Tag: button

Hand sewn button hole

On By CarynIn Craft

I have hand sewn my first button hole. I bought a linen skirt to be a petticoat for my 1800s outfit for spinning demonstrations, and it was a bit big in the waist. One side of the waistband had elastic, but the other had a plain waistband. A machine sewn button hole would go through both layers of fabric and be useless, so I hand sewed the edges of the button hole with a satin stitch in just the inside layer of fabric.

Photo description: white linen waistband folded to make sewing the satin stitch in a straight lone easier. Needle in place, cat on lap.
Photo description: sewing on the button hole complete, a little wonky, but serviceable. Cat still there.
Photo description: seam ripper used to cut the threads between the lines of button hole stitching. Cat hasn’t moved.
Photo description: button hole elastic run through the newly accessible waistband and secured with a small white button. Calico cat is still on my lap. She was glad for the nap time, but unhappy that I wouldn’t let her lay on the linen.

The elastic is not historically accurate, and certainly not the button hole elastic, but I’m not doing reenactments, I’m doing spinning demonstrations and purchased look-a-likes are acceptable at this venue. I’m hoping the linen does its job keeping me cooler.

Sparkle button

On By CarynIn Craft

This week I found out that sparkle paper works in my button maker. Nice. I designed an “All Star” graphic in Cricut Design Space and cut it out with the electronic cutter.

Photo description: silver vinyl cut into the words “All Star” over a star outline, one of three designs weeded

The vinyl doesn’t stick well to the sparkle paper, at all, so positioning the decal was tricky, but not impossible.

Photo description: glitter stuck to the back of the silver vinyl

Including the mylar cover was a must, both to keep the decal in place, and prevent glitter from shedding.

Photo description: completed button with blue glitter background and silver “All Star” script with star outline

I quite like the finished button, it has flash and glitter, without shedding flash and glitter. Leaving trails of glitter is on my “very rude” list.

Buttons and pins

On By CarynIn Craft

My eldest gave me a button maker for Mother’s Day. I can now make cute little pins and magnets and other pressed together items with my chosen image.

Photo description: two button pins on a canvas bag, one with a Caryn’s Creations logo, the other with a “Sit and Spin” logo. Bag and pins designed by me.

The word “button” is used for so many things. I’ve been on a whole rabbit-hole excursion on the definition and etymology of the word because it bothers me that a button can be something used to fasten a garment, or as a pin with a slogan, or something you push. Knowing that word comes from a number of sources helps, somewhat. Ah, English.

Throwback Thursday: glass buttons

On By CarynIn Craft, throwback

In March 2012 I had a custom order for glass clay buttons for the Kansas State Button Society. I designed the button with input from my grandmother’s button group, made a silicone mold into which I pressed the glass clay, hand built the button shank, hand painted each button, and fired them in batches in my kiln.

Photo description: multiple colors of flower and fan glass clay buttons
Photo description: close up of the buttons with a ruler showing each button about an inch and three quarters
Photo description: one button mounted on the card that was given out during the Spring 2012 meeting

Making larger batches is a completely different animal than designing a single component. The glass clay was fun to play with, but was brittle, so the buttons were decorative more than functional.

Throwback Thursday: silver buttons

On By CarynIn Craft

I did some experiments in button making in February of 2010, tiny silver buttons for my button-collecting Grandmother. One set fashioned from sterling wire, and the other set from silver clay and cubic zirconia, which can survive the firing temperature of the clay.

Photo description: five silver wire buttons on a square printed card with my tree logo and a superimposed branch with five green circles for the small buttons. There are two looped flower buttons, and three double spiraled buttons made of square wire, twisted square wire, and round wire.
Photo description: five small buttons made from silver clay in the shape of leaves, two with cubic zirconia inserts on a square printed card similar to the other photo.

All the buttons have shank loops for sewing, rather than holes through the buttons. It was a fun project, and I think they came out interesting, although they are mostly for show. They are functional buttons, but not practical buttons.