I did another seam treatment with irregular herringbone stiches in a gold perlé thread.

Then I started thinking about a button. I’ve got some orange plastic ones in various sizes but, when I went to get the jar, I spotted these wooden butterfly ones.

Before laying them on the pocket, I thought this orange and yellow one looked perfect, but it got lost in the colours around it.

I thought that the red one was too bright, but it did pick up the rust tones in the eyelets.

I had a quick look on YouTube to remind me how to do a bound buttonhole, last done at school more than 50 years ago. I just marked it in water soluble pen and, too impatient to tack it all, machine stitched with a small stitch round the box….

……. and cut through both layers, down the middle and diagonally into the corners, ……

…… turned it through and pressed it, ……

……. made the “lips” and machined in the ditch (not meant to machine stitch it). It should be done invisibly on the wrong side.

I then did another one to go on the back, stitched the lining to the pocket, and realised that I’d not left an opening to turn it through. I trimmed the corners and managed to turn it through the buttonhole opening…..

……. only to realise I’d attached the second buttonhole on the back of the first one and not to the pocket lining! I’d used a small machine stitch again and need to unpick it, or use a big press stud on the back and just stitch the button on the front. At least I hadn’t attached the pocket to the jacket, but I’ve run out of patience with it for today!

I remember finding bound buttonholes baffling when I was at school, but somehow I’ve ended up putting them on garments more often that I would have believed!
The butterfly button is a great addition!
It wasn’t as difficult as I remembered, just so frustrating that I didn’t think it through properly. Also better using cotton than a bulky fabric.
That sounds seriously frustrating – definitely time to walk away from it. The buttonholes do look very smart though.
At least I can now see how it will work as a pocket. More haste less speed. It would have been sensible to do a test one!