Vogue 8626: front

Vogue 8626 front interfacing (502x800)I interfaced the centre front pieces with horsehair cut on the straight grain, with the side fronts interfaced with bias interfacing.  Here’s a pic of the bound buttonholes.  I’m pretty darn proud of them, I must say.  I measure and re-measured and measured again, and they are as close to perfect as I could hope for.  *grin*Vogue 8626 buttonholesThe facing is underlined with silk organza, and I used silk organza patches to face the buttonhole facings. front facingAnd here’s the front facing, fell-stitched in place.bound buttonhole facing

Tutorial: Facing Bound Buttonholes

I thought I’d complete the tutorial on organza patch buttonholes with a post on facing them.facing patchesCarefully mark the placement of the buttonholes and on the RIGHT side of the facing fabric, baste organza patches through the centre of the buttonhole marking.  Be precise with your measuring and marking!  You want the facing to line up perfectly with the perfectly bound buttonholes you’ve made.stitched facingCarefully measure the width and length of the openings required in the facing.  I made mine 4mm wide and 2mm longer than the actual buttonholes.  Even such a small amount as 1mm makes a difference in the facing openings, as they need to be free and clear of the buttonhole itself.

Then interface around the area of the buttonholes if you’re interfacing the facing.  On this jacket, I was using interfacing in the facing, although I may not always.DSCN0558Precisely slash the buttonhole openingsslashes and turn the organza strips to the wrong side of the facing.  This is identical to the way the openings are bound by organza before stitching the edges of the buttonholes into place.pull organza throughPress and/or hand baste in place. This is what your facing should look like3 buttonholes

Stitch the facing to the garment front, turn, and hand stitch each opening to its respective buttonhole.  I use a tiny fell stitch as it’s quick and a strong stitch.  Inside view of the completed facing.IMG_4026And there you have beautiful buttonholes!IMG_4027

Tutorial: Bound Buttonholes – Organza Patch Method

*picture heavy post*  I thought I’d post a tute on the method I used for the bound buttonholes I’m using on the jacket-on-request.  The wool I’m using is a beautiful black, taupe, grey and white suit weight wool, and it loves to unravel.  Problem!  This method is perfect for ravelly fabrics and it’s the easiest method I’ve found to make identical near-perfect bound buttonholes.  Sherry of pattern, scissors, cloth has posted an identical tutorial with a bulky mohair fabric.  But I’ll confess I have a fear of doing finicky details like bound buttonholes on finer fabrics like suiting and thought I’d post this anyways.

measurementMark and measure your buttonholes accurately.  Mine will be 6mm wide.   Cut squares of silk organza 1.5 inches wider and longer than your intended buttonhole.organza squares

On the RIGHT side, centre the organza patches over the buttonhole markings and baste through the centre of the buttonhole. Measure and measure again to ensure accuracy! basted organza squares From the WRONG side, carefully stitch along your markings using a very small stitch.  Begin and end in the middle of the buttonhole, not at a corner.stitching Measure and measure again for accuracy!measure again

Remove the centre basting…remove basting

… and slash through the centre of the buttonhole to within 3mm of the ends, clipping diagonally to the corners.  Eck-zact-ly to the corners, because one unsnipped thread will throw off the symmetry of the corners.slash

Pull the organza patches through to the wrong sidepull organza through

Press flat so the edges are clean.R side

Here’s my finished three openings.3 buttonholesAnd from the wrong side, it looks neat and tidy, too!wrong sideCut TWO squares of fabric for each buttonhole and baste them down the middle.  This will form the edges of the buttonhole opening. I wanted mine to form chevrons, so I basted them diagonally.stitched diagonally Press them open. pressed open   Align the centre of the basted squares so that they line up through the centre of the buttonhole opening.aligning placement Pin or hand tack into place along the long edges.pin bastingFrom the wrong side, stitch across on end of the buttonhole through all thicknesses, keeping the front free.  Extend the stitching 1/4 inch past the buttonhole.  Check after stitching each end to ensure accuracy.

stitch endsTurn back the organza patch and stitch along the top and bottom sides of the buttonholes.stitch sides Finished buttonhole from the front.finished And the back, prior to trimming threads and excess fabric.finished wrong side Here’s my three buttonholes.finished 3 And the inside view.reverse The middle one is uneven, as you can see from the back…middle …and the front.  So I will redo this one.middle uneven And now it’s acceptable!new middle