Button Addictions

Various Dorset & Thread Wrapped Buttons, made into a brooch

My daughter and I took a Jane Austen trip to England last summer, Jane Austen +1.  I had read, probably in Piecework Magazine, about a button exhibit in Macclesfield and asked Kathy to see if it could be added to our itinerary if it was not too out of the way.  It wasn't, just a couple short train rides on a travel day, and we spent the most wonderful afternoon in Macclesfield.  This small-ish industrial city was home to the silk industry in England, and there are several sites and museums definitely worth a visit!  We had a really interesting tour of the Paradise Mill and watched our guide operate several of the restored Jacquard looms.

The reason for our side trip to Macclesfield was to see the 300 buttons submitted by fiber artists from around the world, and although the exhibit is history, you can read about it here.  It was a very colorful and interesting exhibit, and we each purchased a button from the exhibit, to be mailed to us after the exhibit came down.  It was so fun to get a package from the UK after we got home!

In the museum gift shop I purchased a book called Buttons: A Passementerie Workshop Manual by Gina Barrett.  The book covers all types of thread buttons, including the Dorset, which I have been making and teaching to friends.  I also ordered a DVD from Gina, which really helped as I couldn't quite grasp the technique by reading the book only. 

This Saturday I am teaching members of my EGA chapter the basic Dorset button, and attached is a Google document of instructions that I have developed, click here. 

Assorted Dorset buttons made with (clockwise from pink button) crochet cotton, lace weight yarn, poly crochet thread, nylon/wool sewing thread, Lizbeth tatting thread, hand dyed pearl cotton, and sock yarn.  You could even use worsted weight yarn, to match a sweater you are making, but you would use only one ply.

I really like the linen embroidery floss, below.  I think I used two strands to cover the ring, and one strand for the center.  I was experimenting with trying to make a spiral design, right, but haven't figured it out yet.

Earring experiment:

 

Key chain and a cell phone charm (as though a cell phone needed a charm....):

 

When Kathy was visiting I showed her how to make Dorset buttons one afternoon, and she went to town!

So far people seem to like this one the best!

In my next, advanced class, we're going to tackle Morning Star (left) and Death's Head (right) buttons:

To view a good tutorial (lots of photographs) of Dorset button making, visit Craftystylish.com

Visit my Pinterest page for more Dorset button inspiration: 

http://www.pinterest.com/alcearosea/dorset-thread-buttons/

Eek, I can't stop making buttons!  Every time I see a new thread I think, hmmm, how would this look in a Dorset button!

Fresh Flowers for Your Lapel!

I love the idea of wearing a little nosegay of violets or violas in the springtime. Here is a cute way to keep them fresh for a few hours longer. You know those tiny glass vials that you get free perfume samples in at the department store cosmetic counter? You have to ask for them, the sales staff never seem to offer them without a request!

The first step is to select some lace trims, ribbons and buttons to cover the glass vial. Using Fabri-Tac glue, adhere a piece of lace to the top and bottom edges of the vial. Let dry a few minutes.

Next, with the same glue, adhere a pin back to the vial. I use a pin back that is almost as long as the vial is tall. Let this dry an hour or so. Glue the narrow ribbons you have chosen to the vial, with ribbon ends overlapping in the back, over the pin back. This will help to secure the pin back to the vial.

The bottom ribbon will probably have to be trimmed as it won't fit over the pin back (the pin back is almost, but not quite, as long as the vial).

Embellish with trim, or a button. On the example above I glued a piece of silk ribbon flower trim and added a tiny rhinestone. On the example below I tied a little pearl button with embroidery thread.

Something has to be added behind the decorated vial, otherwise the pin wants to flop to the side when you wear it. To fix this problem you can either add a ribbon or lace bow (glue it over the pin back) or make a felt leaf to attach to the pin. I used a fusible adhesive to attach buckram to the back of the felt, to give it body. The leaf is a tulip poplar, which I hand sketched from an illustration on the internet. Transfer the sketch to the back of the buckram/felt sandwich and cut it out. I painted the edge of the leaf with fabric paint. It is hard to see, but I also painted lines, using a Micron Brush marker, on the felt to resemble the veining on the tulip poplar leaf.

Cut two holes in the leaf to push the pin back through. This was a bit of a challenge. Make sure it is going to fit before you apply the glue.

Instead of sketching a leaf, you can always go outside and find a leaf that is the right size and shape and simply trace around it onto the buckram. Here is a redbud leaf that I picked today.

I think I got these little fabric flowers to put in the pin/mini vase at Paper Source in Porter Square, but you can find them in other places too. Or, you could pick some fresh violets or other tiny flowers, and wear them on your lapel for a fresh and friendly spring greeting. To fill the little vial with water, use a pipette, or one of those little coffee stirrer straws.

I wore my fascinator at the Artistic Figurers in Cloth banquet, and got a prize for it, in the "Vintage Chic" category!