Gutermann buttonhole gimp stiffener

Silk gimp is used when hand-sewing most buttonholes. The gimp is wrapped by the twist over the cloth to give the buttonhole more body, or dimensionality to make it 3D.

Depending on the density of stitching and the finish of the buttonhole; the colour match of the gimp can become more or less important.

The gimp also stiffens the hole. For this reason gimp often isn’t used in trousers where buttonholes are needed, it becomes too stiff. A soft gimp can be made by coiling buttonhole twist, by spinning 2 or 3 threads and allowing that to coil itself together.

Firm gimp is imperative to make Milanese buttonholes used to embellish the lapel instead of a typical buttonhole with no keyhole.

The gimp can be left on top or below the buttonhole, cut off and hidden by the bar tack. Alternatively the gimp can be threaded between cloth. A ‘gimp needle’ being any needle that the eye is big enough to fit the gimp can be used; or the buttonhole twist can be used to create a loop where the gimp needs to start put the gimp in the loop and pull the twist back through and the same where the gimp ends.

Sometimes the horsehair from laptair canvas is used to stiffen the buttonholes instead of gimp.