VIDEO Tutorial How To Sew On Snaps By Machine

If you’re not in a place to watch a video right now, below is the rundown on how to sew snaps on using a sewing machine. Note, if you do not want the stitching to be visible through all layers of your fabric, then you’ll need to stitch the snaps on by hand. An example of this would be if you’re sewing removable shoulder pads or lingerie straps. Also, be sure to look at your machine manual to see what it recommends for stitch settings.

How to Sew on Snaps using a Sewing Machine

Supplies:

Sewing machine (Here I’m using a Brother CS6000i (affiliate link))

Button foot (This foot came with my machine)

Thread

Step 1: Set your machine to a zig zag stitch (or stitch recommended in your manual). The Brother recommends a Quilting Zig Zag stitch, which will stitch in place when you hit the back stitch button in order to lock the stitching.

To prevent the fabric from moving, set the stitch length to zero or drop the feed dogs. (My feed dogs are stuck up and I’ve never had a problem just setting the stitch length to zero.) Attach button foot to machine.

Step 2: Using a piece of clear tape, tape the snap to your fabric in the desired location. Slide fabric and snap under machine so that two holes of the snap are positioned under the needle.

Step 3: Using the hand wheel, very slowly lower the needle. If it hits the snap, reposition the snap and fabric. After it’s in position, keep turning the wheel to lift the needle and make a second stitch. If the needle goes into the second hole, then you have the correct stitch width. If it hits the snap, adjust the width of the needle until you have the right size stitch for your snap. Most of the time, the default stitch width works but if you have extra large or small snaps you may need to adjust. I’m just realizing now that you could also measure your snap to determine the stitch width. Even then, I still recommend stitching very slowly to make sure you have the correct position and stitch width.

Step 4: After you have the position and stitch width correct, stitch 5 to 10 stitches. (I probably did too many in the video.) Backstitch if you’re using a quilting stitch as described in step 1. Lift the needle and move the snap so that you can stitch the remaining two holes. Repeat step 3. Lift the needle and presser foot and cut the threads. All done!

I hope you enjoyed this video. Let me know in the comments if there are any other techniques that you’d like to see a video about. And if you want to follow along on my sewing video adventures, please head over to YouTube and follow my channel. Happy sewing!