Bound buttonholes

Today I stitched for the first time evah, BOUND BUTTONHOLES! 

I have always been a little scared of bound buttonholes, attempting them once before after reading a tutorial in Threads.  The tutorial made no sense to me, most likely because it is very hard to see how the steps go together in print instructions.  But now that I have watched the bound button hole tutorial included in the Sew Retro Starlet Suit Jacket course, I feel like a pro! 

For those who are not avid sewers in the audience, you may be asking "what is a bound button hole??"  I am going to refer to the Wikipedia - Buttonhole where the different types of buttonholes are described (aren't fasteners fascinating!)

 Example of a machine buttonhole, very common on most anything!

 My first bound buttonhole, not the prettiest but I am practising! But you can certainly see the difference in craftsmanship between this type and the machine type.

The measuring, stitchin' and cutting process.

The only real problems I had with the buttonholes was the fabric.  The crepe does not seem to hold up very well to any cutting or stitching, which is are terrible qualities to have in a fabric.  I may have to go back to the fabric store and find something with a little more body to it, as the fabric seems to shred when it comes in contact with a needle.  But I did get it from the bargain bin, so no big loss (Can I interest anyone in some 3 meters of crepe that will shred and make you sneeze?). It was very hard to find something in this aqua blue colour in a suitable weight, most likely because it is a little out of fashion for a suit.  So I may make this suit in a different colour all together.

For the rest of the evening, I am going to practice more buttonholes.  They are very fun once you get over the initial panic of cutting a hole in the middle of your fabric! 

Wish me luck on the search for fabric! 

~Miss World