A 20 year old intern pointed out my button holes were upside down

I've been sewing dresses for over 30 years, for myself and friends. This spring I was helping at a local theater's costume shop in Seattle, and a college intern named Maya looked at my blouse and asked why my button holes were horizontal instead of vertical. I told her that's just how I always did it. She explained that horizontal holes handle strain better on the center front, and vertical ones are for cuffs and collars where the fabric doesn't pull as much. Now I stop and think about the stress points before I cut a single button hole. Has anyone else had a young person point out a simple fix like this?

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emma_smith1d ago

My mother taught me to sew in the 1960s and she always said buttonholes go vertical, end of story. But a few years back I was mending a vintage coat for my neighbor and her teenage granddaughter watched me struggle with the fabric pulling. She piped up that I should try putting the buttonhole on the opposite side since my sewing machine's automatic buttonhole function was set for right-handed people. I had no idea machines even had a handedness setting. Switched it over and the whole thing worked smooth as butter. That girl saved me from ripping out three buttonholes that night.