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When I was in Austin earlier this month, I spied this button bag at Tesoros. I have seen it before and had always been curious about how much patience it must take to sew all of those buttons together. And so, when Michaela told me it was button month, I knew it was time to put myself to the test. I thought I'd start small, with a coaster—and I'm glad I did! The purchase price of that bag can't begin to cover the labor that must have gone into making it. This is not a hard project—you're essentially using one stitch over and over to connect the buttons—but it is not for the impatient crafter (which, many times, is me!). Although part of me was wondering when I'd be done sewing these tiny buttons together and whether I was nuts for attempting this with such tiny buttons, the other part of me really enjoyed the meditative quality of this project and the prettiness of the finished coaster. It's colorful yet simple, and since there are so many connected threads, it's also incredibly fun to flex the shape of the coaster. If you plan to make a whole set, or something bigger than a coaster, though, be sure to take plenty of breaks.To begin, gather your supplies. I laid out my buttons in a square to determine how many I'd need to make my coaster. I settled on nine rows of nine buttons. Materials:
- 81 four-hole buttons (I used 3/8-inch buttons; if you use something larger, you can probably get away with fewer buttons)
- Small amount of embroidery floss in three colors
- Needle (be sure it fits easily through the button holes)
- Scissors
- Patience
To knot off the beginning of the floss, insert the needle in any button hole and pull the floss almost all the way through. Draw the needle through the end of the thread (below the knot), then reinsert the needle through the same button hole.
Position the first (threaded) button so that the threaded hole is on the top right of the button. Thread the needle through any hole of the next button (but then position it so that the holes line up as shown). Go back through the first button's hole and reinsert the needle through the same hole in the second button to secure it. It should be taut but with a bit of wiggle room.
Next, thread the needle up through the second right hole of the second button and into any hole of the third button.
Continue threading through the buttons in this manner (going through each set of buttonholes twice) until your button chain is nine buttons long. Thread through the top two holes of the last button to turn around, then go back through all nine buttons in the same manner. Knot the thread (scroll down for a how-to). Make eight more nine-button chains.
Line up the button chains. With a contrasting color thread and starting at the bottom right corner of the chains, sew up the first row of button holes in the same way you formed the original chains. When you reach the top, turn and continue down the second row of holes (still on the first row of buttons) as you did with the chains. Knot off the thread and start on the next (left) row of buttons.
Change colors as desired when you begin each successive row of buttons. (My color sequence was: 2 turquoise, 1 green, 1 turquoise, 3 green, 2 turquoise.) Be careful not to get the thread caught in the dangling buttons as you stitch—this definitely requires some patience. Here's how to knot the thread at the end of each button row: First, thread through the two remaining button holes on the last button twice, ending with the needle on the back side of the work. Turn the work over and thread the needle through one of the stitches on the back side of the button.
Pull the thread until there is just a small loop of thread left (as shown). Insert the needle through this loop twice, and, holding the thread close to the stitch with your finger, pull the thread taut. Snip the thread ends. Once you've sewn together all of the button rows, you're finished!
Your coaster is now ready to serve! Remember that this is best suited for cool drinks because anything hot might melt the buttons. See more of my projects on my personal blog, and look for my new book
Dekor dekorasyon estetik tadilat bakım onarım * Tasarım Yaratıcı Hobiler, Maket Yapımı, Koleksiyonculuk, El Sanatları, El işleri, Antika
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