If you've ever had trouble finding just the right buttons to finish off your knitting projects, you might consider making your own buttons. There are several basic methods for making your own buttons and you can embellish the basic button in any way you like and create the perfect button to finish off your item in less time than it might take to scour all the button stores where you live and then the internet button resources.
One button-making method involves making buttons from polymer clay. This tutorial explains how to make the buttons above.
Polymer clay buttons can be painted in any style you like. This tutorial explains how to make these buttons.
I don't have a tutorial for these hand-painted buttons as the original post seems to be down, but I'm including them for inspiration.
A second method for making buttons involves using shrink plastic. The blogger who made these buttons has posted a tutorial on how to make them.
Method number three involves cutting wooden buttons from a tree branch. The resulting wooden buttons can be painted.
A fourth button-making method is to make fabric-covered buttons with a kit that should be available at any fabric store and the fabric of your choice. Alternatively, you can make a little knitted or crocheted circle and use that as the fabric with which to cover your button.
Fabric buttons can also be embroidered.
Fabric buttons can also be beaded, either lightly or to the point of being completely covered in tiny beads. You can find a tutorial on how to make beaded buttons here.
Lastly, one can crochet buttons, though I find this the least attractive method of any I have listed as the buttons tend to look crude. But if you're interested in this method, Crochet Today has a thorough post on all the possible crochet button methods with links to tutorials. The most successful crocheted buttons I have seen were crocheted with thread with a very small size hook.
And thinking back to the time I had this past spring finding just the right teddy bear buttons for my grandniece's teddy bear dress, I totally wish I'd thought of researching and writing this post a long time ago.
The number of hours and trips I've made scouring for just the right feature button for a knit, it's never occurred to me to try making them! The polymer clay tutorial references using them for scrap booking, I wonder if they are upto hand washing on knits. I have an experimental weekend to plan now!
ReplyDeleteI make polymer clay buttons, Elke - they are machine washable once baked
ReplyDeleteAnd there are also Dorset buttons - button hole stitch all the way round a ring of some kind to cover it, then create spokes of thread, then weave in and around the spokes to fill in the centre of the ring. You can use all kinds of thread/yarn, multi-colours, bead them, etc.
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