Dressmaking 
 
 
and secure opening. Their attaching is too simple to need 
explanation. 
  (3) Buttons and Buttonholes.-The sewing on of buttons 
and the making of plain buttonholes are problems in sewing 
and need not be discussed here. 
  (4) Bound Buttonholes and Tailor Buttonholes.-There 
are buttonholes which are decorative as well as useful and 
the making of which requires explanation. 
  (a) Bound Buttonholes.-There are two general methods 
of making bound buttonholes each of which may be varied 
in its detail and may be adapted to suit the material of 
the garment and the location of the buttonhole. 
  (i) Reinforcing Material.-The material in which the 
buttonholes are to be made should be reinforced. The 
kind of reinforcing material used del~ends entirely upon the 
material of the garment. For chiffon, the same material 
should be used. For broadcloth and other wool fabrics, 
silk or a fairly fine cambric may be used. For silk, the 
same material, or a thin silk or soft muslin is good. For 
cotton and linen, thinner cotton fabrics may be used, their 
quality depending upon the quality of the garment material. 
If cottons and linens are ttsed it is a good plan to shrink 
them first, especially if they are to be placed in a garment 
which is to be laundered, cleaned, or pressed. The rein- 
forcement is always cut on the bias; it should be about i" 
wider than the buttonhole is to be long and long enough 
to include all the buttonholes in the group. The reinforcing 
material should be basted to the wrong side of the garment, 
to extend Y2" beyond each end of the buttonhole. 
  (ii) Size of Buttonholes.-The length of a buttonhole 
depends on the size of the button. It should equal the 
diameter of the button plus its thickness. The spacing of 
the buttonholes is determined by their position in the 
garment, by their size, and the taste of the worker. 
  (iii) Marking.-The location and the size of each but- 
tonhole must be very carefully marked before any cutting 
is done. Two parallel bastings the full length of the gar- 
ment may be made to indicate their length. Another bast- 
ing at right angles to these should show the exact line of 
 
 
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