How to Repair Worn Clothes: Shirts & Buttons

Not only is our passion here at Messina Hembry all about designer vintage clothing, it’s also about reducing waste, recycling and reusing.

Up until around 40 years ago, people would spend a lot of time and effort repairing clothes and shoes that had been damaged rather than throwing them away. The fast fashion industry that has developed over recent years unfortunately encourages mass waste which is bad for the environment and bad for the people working in the industry. This is why we want to show you how to repair your own clothes so that when you have a tear in your favourite shirt it doesn’t have to go in the bin and then replaced by another one.

The first topics in our new selection of ‘How to’ guides are how to repair a tear in a shirt and how to sew on buttons. Kicking it off is the shirt:


How to repair a torn shirt

Whilst this method won’t always be hugely effective for formal shirts, for a casual shirt or one with a pattern, this will certainly do the trick.

What you will need:
- Sewing machine
- Scissors
- Thread of your shirt colour

The method:

- Satin stitch

How long it will take:
Up to 15 minutes

The satin stitch is a tightly-spaced stitch that is very wide and should be used on rips and tears that are not on a seam. Also note that satin stitching is not appropriate on larger holes that require extra fabric.

First thing’s first…
Take a look at your tear and work out if satin stitching will be suitable. How big is it? Is it on the seam? Trim away any loose threads before then picking a suitably coloured thread; ideally this should be either the lightest or darkest colour on the shirt depending on where the tear is. Once chosen, thread into your sewing machine!

The sewing machine…

The stitch-width controls the horizontal distance of the stitch and we recommend adjusting your sewing machine to a stitch-width of 2 or 3; however, check your sewing machine manual to find out the exact width adjustment on your own machine. When using a satin stitch, it’s important that you have a sewing machine with a wide mouthed pressor foot as when carrying out a satin stitch, the machine will bump into the pressor foot and break if the opening isn’t wide enough!

So once you’ve set your stitch-width to 2 or 3, change your sewing machine’s stitch-length to just above 0. As satin stitches should be super tight and the stitch length controls how far forward the sewing machine advances with each stitch, the number has to be as close to 0 as possible. This will create the tight, neat and tidy stitch you need. However, again, make sure you check your personal machine to find the right stitch-length adjustment.

Let’s get sewing…
If the fabric of your shirt is particularly thin, we recommend adding a small scrap of interfacing fabric on the back of the tear. Then align the fabric in the sewing machine about half an inch before the tear, lower the pressor foot and begin sewing over the tear! Sew to about half an inch past the end of the slit, lift the presser foot and then snip the threads to release the shirt. You’ll have a few extra threads you’ll need to trim off and then hey presto! Your repaired shirt!

How to sew on buttons
Replacing buttons is a very common clothing repair, which is why fortunately it’s one of the easiest things to learn how to do! Here, we’re using an example of a standard 4 hole button.

What you will need:
- Your button
- Threading needle
- Scissors
- Thread of your colour choice
- Tailor’s chalk (or any chalk!)

The method:

Needle & thread

How long it will take:
10-15 minutes

First thing’s first…
Find the area where your button has gone missing and establish what colour thread you would like to use. Overlap the buttonhole where you would like your button to go back onto and mark the fabric with your chalk.

The needle & thread…
Just like bread and butter, the needle and thread are the fundamental essentials when it come to fixing up your clothing! Cut off an arm’s length of your thread and then thread your needle, sliding it down the thread until hangs at the centre. This will ensure that you have two equal lengths of thread on either side of the needle before you then tie the loose ends of the thread together.

You then need to tie a second knot over the first one to make it big enough so that your thread doesn’t slip through the grain of the fabric.

Let’s get sewing…
Poke your needle up through the chalk mark, pull the thread taut until your double knot catches in the back of the fabric. You then need to thread the needle through one of the holes of your button (it doesn’t matter which one). Let your button drop all the way down onto the fabric before pushing the needle through the hole in the button directly opposite the one you’ve just threaded. At this point, it’s important to note that you only go through the button and not the fabric!

You then need to push the needle back through the fabric right next to where you first pushed the needle up. Pull the thread taut again until your button lies flat on the fabric before pushing the needle back up through the back of the fabric next to your original knot. Push the needle up through one of the two remaining holes, pull the thread taut and then go back through the last remaining hole on the button.

Finishing up…
Push your needle back up through the underside of your fabric and into the very first hole you threaded and pull the thread taut. Push down through your second hole that was opposite the first one and again pull your thread taut. Push up through the third hole and then down through the fourth hole. Repeat this final process again and then you will have sewn your button!

To finish off, you’ll need another knot to keep the button in place. To do this you’ll need to push the needle through the loops of thread on the underside of the fabric - you need to be careful not to catch the fabric. Leave some slack in the thread and pull the needle through the loop before you then pull the thread taut and form a knot! Do this again to create a second knot (to be on the safe side). Cut off your excess thread, check your button for sturdiness and then you’re done!