button – Page 2 – Critters and 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.

For my Dad, I took an end section of my Inkle woven band (post from yesterday) and made it into an adjustable hat band.

I sewed where I wanted to put the end before cutting it, then sewed it over again to catch all the ends inside the seam. For the pin, I used a shanked button from my button stash. I believe this one is vintage, but sometimes my buttons get mixed. To make a button into a pin, I use a spiral wire with the end sharpened.

Back of button and handmade pin converter

I brushed out the fringe on the woven band and shaped it to mimic a feather. The weaving is doubled back so won’t unravel, and I think the spray of yarn adds a bit of flare to the band (although it will probably have to be combed out straight occasionally). To set the band size, the pin holds the ends of the band together.

Critters and Craft

Tag: button

Throwback Thursday: silver buttons

Woven hat band