Button loops — practical and durable for a decorative finish

Press, 3 June 1981, Page 22

Button loops — practical and durable for a decorative finish

Button loops are back. Effective both artistically, and practically, they can be made either with or without padding inside. Where a continuous line of them would be unsuitable, they can be applied in groups or individually with strikingly elegant and interesting results. A “corded” tube is not difficult to achieve as long as' the cord or string is first firmly attached to the covering material. The cord should be twice

the length of the bias strip and attached to the wrong side of it with machine stitching (diagram 1). Now flip the bias strip over the other half of the cord and fold the strip in half lengthwise (diagram 2). The cord, the turned point of the strip and the “right” side of the material are now folded inwards. Using a zipper foot and a short stitch, form a funnel 2.5 cm long near the turned point before sewing close to the cord (diagram 3). The bias strip should be stretched to its fullest length while sewing so the stitches do not break in use. Next, trim the scam al-' lowances to ,25cm and work the bias back over itself and the uncovered cord (diagram 4). Now for the button loops themselves. ; Where these are close together they can be formed in a continuous strip. On a sheet of paper, draw a line representing the edge of the opening and place the centre of a button exactly on it. Keeping the seams of the corded tube on the inside, wind a piece of it leftwards round the button and mark the length and depth with pencil lines. These lines provide guides for marking the positions of further loops. The next step is to stitch each loop to the paper as it is formed (diagram 5). A darning needle is ideal for holding the loop firmly as the machine needle approaches. Clip the turns of the loops to avoid bulkiness under the inside of the seam, then pin the strip of paper, plus loops, to the edge of the garment. The loops should lie away from the opening (diagram 6). The line of stitching attaching the loops to the garment is slightly nearer the edge of the material than the facing seam will be. After tearing off. the paper, sew on the facing from the wrong side of the garment so the stitching for the loops can be seen and followed. The top-stitching through the facing and seam allowances and close to the seam line helps anchor the loops as well as ensure that the facing • stays flat on the inside of the garment. / Ball or half ball buttons are generally used with this type of closing.