Can someone explain what button hole twist is? I want to learn how to hand work button holes and gather this is the stuff but would like a little background on it.
I see it for sale everywhere in a zillion colors but little is said about the weight of the thread. Is all twist equal or some standard weight?
Thanks,
js
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Hi Jack,
Buttonhole twist is a (usually) silk thread about the size of carpet thread. It is used as a single thread, and makes beautiful buttonholes.
I'm 67, and thought I knew everything about sewing. But I recently discovered that I do my buttonhole stitch upside-down. I'm left-handed, and I always work my buttonholes with the finished edge up. It seems to be easier for me than having the finished edge facing towards me--that is very awkward for me. In any event, a book on hand stitches is bound to have the procedure shown. If it doesn't work for you, turn it around and work it as I do.
Teri
It's the result that matters, not the method. ;-)
I can at least tell you that the master tailors I work with prefer to use size 30 twist. I like using silk but they seem content with Guterman's 100% polyester.
Alaina
snipped-for-privacy@schmidl> Can someone explain what button hole twist is? I want to learn how to
little
weight?
I'd think stitching toward oneself would be awkward for anybody. I work buttonhole stitch with the finished edge on the left -- being right handed, it's natural for me to point the needle to the left.
It's been a long time since I worked a buttonhole -- I've come to prefer hooks and eyes or snaps. And when I did hand-work buttonholes, it was always to salvage a machine-worked buttonhole that had unraveled or worn out. (It isn't unusual for a RTW buttonhole to come with a loose end that unzips easier than the pull-string on a paper bag of cat litter. Another reason I no longer wear RTW clothing.)
I've worked buttonholes with #40 and even #50 thread, when that was what I had. Heavier thread works up quicker, of course. Size D silk or #8 cotton is about as heavy as you can push through apparel fabric, so size D silk came to be called "buttonhole twist". The name may have spread to synthetics made for similar purposes; I haven't inspected the display at Lowery's closely, since most of their threads are for machine embroidery. Last time I bought thread, I just showed the clerk my swatch and she found a Mettler 50/3 cotton to match it. Which I use only for top-stitching, of course; I use 100/6 cotton for seams, but that comes only in white and ecru, so I have to settle for 50/3 when it's going to show.
"Twist" specified plied silk, as opposed to floss, in which the silk filaments are not twisted together. "Machine twist" came on spools for use with sewing machines.
"Spun silk" is made from short pieces that are spun like cotton, and should be used only for ornamental stitching; it doesn't stand up under hard wear. Unfortunately, Guetermann is spun silk. I suppose it would hold up in buttonholes, which are a series of knots that would secure all those short bits, but I haven't tried it.
Joy Beeson
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