Did you know you can buy kits to make your own covered buttons? They come in an assortment of sizes and they’re a great way to make a subtle (or contrasting) closure. Small packs might come with a tool to cover them, but larger packs don’t have the tool set. Let me show you how to cover the packs that don’t come with the tool. You can either watch the video or continue reading below:
Coverable buttons are available in an assortment of sizes. I’m using a 3/8” so it’s quite small.
They consist of two parts, the top button part with teeth and the shank (if it doesn’t have teeth it’s meant to be used with the tool set for assembly), and the back that snaps in place over the shank.
I just eyeball how big of a circle I need to go around the dome of the button and meet at the middle. Find something about the size you need, like a spool of thread, to use as a pattern. You can cut your fabric out with scissors or a small rotary cutter.
My fabric is a little sheer and you can see some of the metal through it. I’m going to let it stay that way because it complements the sheen of the velvet dress it’s going on. But if that’s not the look you’re going for, either double up your fabric or use some interfacing to block out that shiney metal.
Now load up a needle with thread and knot the end. Sew small stitches near the edge, but not so close that it’s going to rip out of the fabric. I’m staying about 1/8” away from the edge. We’re basically sewing a very small easing stitch around the perimeter of the fabric circle.
Once you get all the way around the circle, place the top of the button in the fabric and gently tighten that easing stitch to gather the circle around the button.
Go slowly and gather the fabric smoothly around the edge of the button. When it’s holding the button nicely, knot the thread to hold the tension there.
Then use your fingernail, an awl, or any other little tool to push the fabric around the little teeth in the button so they latch onto the fabric circle.
Here you can see the teeth are holding the fabric securely in place.
Now put the back of the button over the shank with the indented side facing in like this. Press the edges until you feel it click (or squish) into place.
And just like that your button is done!
If you’re using a heavy weight fabric for your garment, it might be too thick to fit into the coverable button. In that case, try to find a lighter weight fabric option that matches or complements your garment. If that’s not an option, try a larger sized coverable button.
