Tutorial: Missing Button Quick Fix
While rushing to get dressed to get my son ready for school this morning, I discovered that the button on my pants had come off. Usually I use a safety pin to fix this dilemma, but it’s not without its drawbacks. If I slip the pin through the hole like a button it often slips out when sitting. And if I secure the two pants flaps with the pin, it snaps open with the slightest bit of tugging. So I rifled through my bag of doodads (all the bits and bobs that wind up on the bathroom counter when I clean out my pockets before bed) and came up with a better solution. While I’m sure I’m not the first person to come up with this idea, but I still felt pretty clever. The great thing about this “quick fix” is that the materials needed may be found in most homes or, if you happen to pop a button at work, at the office. So here is the tutorial for a quick way to remedy a missing pants button.
What you will need:
A safety pin (medium to large size works best) and a pop tab off of a soda can.
A safety pin (medium to large size works best) and a pop tab off of a soda can.
I am using a strip of felt for this tutorial. I cut a button hole approximately the same size as the one on my pants (which are currently secured utilizing this method).
First, place the pop tab horizontally where the button used to be. If your pants are really snug you may want to move it closer to the edge. I placed mine with the thick edge of the pop tab farther from the pants edge so the loop on the safety pin would lie
against it.
against it.
Bend the sharp end of the safety pin toward the head. It’s best to bend it in the middle or closer to the sharp end.
From the back, stick the safety pin through the hole farther from the edge, over the center post of the tab, and through the hole closer to the pants edge. Don’t push the pin so far that the loop at the end of the safety pin is against pop tab hole, but just enough so that the sharp end goes all the way through the holes and the fabric and that loop rests against the wide edge of the pop tab. This will make your “button” much more secure.
Bend the sharp edge of the safety pin so that it is straight again and fasten.
Now you can slip the pop tab button through the button hole. And there you have a temporary button that is secure enough to last the day until you have a chance to replace the missing button. I’ve been wearing my pants with the pop tab button for about six hours already and it hasn’t slipped out or popped off at all.
Not only is the pop tab button a great quick fix, but I think it would look really cute for kids and teens projects like cuffs or small
bags. It would also be a great button for younger kids to practice sewing with since the holes are so large. They could simply sew around the center post over and over and secure with a knot in the back. It’s a great way to reuse what you already have and the kids could even paint the buttons, too!
Have you ever used a pop tab as a button? Do you have your own missing button “quick fix” technique? I am looking forward to using pop tab buttons in future craft projects, and I would love to hear about or see pictures of any of your projects using
these nifty little objects!
Not only is the pop tab button a great quick fix, but I think it would look really cute for kids and teens projects like cuffs or small
bags. It would also be a great button for younger kids to practice sewing with since the holes are so large. They could simply sew around the center post over and over and secure with a knot in the back. It’s a great way to reuse what you already have and the kids could even paint the buttons, too!
Have you ever used a pop tab as a button? Do you have your own missing button “quick fix” technique? I am looking forward to using pop tab buttons in future craft projects, and I would love to hear about or see pictures of any of your projects using
these nifty little objects!