so keep a small sewing kit available to attach a button. Travel-sized sewing kits usually contain a few thread colors, sewing needles, and small scissors. Small sewing kits include more needles, a seam ripper, a tape measure, pins, and buttons.

Learn how to hand sew a button on pants by clicking the link below to watch our video, or keep reading for a step-by-step photo tutorial.

WHAT YOU NEED to sew a button by hand

• Pants, a shirt, or any other project that needs a button.
• Four-hole button or Two-hole button
• Strong Thread
• Hand needle for Sewing
• Scissors
• Thimble (optional)

Simple Steps for Sewing a Button

STEP 1: Thread the Needle

Select a thick thread that matches the fabric or the button and cut it about your arm's length long.

Place one end of the thread through the eye of the needle. Move the needle to the center of the thread. Hold the two thread ends together and tie a knot, securing both ends of the thread together. Avoid having excess thread, as it can quickly become tangled when hand sewing.

Step 2: Place the Button

If the button has come off the garment, find the spot where it was sewn on and replace it.

If sewing a button on a new project or garment, use the pattern or place the button by eye under the button holes.

Step 3: Sew the Button to the Fabric

Push the needle up from the wrong side of the fabric and through one of the button's holes. Use a thimble to protect your finger when pushing it through thick fabric.

Pull the thread all the way through so the knot is against the back of the fabric.

When sewing a 4-holed button, you have two choices. The stitches can be placed diagonally or vertically between two holes. For a 2-hole button, bring your needle up through the first hole and down through the second hole.

For this demonstration, we will sew the four-hole button diagonally between the set of holes. Place your needle down through the hole diagonal from the hole where the needle came up. 

The next step is to take your needle up through the first hole again and then through the same second hole. Make 3-4 stitches between the first two holes.

If you are sewing a two-hole button, skip to step 4.

Continue sewing the 4-hole button by sewing the second pair of holes. Come up from the underside of the fabric through one of the empty holes and then stitch down through the fourth hole.

Make 3-4 stitches between this set of holes.

The button will have a decorative cross stitch.  If you prefer, sew left to right or top to bottom to have two lines of stitching instead of a cross.

Step 4: Secure the Button

After the button is attached by sewing all the holes, secure the button with a thread shank. Bring the needle up from the underside of the fabric, and instead of going through a buttonhole, bring it between the fabric and the button.

Firmly wrap the thread five times around the area between the button and the fabric, making sure it is wrapped tightly.

Place the needle down between the button and the right side of the garment to bring the thread to the backside of the fabric. Pull the thread firmly.

Tie a knot at the back of the fabric by catching a few threads under your needle and making a loop.

Bring the needle through the loop twice in the same direction and pull firmly to make a knot.

If desired, make a double knot by creating a second knot similarly. Using scissors, cut off the thread close to the knot.

There you have it!  The button is secured to the garment or sewing project!

Mending tutorials

• Machine Darning Hole in Pants
• Mend a Torn Bedsheet 
• Replace Elastic Waistband 
• How to Mend a Hem