When To Use A Backer Button on a handmade garment

Not every button has to be the same on a garment. After looking at the over-the-top mixed looks this season of Etro, Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana, I decided to shake it up a little bit on my "Burberry" silk charmeuse and pebble textured knit Liberty/MixIt Shirt. You can find the tutorial to combine these two patterns in our August 2017 Sew Confident! tutorial, The Liberty MixIt Fusion. In this tutorial Linda combined the general shape of the Liberty with the neckline of the MixIt. She also teaches you how to shorten the sleeves, create a new self-facing, and create perfect mitered corners. 

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The top button is a relatively heavy vintage glass button and I knew it would pull on the silk charmeuse fabric. So in addition to interfacing the front facing of the shirt with Japanese Ultrasheer fusible interfacing, I used a backer button underneath the glass button on the wrong side of the shirt. A backer button is usually a flat, clear plastic button, but I decided to use a dyed green pearl button instead, in case I decide to wear this shirt as a jacket, plus it's just prettier and accomplishes the same thing.

Once I started to sew the glass button on, then I was able to attach the backer button on at the same time so that the threads go back and forth between the two buttons – a one-step attachment. The backer button helps keep the glass button upright and in position without drooping or weighing the fabric down.