Do you need to fix a broken jean button or do you just want to update the look of the hardware on your jeans or denim jacket?
In this easy tutorial, I will show you how to replace no-sew jean buttons on your clothes, both how to remove, as well as how to add new jeans buttons.
Watch the video above to learn how to do this, or if you prefer: keep on reading…
This tutorial is part of my mini-series where I update the look of a thrifted denim jacket which I got from Value Village.
I previously have added patches onto my jacket – both by hand sewing as well as using a sewing machine – you can check the blog post for that tutorial here.
I will show you how to remove as well as add a new no-sew jean button onto your jeans or denim jacket as in my case either to update your garment or repair something that is broken.
How to remove a jean button
To remove your old jean buttons you will need:
- A flathead screwdriver
- A pair of pliers – I didn’t have a pair of pliers so I used a wire cutter instead
Let’s get started! Grab your pliers, or in my case wire cutters, around the bottom part of the bottom-top, then turn the fabric over so that the rivet is facing you push the screwdriver in between the rivet and the fabrics towards the middle part of the rivet.
Push around the middle part of the rivet to loosen it up by twisting it up and down. Take your time, eventually, it will loosen its grip and your button is removed.
With 13 buttons ahead I grew at first impatient and snapped the rivet off with my wirecutter. You can, of course, do that but if you stick with the plier-screwdriver-method you will get a smaller and neater hole.
In the video above you can see the difference between the hole where I was impatient than the hole where I took my time. The hole where I took my time was smaller and neater than the one where I grew impatient. Then I continued to remove remaining buttons in the same manner
Rivet, stud or tac?
One thing I learned whilst doing research for this video is that the rivet is also known as a stud or a tac. When I say rivet in this tutorial just insert your preferred word.
The trickiest part to remove the bottom from was at the pockets. I found it worked best by grabbing the button with my so-called pliers (a.k.a. wire cutters) and turn the plier upside down so that inside a pocket is showing and the rivet is facing you.
I push the pocket flap to the side with my hand and the screwdriver then I continued to slowly push, twist up and down around the rivet with my screwdriver.
Once you remove your buttons examine the areas where your buttons were attached. Are any of the holes in need of extra strengthening by stitching or sewing on a patch? If you plan to add a sew-on-button you gotta do
this on all the holes no matter the size, but if they are neat & tidy you will not need to do any stitching. Therefore it is worth it to not be impatient and take your time removing the buttons.
How to attach jean buttons
Now it’s time to insert the new buttons! I got these super cute bronze star-buttons for my denim jacket.
To attach the no-sew jean buttons you will need:
- No-sew jean buttons
- A hammer
- A protective surface – I’m using a cutting mat – but a piece of cardboard will work just as well
Before adding my buttons I took my denim jacket to the sewing machine to stitch together the holes that were too big for my buttons to be safely attached to. I used a three-step-zig-zag-stitch and went back and forth over the hole in different directions. The stitching will be hidden by the button once it’s attached.
On the holes that are stitched together, I marked on the underside/wrong side of the fabric where my buttons will go. To make sure that they are evenly placed and measured the exact placement of buttons and marked them with a fabric marker on the underside/wrong side of the fabric.
Once the button placement was marked out it was time to start attaching the buttons. I first pushed through the rivet through the hole from the wrong side of the fabric then I placed a bottom-top on my protective surface.
Then I placed the sharp point of the rivet on top of the button in the little hole in the bottom-top then I hammered gently. Check the button to make sure it’s secured tightly if not hammer little more!
On the holes that have been stitched together, I had to create a tiny hole for the rivet to go through. You can use a tailor’s awl for this, but I do not own one, so used some double-pointed knitting needles.
I first used a small size with a super sharp point, but it wasn’t creating a big enough hole so then I used a bigger sized needle to widen the hole further.
Then if you like me have more buttons than one continue the same process until all the buttons are attached!
A tip! When attaching the buttons to my pockets I found the following helped: Push the rivet inside the pocket through the hole and then push the bottom on top of the rivet. Turn the garment so that the wrong side is facing and hammer the button together through the fabric… et voila it’s done!
I really hope you found this tutorial. If you have any questions do not hesitate to leave a comment below and let me know!
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