After a few weeks of wearing my “new” jeans, a metal button suddenly fell off the front!
Luckily I was home at the time so I avoided any awkward moments.
It was surprisingly easy to fix and took just 10 minutes. Makes me wonder why I left it in the mending pile for so long!
Often jeans you buy will come with a spare metal button to put back on. So I used one of these that had I saved from a previous pair, hence the reason it doesn’t match the other buttons. But most sewing stores will also sell these if you need one or want a better match than this.
The old button had left a hole on the jeans, so before adding on a new one, I needed to fill in that space and create some stability in the fabric.
Cut a rectangle of denim and fold it in half to get double the strength.
Place it over the hole and sew it securely. I straight stitched around the hole and then zig-zagged around it again just in case it started fraying. I realise it looks a bit messy here, but I promise it was nicer on the other side and remains hidden by the button hole anyway.
Your replacement button should have two parts: the button itself and another piece that looks like a little screw.
Place the screw piece on the inside of the jeans and push it carefully through the new fabric into the hole where the other button was previously.
Place the metal button on top of this (on the outside of the jeans) and lay the button right side down. Then hammer the screw piece down into the button (but I recommend placing it on top of a towel first. I hammered mine directly onto the concrete and it scuffed up the button a little).
Good as new!
Fortunately I mostly wear long tops so the mismatched button isn’t really an issue. I’m sure you could match yours up a bit better if need be.
Thanks for this. I avoid mending like the plague but this looks easy.
Mary
Oh, me too!! It’s never as exciting as making something.
Thanks for this it comes at just the right time as Mr 8 lost a metal button yesterday
How uncanny! You’ll have them back out of the mending pile in no time now :)
So that’s what you do! Thanks for sharing – I’ll actually attempt fixing these now :)
It is a nice, easy mending project. Those ones are always satisfying :)
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Mending schmending! I detest it, too, but I might even be able to do this. Thanks!
Oh, I know! Mending is so tedious.
Just a word of caution – from my experience with jeans buttons. Make sure the ones you use have a metal centre. Some have a cheap plastic bit that the little screw thingy goes into at it can split quite easily. I ‘cheated’ recently. I made my husband a pair of jeans out of very heavy denim and was nervous about doing the button and buttonhole myself so I paid the local repair shop to do it for me – cost $17, but it was worth it for me.
Thanks for sharing that tip, Sarah! Little things like that are great to watch out for.
This was extremely helpful. Now I can go to the sewing store and mend my old pair (here’s hoping!), instead of trying on new jeans (the horror!). :) Can one do the sewing without a machine? I’ll have to do it by hand…
I hate shopping for new jeans too. It takes months to find the right fit! Yes, you could do it by hand. A thimble may be handy in pushing the needle through thick fabric without hurting your fingers, if the denim is heavy.
How do you hammer it in straight? I keep getting it at an angle and so it won’t go in completely and the screw breaks off. So frustrating!
Hi Lisa. It’s a lot like hammering a nail into a wall. Just try to keep the main button part as stable as you can and tap the screw gently into place while holding the button straight. If the screw is breaking off, you could be using too much force at the beginning. It shouldn’t need a solid hit until right near the end when it’s almost in place. Hope that helps!
Hi, could you tell me what tools I would need to move a metal tack button (I am not sure if that is the official name but it is like a rivet) on my blue jeans and would it leave a hole that would ravel. They not located in line with the zipper which is probably why it was on clearance. I would like to move or remove it and replace it. I like the way you explain these topics, you really make easy to understand. Thank you.
Robin
Hi Robin. Yes, removing the existing button will leave a small hole, but I’ve never had one unravel once I’ve patched it as described in the tutorial. Denim will fray a little on a raw edge, but generally won’t unravel as such. I’m not sure how to remove a button, but my first stop would be a hacksaw, cutting as close to the fabric as possible. I hope that helps and thanks for reading!
I hope you don’t mind – I tried this out at home on a pair of my Dad’s jeans and made a post about it on my new blog. I did include a link to this post saying where I got it from. I never would have thought to just fix the button myself, so thank you for posting this. :)
Here is the link to my blog, please don’t hesitate to email or comment if you’d like me to change or remove my post.
http://andromedacrafts.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-day-of-firsts-jeans.html
~ Kimiko of Andromeda Crafts
Thanks Kimiko. Cute blog and great job on the button fix. Thanks for linking xo