How to sew on a button: a step-by-step guide for shirts, coats and trousers

What you need

• a needle (a medium hand-sewing needle suits most buttons)
• thread in a matching shade, ideally polyester or cotton-wrapped polyester, which is strong
• the button, or a close match
• scissors
• a pin, matchstick or cocktail stick, to keep a little slack in the stitches

Many shirts and coats have a spare button sewn inside, on a side seam or the care label. Check before you go hunting for a match.

Step 1: mark the spot

If the old button has gone, look for the small holes or leftover threads where it was. If there is nothing to go on, close the garment and mark the centre of the buttonhole on the other side with a pin or a dot of tailor's chalk.

Pull out any old loose threads with the tip of the needle.

Step 2: thread the needle

Cut a length of thread about as long as your arm. Thread the needle, pull it through until both ends meet, and tie them together in a knot. Doubling the thread makes each stitch stronger, so you need fewer of them.

Step 3: start from the back

Push the needle up from the inside of the garment to the outside, right on your mark, and pull until the knot stops against the fabric. Make one tiny stitch on the spot to anchor it.

Step 4: sew on a flat button

Most shirt and trouser buttons have two or four holes.

1. Place the button on your mark and bring the needle up through one hole.
2. Lay a pin or matchstick across the top of the button, between the holes. Stitch over it. This leaves a little slack, so the button can sit on top of the fabric of the buttonhole when it is done up.
3. Go down through the opposite hole and through the fabric.
4. Repeat six to eight times. On a four-hole button, either make two parallel bars or a cross, matching the other buttons on the garment.

Step 5: make a thread shank

Remove the pin or matchstick. Bring the needle up between the button and the fabric, but not through the button. Wind the thread round the stitches under the button four or five times. This short stem is called a shank. It lifts the button slightly, so the garment closes without pulling and the stitches take less strain.

Shanks matter most on coats and jackets, where the fabric is thick.

Step 6: finish off

Push the needle to the back of the fabric. Make three or four tiny stitches on the spot, passing the needle through the loop each time to knot it. Cut the thread, leaving a short tail.

Sewing on a shank button

Some buttons, often on coats and blazers, have a loop on the back instead of holes.

1. Hold the button so the loop lines up with the direction of the buttonhole.
2. Stitch through the loop and the fabric six to eight times.
3. Finish at the back with small knotted stitches, as above.

You do not need a thread shank, because the loop does the job.

Buttons on thick coats

For heavy wool coats, a small flat button sewn on the inside behind the main one, called a backing button, spreads the strain so the cloth does not tear. Sew through both buttons together. If a coat has one already, copy what is there. Our guide to telling if a wool coat is good quality explains why firmly sewn buttons are a good sign.

Common mistakes

• Sewing it too tight. With no slack, the button pulls the fabric and is hard to do up.
• Too few stitches. Six to eight passes with doubled thread is enough for most buttons.
• No knot at the back. The stitches work loose within a few wears.
• The wrong spot. Always check the button lines up with its buttonhole before you start.

Matching a missing button

If there is no spare, take another button from the garment to a haberdashery or a sewing shop, or look online by size. Buttons are measured across the diameter. If you cannot find a match, replace the whole set, or move a button from somewhere less visible, such as the bottom of a shirt that is always tucked in.

Worth doing before you sell

A missing or loose button is one of the small things that puts buyers off, and it is one of the easiest to fix. Our guide to pricing second-hand clothes lists it among the repairs worth doing before you list. While you are at it, check the zips too, using our guide to fixing a stuck zip.

If a button is missing and you cannot replace it, say so in the listing and show it in a photo, so the buyer knows what to expect.

The short version

Mark the spot, double your thread, knot it and start from the back. Stitch six to eight times over a pin to leave slack, wind a shank, then knot it off at the back. Check for a spare button inside before you hunt for a match.