Chanel Jacket tutorial - 3 Buttons

The typical Chanel jacket has distinctive buttons. Although most people will never realise it, the buttonholes are even more distinvtive!
This week I'll show you how to trim metal buttons for that Chanel look - a technique you can use on any garment. Then next week I'll show you how to make the buttonholes. Chanel buttonholes are a combination of two buttonhole techniques - embroidered and bound. Each technique can be used individually on a variety of garments.

The typical Chanel button is an ornate metal button with a fabric covered ring around it. Much of the time the fabric covered ring will be black, but there's nothing to stop you using whatever fabric you like. Here's what you need to make your buttons

The ring is slightly bigger than the button so the button can pass through it. The button must have a shank. The small fabric circle is about the size of the interior of the ring, the larger one is about twice the size of the exterior of the ring. The fabric is some black linen. One problem I did have was that the linen was thick enough so the brass ring shone through the fabric. I fixed this by painting the rings with matt model paint (meant for a model spitfire!).
Step one is to sew a running stitch around the circumference of the large circle, as if you were making a yo-yo

Then, place the brass ring in the centre of the circle and gather the running stitches (again, as if you were making a yo-yo)

Stabstitch around the inside of the ring to define the ring part of the button

Whipstitch the small fabric circle to the rear of the button to cover the raw edges of the (now gathered) large circle.

You now have a linen button. Mine isn't very neat right now, but if the linen was tighter you could use it as a button as it is - lots of historical garments have buttons like this and it's great for matching fabric. However we are going to poke a hole in it with an awl. Do this by putting the covered ring over something soft like blu tack

Push the shank of the button through the hole you just made and secure with a few stitches. The button is complete!