Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________ Period: ______
Directions: Part 1 is the step card. Follow the numbered steps; each step has one action and a picture described in words, so you can work from the sheet alone. Part 2 is the practice record. Part 3 is the cost math. Page 2 is the portfolio card; cut it out, sew your best button on a clean scrap, and thread the scrap through the two slits.
This is a life skill lesson. A button falls off a shirt, a coat, or a pair of work pants, and the whole garment goes in a drawer or in the trash. Four minutes of work saves it. Everybody leaves today able to do this.
Word bank in other languages
[Check with a native speaker before printing.]
| English | Turkish | Portuguese | Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|
| button | düğme | botão | botón |
| buttonhole | düğme iliği | casa de botão | ojal |
| hole | delik | buraco | agujero |
| shank | düğme boynu (boşluk) | pé do botão (folga) | cuello del botón (holgura) |
| under | altında | embaixo | debajo |
| tight | sıkı | apertado | apretado |
| loose | gevşek | solto (frouxo) | flojo |
| fix (repair) | tamir etmek | consertar | arreglar |
| anchor | sabitlemek | fixar | fijar |
| toothpick | kürdan | palito de dente | palillo |
Part 1: Step card, sew on a button
Step 1. Find the position.
Line the button up with the buttonhole it has to reach. On a real shirt, the old thread leaves a mark; use that mark. Mark the spot with chalk.
Picture: a shirt front with a buttonhole on one side and a small chalk X on the other side, lined up across from the hole.
Step 2. Knot the thread and come up at the mark.
Bring the needle up from underneath, right at the chalk mark.
Picture: a needle coming up through cloth at a chalk X, with a knot underneath the cloth.
Step 3. Take one small anchor stitch at the mark.
Go down and come back up in almost the same spot. This is the anchor. It stops the knot from popping through on the first pull.
Picture: two tiny stitches on top of each other at the chalk X, before any button is on the cloth.
Step 4. Put the button on the needle.
Slide the needle up through one hole of the button and let the button slide down the thread to the cloth.
Picture: a two-hole button sitting on a needle, sliding down the thread toward the cloth.
Step 5. Lay a toothpick across the top of the button.
Put a toothpick (or a straight pin) on top of the button, between the two holes. You are going to sew over it. This is what makes the shank.
Picture: a button lying flat on cloth with a toothpick resting across its middle, between the holes.
Step 6. Sew through the hole pairs five or six times.
Two-hole button: straight across, the same two holes every time. Four-hole button: two parallel bars, or a cross. Pick one and keep it the same.
Picture: a four-hole button with two straight parallel bars of thread, and beside it a four-hole button with an X of thread across it.
Step 7. Take the toothpick out.
Pull the toothpick out. Lift the button. You should see loose thread underneath it. That gap is the shank.
Picture: a hand pulling a toothpick out from under stitched threads, and the button lifting up off the cloth with slack thread showing below it.
Step 8. Wrap the thread around the shank three or four times.
Bring the needle up between the button and the cloth, then wind the thread around the loose threads under the button, three or four turns, snug.
Picture: a lifted button with thread wound in a tight little column between the button and the cloth.
Step 9. Take the needle to the back and finish off.
Push the needle down through to the back. Make three tiny stitches in one place, then a knot, then trim close with the snips.
Picture: the back of the cloth showing three small stitches on top of each other, with snips cutting the tail short.
Step 10. Test it.
Tug the button firmly. It should not move. Then check: is there slack under it? If it sits flat on the cloth, the buttonhole side will not slide under it and the garment will not close.
Picture: two fingers pulling up on a button that stays put, and a side view showing a small gap between the button and the cloth.
Why does a button need a shank?
Part 2: Practice record
| Button | Type | Anchor stitch? | Shank? (does it lift) | Passes through the holes | Ends on the back? | Holds a tug? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | two-hole | yes / no | yes / no | yes / no | yes / no | |
| Practice 2 | four-hole | yes / no | yes / no | yes / no | yes / no | |
| Portfolio button | two / four | yes / no | yes / no | yes / no | yes / no |
Part 3: The cost math
| Item | Replacement cost | Cost of a button and thread | What the repair saves |
|---|---|---|---|
| A shirt | $18 | $0.05 | $ |
| A pair of pants | $25 | $0.05 | $ |
| A winter coat | $60 | $0.05 | $ |
If every person in this room repaired one shirt instead of replacing it, how much would the room save?
Number of people in the room: ______ times $17.95 = $______________
One sentence: why does anybody throw out a garment over a button?
Page 2: The Portfolio Card
Print this on card stock, about four by six inches, and cut two slits in the middle about two inches apart so a fabric scrap can be threaded through and held flat.
MY BUTTON
Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________
Button type: ______ two-hole ______ four-hole
[Two horizontal slits go here, two inches apart. Thread the fabric scrap through so the button faces out.]
The four checks (score yourself)
| The check | Yes | Not yet |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The button is in the right position | ☐ | ☐ |
| 2. It holds a firm tug | ☐ | ☐ |
| 3. It has a shank; it lifts off the cloth | ☐ | ☐ |
| 4. Thread ends are on the back, knotted and trimmed | ☐ | ☐ |
One sentence: what did this repair save?
Teacher tug test: passed ☐ re-sewn ☐ Teacher initials: ______
This card goes on the sampler card in Lesson 5.11, box 4.
Teacher key
Why a button needs a shank. The buttonhole side of the garment is a layer of fabric that has to slide underneath the button. If the button is sewn flat against the cloth, there is no room for that layer, so the button will not go through the hole or it strains the thread until it tears out. The shank is the gap that makes room.
Part 2, what to look for. Anchor stitch present under the button; the button lifts off the cloth when pulled up; five or six passes through the hole pairs, not fifteen; thread ends knotted on the back and trimmed; holds a firm tug.
Part 3.
| Item | Saves |
|---|---|
| Shirt | $17.95 |
| Pants | $24.95 |
| Coat | $59.95 |
Room total: the class count times $17.95. For 21 students that is $376.95. For 28 it is $502.60. [Sal: your prices.]
The last sentence has many right answers and the honest ones are the best: because nobody in the house knows how, because there is no needle and thread in the house, because a new shirt is cheap and time is short, or because nobody ever taught them that it takes four minutes.
How the tug test works. The teacher tugs every portfolio button while circulating. A button that comes off gets re-sewn on the spot, which takes about three minutes, and the card gets initialed after the re-sew. Nobody is penalized for a first button that failed; the point is that the second one holds.
Reduced-dexterity version. Large coat buttons with wide holes, a yarn needle with perle cotton or yarn, and a loosely woven scrap or binca. The shank slack is held with a folded piece of card stock instead of a toothpick, which is easier to grip. A student who cannot manage the shank wrap in Step 8 finishes at Step 7 and is scored Meets if the button holds a tug and has visible slack; the wrap is noted as the stretch.
Standards checked by this handout: NYS ATPD 2. Production c) and 3. Maintenance a); CTE HSW 4. Classroom and Workplace Safety c); CTE SUS 3. Energy Conservation c); NYS FACS Standard 2 (Intermediate) PI C; CDOS 3a Personal Qualities; National FCS 3.0 16.4.5 and 2.1.4.