Saturday, June 25, 2011

Button Swap? It's a Snap!

I'm always on the lookout for clothing items that have large buttons, so that I can take them right off!
This short-sleeved knit vest originally had a plain, large plastic button for closure, at the neckline.




I removed that button and replaced it with the female half of a large snap. (I now know where to find the same size snaps in black, but fortunately for this posting, these are silver and easy to see against the black knit.)
Having whip stitched the buttonhole closed, I sewed a male snap part to the middle of the backside of the closed buttonhole. At that point, the vest could be snapped together, but had a blank, buttonless front.



Next, I sewed another female snap onto the outside, over the sealed buttonhole.
The last step was to sew a male snap part onto the back of my Dancer button and snap it onto my garment.



Now, by simply adding a male snap part to any of my buttons, I can change outfits at will!

3 comments:

Perri www.ShaktipajDesigns.etsy.com said...

I'm happy to see this idea brought forward for lovely pieces like yours, Victoria. My mom was a costumer, and used this idea all the time to change the insignia on military costumes - as well as for making collars and cuffs interchangeable.
Did you close the buttonhole and make the snap double to support the weight? For some buttons you could snap it through the existing hole, or create a thread/wire shank that attached to the snap.

In any case - a beautiful button and an ingenious solution!!!

Victoria Cochran said...

Hi Perri, sorry for the lag...blogspot seems to have ceased sending me notifications! (will check on it). I remember jackets made with removable collars! I did close the buttonhole in this case, and the material is thick enough to support just the one snap (they are large based, so the button is well supported). I'm glad you like it...I keep finding new ways!

Marsha of Marsha Neal Studio said...

What a great idea Vika! I agree with Perri - ingenious solution! Love seeing handmade adornments added like that!