You've brought a fabulous pair of button-on suspenders from SuspenderStore. You've even picked up a six pack of buttons for your pants and you are wondering exactly how do button-end suspenders work. Now, what? Well, relax, take a break and sit down to watch our informative video, "How to Attach Suspender Buttons to Pants.". This is one of many SuspenderStore how-to videos created to help solve suspender common questions and problems.
If you have to attach suspender buttons before you can enjoy your snazzy suspenders, Dave from the SuspenderStore shows you the ins and outs of how to attach buttons to suspenders. In this video, you'll learn the dos and don'ts of where to place the suspender buttons. Plus, discover all the factors that go into determining whether to place the buttons on the inside or outside of your pants. Additionally, you'll also familiarize yourself with the tricks of the trade to attaching suspender buttons.
What if you've never sewn a stitch in your life? Now, don't get flustered over those button suspenders because you can't sew. The SuspenderStore offers easy-to-use no-sew buttons as well. You can attach either permanent or removable no-sew buttons to wear those stylish suspenders.
Thanks to Dave and the SuspenderStore, you get all the answers you need to complete this task successfully in a DIY video. Watch this video to find out the answer to that all important question: Do suspender buttons go on the inside or outside of pants? Ready? It's time to button up!
HOW TO SEW BUTTONS ON PANTS FOR SUSPENDERS
Today, we are going to talk about how to sew buttons on pants for suspenders.
Obviously, you sew buttons onto pants to wear button suspenders, or braces. But where to place suspender buttons on pants? Do they go on the inside or outside? How do button end suspenders work with new or replacement buttons?
We get calls all the time from people asking us how to do all of that as well as how these buttons will work with their suspenders. We have a section on our website in our Style Guide all about sewing buttons on suspenders. What I will do here is talk about positioning buttons and where to place them. There are other videos online that cover the actual sewing process.
First, let's talk about the buttons that you should use. Suspender buttons are different from regular shirt buttons. They are wider and have smooth curved edges instead of hard edges. They are typically 5/8 inch in diameter. Like most buttons, they have four holes.
The next decision you must make is whether to put the buttons on the inside or the outside of the pants. There is no hard and fast rule, but most people put the buttons on the inside of the pants. Especially with dress pants. But not everyone. Some people think it is traditional to wear them on the outside, as they were worn that way long ago. Other situations where we see buttons on the outside of the pants include work suspenders, or logger suspenders, and some western and leather suspenders, where the button straps are very large. In these cases, it is easier to attach to the buttons when they are on the outside. And, those straps are pretty big to be trying to fit them inside your pants. We are also starting to see some of the young and trendy fashion conscious now starting to wear suspenders with outside buttons. But once again, most people put them on the inside.
If you are putting the buttons on the inside of the pants, you want to sew them into the waistband of the pants. Ideally, the waistband is double thick and you can sew them only to the inside portion so that the thread is not visible on the outside of the pants. It doesn't really matter if the buttons are going to be on the outside.
The next step is to figure out how wide you want the spacing of the buttons. Given the length of the leather strips, or runner ends that you will use to attach the suspenders to the pants, you want to space the buttons between 2 ½ and 3 inches apart. There is not a perfect distance. I prefer right in the middle of that range, 2 ¾ inches. What I recommend doing is holding the suspenders to the pants and eyeballing it yourself, ideally in a mirror. You may like it slightly closer or wider spaced.
So, where do you put the buttons? We are going to assume here that we are dealing with Y-back button suspenders, which have a single strap in the center of the back. They represent the vast majority of button suspenders. There are also some X-back button suspenders and some free swing suspenders, which are sort of X-back too. For those, you just need to figure out where the straps will meet the pants.
I always start with the back, as that is the easiest. Let's say that you are going to use my spacing of 2 ¾ inches. Then all you need to do is go out 1 3/8 inches from the exact center in each direction. The button should be in about the middle of the waistband.
The front is a little more complicated for a couple reasons. One reason is that everyone's body is shaped differently, so it is difficult to say that there is any specific distance from center as to where you should put the buttons.
Some people say that if you have pleated pants that the inside, or front button, should be located directly above the pleat. Some people also say that the buttons should be equally spaced on each side of the first belt loop. The problem with both of those rules is that the positioning of pleats and belt loops can vary, and so do people's body shapes. This is why you can't really have hard rules like that. Look at mine for example. The buttons are not equally spaced over my belt loops.
Understanding that everybody is different, what I like to do is to drape the suspenders over my shoulders, like you are wearing them, and stand in front of a mirror and see how they best fall or lay on you. Then, I can figure out exactly how far from center they are on each side. Be aware that the front of the pants will have an overlap where the pants usually button or snap together above the zipper, so you need to take that into account to determine where exact center is.
How do you attach buttons on suspenders? Mark those spots, sew the buttons on (or attach no-sew buttons) and you're done.
I hope that we have sufficiently buttoned up this issue for you.
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