Do people still sew on buttons?

[marvik]

I just wondered after teaching my 21 year old - who will soon be leaving home - how to do this.

Yes, of course.

Except I've given up on sewing the buttons back onto my walking trousers and use a large safety pin instead. My dog has a weird habit of chewing them off if I accidentally leave them where he can get hold of them. (thank goodness jeans have riveted metal buttons!) .

Anyone finding a constant problem with holes in pockets... it’s keys that cause them. 😉

I sew on buttons, replace zips, do hems, make adjustments, shorten curtains etc. I love my sewing machine and find it hard to believe that someone would throw something away because a button has fallen off!! I firmly believe everyone should be taught basic sewing skills at school.

Yes of course.

Yes I can sew on a button, do repairs use a sewing machine hem curtains etc, my Gran taught me to sew she was a dab hand at it and made my wedding dress for me. Dd coould sew on a button when she was 7or8 and does her own buttons and repairs now she's 20.
Cannot imagine why people would dump an item just because a button had come off, that's crazy and more money than sense.

I was never taught but when DS1 started school the uniform was so expensive that when we were given a load of hand-me-downs DH and I watched YouTube videos to learn how to replace buttons, repair rips and take trousers up. We're both terrible but at least we're trying!

I remember when I said to DH "we need to mend this stuff or spend a fortune on new uniforms" he tried the old "oh but you're so much better at that then me..." HA! nope! I'm just as useless as you are so get out that mending kit boyo and let's get sewing

Have a look on YouTube OP. Sewing is very relaxing once you get into it.

Lots of clothing these days is such poor quality that if I didn’t do little repairs, it would cost me an absolute fortune in new clothes.

Well, yes. Think of the environmental impact of chucking away perfectly good clothes. I find minor repairs are needed to modern clothes much more frequently than they used to be. I am utterly shite at sewing, but basic mending doesn't require much from you beyond functioning hands and eyes.

Yes sew on buttons , can replace a zip , used to make clothes for myself when younger ( doubles still could ) and made the odd fancy party dress for the kid .

Yes definately!

I can't imagine throwing something away if a button came off!

Happy to do small repairs & have also had some more significant repairs done by a professional.

I also sometimes buy a shirt/cardigan from a charity shop for the buttons! Charity shops near me sell kids clothes for 20-50p so it works out cheaper than buying new buttons.

A friend of mine recently jazzed up an old coat beautifully by giving it new buttons. I love this kind of thing - not just mending but reviving, shortening, taking in to fit, dyeing etc.

Yes of course, in fact I quite often take all the buttons off new cardigans an replace them.

I do! We have a great haberdashers in our local village and they have every button you could ever want! I also sew up holes in clothes and hem school trousers as DS is quite short.

I do. I've taught my 13yo how to, but not my six year old yet. The six year old can knit and do a basic crochet though (as can the 13 year old). Why wouldn't anyone sew a button back on? Do people really just chuck the whole garment of a button comes off?

Yep. In fact I sewed buttons back on a jacket last night. It's so easy and not to seems like a waste of money

I make all my own clothes so sewing on a button seems very basic.

Yes.

Yes, I sew on buttons, repair seams/dropped hems, and have made several bridesmaids dresses and two wedding dresses. Was only taught at school in early 1970's.
DH can also do repairs and replace buttons as was taught in the Army.

It's skills that all children should be taught by their parents. If you don't know how to do the basics I'm sure there a plenty of Youtube tutorials!

I can (and do) but I’m not particularly good at mending. I can do embroidery though. Clearly I was meant to be a lady, not a housemaid.

I will do buttons and minor repairs by hand but I've never touched a sewing machine in my life 😳

Of course. I repair all clothes until it ceases to be possible. I hate waste.

I sew on buttons, put hens back up, shorten things, darn holes in jumpers and fix ripped seams.

I also seem to do most of my friends mending and had to teach a lot of people how to sew on buttons at university.

I would had the waste otherwise!

I do draw the line at cheap socks though as once they go into holes they're usually thinning all over.

Both dh and I do, so yes, people do still sew on buttons. Why wouldn't you?

Another "of course" here, as do / can my dc (who are now 17, 20, and 22). Both the older 2 went of to University with a couple of needles and some thread.
Indeed, only yesterday, I sewed up an unravelling seam in a T-shirt, repaired a small tear where a hood was coming off a coat, ande put a stitch in a handbag where the seam was just beginning to start coming undone.