Popping dimes

[j]

One or two of my APCs' buttons sometimes come undone (not from uber-tightness, the hole is just loose) when I sit down. Is there an official way to fix this? I was thinking of sewing some elastic thread across the buttonhole.

Thoughts?

 

[dusty]

Why not just use real thread and make the hole tighter?

 

[j]

Originally Posted by dusty

Why not just use real thread and make the hole tighter?
Because I can't really make it tighter, only smaller. Buttonholes work because of the stiffness of the fabric they are through. The fly has gotten too soft and the holes don't hold shape anymore. I don't know if making the hole smaller is going to fix the problem.

 

[berlin report]

Originally Posted by j

Because I can't really make it tighter, only smaller. Buttonholes work because of the stiffness of the fabric they are through. The fly has gotten too soft and the holes don't hold shape anymore. I don't know if making the hole smaller is going to fix the problem.

I think making the holes smaller is really the only way to solve the problem; for a while at least.

 

[Jetta]

Originally Posted by j

Because I can't really make it tighter, only smaller. Buttonholes work because of the stiffness of the fabric they are through. The fly has gotten too soft and the holes don't hold shape anymore. I don't know if making the hole smaller is going to fix the problem.

starch?

 

[montecristo#4]

Velcro.

 

[ken]

Originally Posted by dusty

Why not just use real thread and make the hole tighter?
I can't picture how you'd do this, unless you cake on layer after layer of thread untill their combined thickness makes the hole smaller. You could get a small piece of denim, cut a hole in it, and sew that onto the back side of the existing buttonhole. That would increase the stiffness in that area and hopefully keep the hole's shape when stress is put on it.

 

[DGP]

Originally Posted by j

Because I can't really make it tighter, only smaller. Buttonholes work because of the stiffness of the fabric they are through. The fly has gotten too soft and the holes don't hold shape anymore. I don't know if making the hole smaller is going to fix the problem.


But by making it smaller, won't you make it harder for the button to fit through the hole, thereby making it tighter? Just sew a piece of thread near the small end of the button hole. Even if the hole is still too big top to bottom, it will be compensated by the reduced width. Think of it as gastric bypass for your jeans.

 

[dusty]

Haha, exactly.

 

[Matt]

i fall on the make-the-hole-smaller side too. Insert smutty joke here.

Just stitch a millimeter or 2 shut at either end of the button hole.

Itll make em a whole lot harder to do up and to undo (but hey no one is really volunteering to undo J's fly anyhow), but should stop the button sliding out.

 

[ken]

Originally Posted by m@T

Itll make em a whole lot harder to do up and to undo
I see what you're saying now, but it seems like that would just exacerbate the stretching. If you make the hole smaller, you'd have to stretch it out even more to get the button in.

And buttoning J's fly pays the bills, man. I'm just trying to earn an honest living.

 

[dusty]

Originally Posted by ken

I see what you're saying now, but it seems like that would just exacerbate the stretching.

He would just be returning the hole to its original size, no tighter.