How to Sew on Hook & Eyes #MarchMending

A couple of days ago I popped up How to Sew on Buttons which was originally also going to be a tutorial on how to sew on a hook & eyes and press studs. It ended up being massive, so I split it in three. Today’s instalment is the good ol’ hook & eye!

More fastenings! The hook and eye is in the middle.

Supplies

• Needle
• Thread
• Your hook & eye
• Scissors
• The item you’re sewing the fastener onto

Supplies and the finished fastenings.

Step one

Thread the needle and secure (for information on knotting click here, or click here to learn how to sew a cross anchor)

Knotted thread is generally better than a cross anchor for sewing on hook and eyes.

Step two

Start with the hook half. Hold it firmly between the thumb and index finger of your non-dominant hand and stitch around it three to four times. Be careful not to make the stitching too thick, or have it too close to the end of the hook.

Hold the hook firmly and bring the thread up to the hook side of the fabric.

Sew around the hook.

Step three

If you are working with multiple layers (which is the likely scenario), push the needle between them and under the hook so it pops out at one of the loops. If you don’t have multiple layers tie off and re-knot the thread at the loop.

Sew around the loops of the hook.

Step four

​Stitch around the loop moving towards the middle. Take the needle down to the wrong side of the fabric then back up in the middle of the next loop. Stitch around the second loop and tie it off.

The first loop is stitched down.

Sew around the second loop.

The finished hook.

Step five

Repeat the loop process with the eye.

Start sewing on the eye in the same way as the hook.

Sew around the loops.

Congrats, you’ve sewn on a hook and eye!

The loops can be sewn with a whipstitch or a blanket stitch. The blanket stitch gives it a really nice neat finish which you can see below.

Button hole stitch is a wonderful for a more couture finish.

Often you’ll be sewing these onto a waistband or something similar so it’s good to be aware of threads showing on the outside of the garment. If that’s the look you’re after then by all means go for it! If you want a cleaner look, stick to keeping the threads between the layers of fabric whenever you can.

Finished hook and eyes - you can see how neat the button hole stitch is here.

I’ll be posting how to sew on press studs in a couple of days.
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Until then! xx

Cheers for the help, Zigs!