Snap buttons are my favorite to use because they are so easy to sew on, and so easy to use. I prefer them over making buttonholes, and sewing on regular buttons, and have used them in several different projects.
This process is the same with crocheted or knitted fabric, but a little different from sewing on regular fabric since yarn isn’t as solid.
For this tutorial, I am showing how to sew a snap button onto the Blooming Coin Purse, from the May 2019 Issue, which is worked in embroidery floss.
You will need a sew-on snap button {mine is size 4 [⅝” (1.6 cm)]}, a tapestry needle, matching sewing thread (mine is all-purpose), and a high temperature hot glue gun with sticks (or choice of fabric glue) if your base fabric is delicate like the embroidery floss is.
The best sewing thread you can use is silamide. This is a durable, waxy 2-ply nylon thread. If you use this, you will only need to cut 2 strands, and double. If you use a regular sewing thread, like an all-purpose one, you will need to cut 3 strands, and double.
How to Add the Snap Button
The snap button comes in two pieces – a fatter, rounder piece, and a skinnier, flatter piece. The flat piece will be flush against your fabric with the nub facing up, and the fatter piece mirrors the flatter piece, and lays with the hole facing the flatter piece’s nub.
- Place one piece of the snap button in place to give you an idea of where you will be working.
- Thread needle, double (meaning center thread on eye of needle so the ends are together), and knot the ends together.
- Secure tail end by weaving into the fabric near where you will be attaching the snap button. The knotted end should catch in the fabric, and you can trim the excess thread after the tail is secure. I recommend weaving in and out at least 5 times, as opposed to 3 when you are weaving in your yarn ends.
-
- Bring needle up through one of the holes on the snap button.
- Take needle down catching some of your fabric, and bring up again through the same hole of the snap button. Repeat two more times, so there are three wraps around.
- Take needle down catching some of your fabric, running under crocheted stitches to hide sewing thread, over to the next snap button hole. This will get you to the next starting point, and complete a fourth wrap around snap button.
- Repeat the last two steps around.
- After you finish the last hole, weave in end at least 5 times to secure.
- One snap is complete!
- Running your needle under stitches means the thread shouldn’t be visible from the right side of the fabric.
- Turn your piece so you can work on the other piece of the snap button. Lay it down to mirror the first piece, this way the nub fits into the hole perfectly, and repeat the same process.
- Snap button closures are very strong, and the embroidery floss fabric is pretty delicate. Adding hot glue just behind the snap button after it has been sewn in place helps the fabric from pulling when the snap button is opened. In the sewing world, this is not a used technique, but with certain crocheted fabrics, I do this, and I do it after it has been sewn in place so I don’t run into issues of my needle not going through the fabric because of the hot glue.
ABOUT THE Instructor: ALEXANDRA RICHARDS
Alexandra is described as a “craft, coffee and cat addict”.
Though she has always been a crafty person, she picked up needlepoint on plastic canvas in 2006. In 2015, she learned to crochet, and began her blogging journey as EyeLoveKnots, named in honor of family members affected by Retinoblastoma – a cancer of the eye.
Thank you for this. I was never very successful in using snap buttons before, but I do have a box of them at home, so it’s time to put them to use.
And thank you for sharing at The Really Crafty Link Party. Pinned.
I hope this is helpful for you because they’re SO great!
Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
They are my favorite! And to me, so much easier to apply and use than snap buttons (at least in crocheted items).