WOTZA? Wednesday – What’s a Button Spacer?

The Wotza question that I have chosen for this week came from Sharon.  Thanks Sharon!

Sharon asks:  “Nanny what’s a button spacer?”

To answer this question, I am going to talk about sewing buttons on.

Some buttons have a shank – that’s the little stem at the back with the hole in it.  We sew through the holes and the shank holds the button away from the garment so that when you do the button up, there is room for the buttonhole side to sit nicely under the button.

 Other buttons are flat – that is, they do not have a shank but have the holes in the button.

To answer Sharon’s question:  a Button Spacer is used when sewing a flat button. to create a ‘shank’.

I will demonstrate by sewing a flat button onto a garment.

1.  Take a length of thread (about an arms length)  and fold it in half so that you have the two ends together

4.  Put the needle through the loop

This will give you a neat back with no knots to come undone!

This is where we meet the Button Spacer!!  

When I was taught to sew a button on, every home had a supply of matches because the households used wood fires for cooking and heating.  So my first button spacer was a match!  I’ve noticed that todays’ matches are smaller too! In the years since, I have used a wooden skewer, a large darning needle or whatever else I could grab quickly!

So take whatever you have selected as a spacer and follow along.  I will use part of a wooden skewer because it is larger for photos.

When I was taught, you did it this way.  Place your spacer beside the thread and stitch over the spacer a couple of times

6.  Nanny does it this way:  I could never see the sense of trying to hold a flat button on a rounded spacer……… so sit the spacer on top of the button!!

10.  You will be able to see the loose threads formed by the spacer under the button now

11.  Holding the button away from the garment, wind the thread around the loose thread formed by spacer about 12 times 

– you will see that we have now made a ‘shank’!

12.  Take a small stitch under the button

13.   Pass the needle through the loop to fasten – I do this twice

14.  Take needle through to the back

15. Snip thread and admire your button sewn on using a spacer!

 

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Thank you Sharon – that was another great WOTZA!!  

Don’t forget, if you have a WOTZA question you can email it to me at nannynotes2u@gmail.com


Until next time
Nanny xx