Difficulty

Easy

Steps

5

Time Required

                          5 - 10 minutes

Sections

1

  • Button
  • 5 steps

Flags

Worn Wear

Patagonia and iFixit are celebrating the stories we wear by collaborating to provide guides for Patagonia’s most popular apparel repairs.

  • BackPatagonia Jeans

  • Full Screen

  • Options

  • History

  • Save to Favorites

  • Download PDF

  • Edit

  • Translate

  • Get Shareable Link

  • Embed This Guide

  • Notify Me of Changes

  • Stop Notifications

Introduction

For replacement parts or further assistance, contact Patagonia Customer Service.

What you need

Step 1

              Button
  • Lay your jeans front-side up on a sturdy table or workbench.
  • Unzip the fly and open the jeans at the waistband to reveal the hole where the button is missing.
  • Hold the waistband at the hole and turn it over, so you can see the back of the hole.
  • Be sure to fully remove the old button before installing a new button.

Lay your jeans front-side up on a sturdy table or workbench.

Unzip the fly and open the jeans at the waistband to reveal the hole where the button is missing.

Hold the waistband at the hole and turn it over, so you can see the back of the hole.

Be sure to fully remove the old button before installing a new button.

1024

Step 2

  • Insert the tack into the back of the hole.
  • Push the tack through the hole.
  • If the hole is too large, you can make a new, smaller hole for the tack in an undamaged section of the denim as close the existing hole as possible. Then push the tack through the new hole.

Insert the tack into the back of the hole.

Push the tack through the hole.

If the hole is too large, you can make a new, smaller hole for the tack in an undamaged section of the denim as close the existing hole as possible. Then push the tack through the new hole.

Step 3

  • Holding the tack in place from behind, place the button on top of the tack.

Holding the tack in place from behind, place the button on top of the tack.

Step 4

  • Place a flat work surface like a scrap piece of wood or a cutting board directly beneath the tack and between the front and back of the jeans.
  • Be sure to use a small (one pound) hammer or mallet to prevent breaking the button.
  • Hammer the button onto the tack, with a straight downward pound.
  • If you’re uncomfortable holding the button with your fingers while you hammer, you can use a pair of pliers to hold the button in place.

Place a flat work surface like a scrap piece of wood or a cutting board directly beneath the tack and between the front and back of the jeans.

Be sure to use a small (one pound) hammer or mallet to prevent breaking the button.

Hammer the button onto the tack, with a straight downward pound.

If you’re uncomfortable holding the button with your fingers while you hammer, you can use a pair of pliers to hold the button in place.

Step 5

  • Test out your new button by buttoning the jeans to ensure the new button is set and secure.

Test out your new button by buttoning the jeans to ensure the new button is set and secure.

Cancel: I did not complete this guide.

                                                                                      42 other people completed this guide.

Author

                                      with 6 other contributors 


                    Brittany McCrigler

Member since: 03/05/2012

87,796 Reputation

                                      132 Guides authored                  



                       Badges:
                       48







                                                        +45 more badges

Gabe Misura - Mar 3, 2015

Reply

Nice, but let’s consider how this situation occurs. The tack comes out of its hole, just simply replacing it is not realistic, unless the new tack is significantly bigger. So how do you “repair” the hole such that it will hold a tack again?

Brittany McCrigler - Mar 4, 2015

As noted in step 2, you can move the tack over to where the denim isn’t damaged. If that will cause the jeans not to fit properly, you can sew a folded piece of denim behind the hole (sew around the edges on the inside of the jeans) and punch the tack through the new piece.

fredrikbendiksen - Sep 5, 2015

Reply

I didn´t have a new button and was in a pinch. Just ripped the old button off completely, jammed it in the tail end of a hammer and yanked it apart with som pliers. Then i followed the instructions in this fix. Worked like a charm, so far…

Lynsey Truhlicka - Aug 14, 2022

Thanks I’m gonna try this first!

melanie1150 - May 13, 2016

Reply

The best thing to do is patch the hole. I simply use fabric glue and some pieces of blue jeans that you probably have hanging around. Trim off the extra threads and then apply fabric glue to the back of the waist band covering the hole made by the old button. Do the same on the front and then let dry. about 30 minutes or so, if you have a machine I always stitch back and for on the edges. Trim any edges or use additional glue to tack them down. Now because you have strengthened the hole carefully push the back of the button through where you can see the end, add the front to the nail end and turning the garment face down on a protected hard surface hammer about 3 times and check to see if it is sturdy, continue to hammer until you have reached the objective. Now you have got many more years with that button.