Quilted fabric postcards are fun to make! Use a heavy fusible interfacing for the core. Add background fabric and design elements!
With the holidays coming up, hand-made trinkets, ornaments, and decorations are on my mind! They are especially on my mind right now because, here in the studio, we’re in the throes of creating a little line of lovely and fun Christmas ornaments. That shouldn’t surprise you – I’ve been sneak-peeking parts of them to you ...
Learn how to sashiko stitch with this step-by-step guide to Sashiko stitching includes thread, needles, and transferring your pattern.
Josephine’s Journal The Account of an Indentured Servant’s Adventures with the Crewe of the Archangel June 19 During our most recent stop in London, while we were staying at the Hyde, I noticed a p…
In the March/April 2018 issue of PieceWork, Pat Olski shares with us the fascinating history behind Dorset buttons and how to make them.
The cracker quilt block pattern is an easy and quick block to sew with so many possibilities. Perfect for beginners.
Dorset buttons are thread covered buttons, created with embroidery stitches. Learn how to make dorset buttons in our step-by-step tutorial.
Dorset buttons are thread covered buttons, created with embroidery stitches. Learn how to make dorset buttons in our step-by-step tutorial.
Dorset Button Kit to make six 23mm Dorset Buttons Kit contains six 23mm hollow brass rings, tapestry needle, sewing needle, cut to size hand-dyed 4ply yarn from Ripples Crafts, Assynt and a leaflet with written instructions including a mixture of diagrams & photos. The buttons accentuate the colour variations in this beautiful hand-dyed yarn. This kit uses one design in 3 slightly different ways. Please note: As this is hand-dyed yarn, colour variation occurs across each button and the distribution of colour in each button may differ from that seen in these product photos. Actual product colour may differ (lighter or darker) to that seen on your computer, tablet, phone monitor or screen due to calibration differences.
Explore The Eclectic Crafter's 2510 photos on Flickr!
I have wanted to learn the art of Dorset button making for some time. A two hour workshop at my local Embroiderers’ Guild cropped up, and was a perfect excuse to chat with my sewing chums and learn! A collection of stunning vintage pieces and a copy of Stitch magazine provided inspiration for our first Dorset Button. … Continue reading "How to make a Dorset Button"
I had a wonderful time at Knitting & Stitching in Olympia yesterday - a little (and VERY busy) workshop making dorset buttons on t...
One of my joys last winter was taking part in excellent online learning events by the UK Braid Society. My first event by published lacemaker Gillian Dye, was on a technique that surprisingly grabbed my attention - Yorkshire Button making. Less known than passementerie buttons such as the Dorset button, the Yorkshire button has a pleasing rounded organic shape which I recall seeing many a time on historical garments. As my fingers started to learn the technique on a wintery afternoon, little did I realise how much pleasure weaving would give me and others. The 21st century mindset is for buttons that are generally flat, and sadly all to often mass produced in plastic. How often in my stitch work I have come to the end of a project only to struggle with finding a pleasing button. While there are now many other options for making closures, buttons provide a charming decorative edge which is hard to beat and this is actually where their origins lie. Cultures around the world developed their own traditions for button making, which in the first instance were purely for those who could afford to decorate garments. Often soft stuffed like these French antique crocheted buttons, many designs resulted in an uneven shape that is perhaps less appealing to the modern eye. The Heritage Crafts website gives an excellent account of this history of the creation of these passementerie buttons in England. The beauty of this Yorkshire button is that unlike many passementerie buttons, the technique is reasonably simple and easy to learn. All that is required is a simple cardboard template, a smooth yarn or thread and a tapestry needle. A template of around 4cm is an excellent starting point and should be marked with accurate clock face points that are evenly snipped into by around 3mm. For this working example I chose a remnant of variagated sock yarn and started with a length approximately one and a half lengths of my arm. I found it is best to avoid very long working lengths which ususally resulted in thread tangles. Leaving a tail of at least 20cm, the button is started by bringing up through the central point on the card Then starts weaving the framework around the card, beginning by pulling the thread into the snip at the 1 oclock position and around the back of the card and up into the 2 o'clock position. The working thread is then taken diagonally over the template and down into the 7 o'clock snip, round the back and up in the 8 o'clock snip. And so this pattern of weaving continues, ove to the 2 o'clock position and round the snip and up through the 3 o'clock snip. The framework 'warp' is continued in this way, going diagonally across the top of the card and down and round the back of the card by one snip and up to the right. This is of course perfect for right handed workers and the direction can easily be reversed for those who are dominant with their left hand. When the working thread comes round again to the 12 oclock position, it may look as though something has gone wrong as the 6 o'clock position is empty - this is however as it needs to be. The warp weaving then continues around the template a second time, finishing with working thread coming up through the 6 o'clock snip. At this point the back of the template should look like this. It is important that the wraps around the back are reasonably tight and even, as this will ensure more even weaving and gathering at the end. Then the needle comes into play. A tapestry needle is a good option and the slightly rounded point will avoid splitting the yarn - choose a size that is comfortable to work in your hand and has an eye which is easy to thread with your working yarn. The first weave is behind the 2 threads that sit in the 12 o'clock snip - this will be the one and only time that you weave behind the threads in a single snip. The next weave is back under the 12 o'clock threads and also under the 11 o'clock threads. For those who are left handed you can work in the opposite direction and move to the right. The weaving continues in this way going back under the warp threads immediately to the left of the working thread and ALSO under the next pair of warp threads to the immediete left. The weaving progresses quickly with a sock weight yarn and it is easy to see and correct any misweavings. The weaving is continued and when you run out of thread, simply start a new yarn and weave in the tail of the old yard again a spoke for a couple of rounds. The weaving should then continue right to the edge of the card until it is impossible to fit any more weaving with the working thread. The weaving can now be removed from the template by turning over and pulling off the securing loops around the snips with the point of your needle. Then take the working thread and pass the needle through each of the 12 loops in turn and once again through the first loop. The working thread now becomes a drawstring and after pulling a little the emerging shape is stuffed - I used a firm wool for mine. I found it best to leave the tail from the start of the button pulled out of the gathered button and I used this to tie the working thread tighly against. And one finished woolly button - I really liked the soft fuzziness and the way the variaged sock yarn colours fell. The thread possibilites for making Yorkshire buttons are many, with the general rule that the working yarn should be smooth. I also enjoying using variagated perle thread in different weights and my students that I shared this technique with did too - particularly for Yorkshire button earrings! This techique can also be used to cover flat button forms or old unintersting buttons that might otherwise not see the light of day. One of my students Meg, so enjoyed the weaving and covering old buttons that she continued until she had sufficient buttons to create this marvellous picture - just perfect for a technique that gave so many of us pleasure and a sense of simple achievement working with our hands. And a few summers later on a wonderful return trip to the Orkney Isles, I adapted this most enjoyable technique on broken limpet shells - I have a feeling that this simple pleasure will morph into yet another creation along the way :)
Easy attic window quilt pattern using a half square triangle instead of a complicated Y-seam - perfect for beginners!
Learn how to bezel a cabochon with bead embroidery with this step-by-step tutorial with photos using the bead peyote stitch.
Do you need a more organized working space? Or maybe you want to make the bathroom more organized? If the answer is yes, then, these Bubble Pod Containers are perfect for you! The finished size is approximately 5″. Their shape is round which helps them be the perfect pods for storing things like cotton reels […]
There is no "Perfect 10" when it comes to monster dolls, learn how to make a stuffed monster plushie with our step-by-step directions.
I am lucky to belong to a vibrant branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild that has an enthusiastic committee who arrange an exciting program of speakers and events. Just over two years ago, I was …
The craft of making Dorset Buttons evolved in response to the fashions of 17th century England. Entire villages and families were involved in process. Nowadays Dorset Buttons are decorative, rather than utilitarian items. They can be attractive in their own right and used by historic reenactors for their costumes or by needle crafters to use
These yarn-based buttons look cute on a knitted or crocheted sweater, or make them to decorate a bag, hat, or scarf. They're a great way to use up scrap yarn, and easy to make once you've mastered the basics.
At our April meeting, which fell on Good Friday, we made Yorkshire Buttons. We had first become interested in finding out about these when we saw some antique versions on display at the Macclesfield Silk Museum during our Annual Outing in 2013. Wyn researched them and found out how they were made, and passed her knowledge on to the rest of us. I hope that you will be able to work out, from the pictures below and the instructions which Wyn has written, how to make them for yourself. You will need: A 3cm (or thereabouts) circle of thick card or foam core board marked with dots around the perimeter as if it was a clock with twelve numbers 4metres/4.5 yards of cotton Perle No 5 A tapestry needle A small piece of sticky tape 12 pins. Put your pins in the edge of the card circle, one for each of your twelve dots. Don't push them fully in just yet. Make a needle hole in the centre of the circle and bring your needle and thread through from the back, leaving a 7.5cm/3inch tail at the back. Coil this up and cover it with the tape out of the way so that it doesn't tangle later. Wrap your thread from the centre around the pin which would be at 12 on a clock face, and then travel down to 6, wrap around 6 and then travel up to 11, around 11 and then down to 5, around 5 and then up to 10 etc until all pins have been included. It may look a bit messy, but the next stage tidies it up. Go back to the centre of your "clock" and go under the intersection of as many threads as you can, do this twice or three times and pull your thread tight. You will now have a tidier looking set of spokes. Push all your pins in as far as possible. Now the thread wrapping starts. Wherever your thread is, go clockwise over the top of the next thread, then go anticlockwise under the same thread and its anticlockwise neighbour. Repeat until the whole of the circle has been covered. Always clockwise over one, anticlockwise under two. You are doing a Spider's web stitch. (See below illustration). It takes two or three full rotations to see the pattern emerge. Points to watch out for - occasionally let your work hang from the thread and needle to remove the twist that you will be inadvertently putting in your thread, this avoids many tangles. "Tamp" down your stitching occasionally to compact it towards the central hub. When you reach the outside edge, remove the nearest pin to your thread and go through the tiny loop. Work your way around the edge, removing a pin at a time. Remove the tape and release the central thread. Remove the embroidery from the reusable card. Carefully "draw up" the thread and gather the circle just enough to be cup shaped and stuff with a little wadding. When you feel it is fat enough, draw up completely and do some tiny stitches to seal the gathering. Hey Presto - a Yorkshire Button. You can leave them spherical or gently squash them and make them more mandarin orange shape. You could also try putting a largish bead in the centre for a harder button. You could also try it on a much larger scale using the cardboard/polystyrene tray from under a pizza, and torn sari fabric. If you draw up the edge and go through each of the loops at the end, you will have a 3D fabric bowl. Here is a great photo of a set of buttons that Vanessa has completed since the meeting, she also found some complementary background fabric which contained some spider's web stitch : And here are tow buttons completed by Abi :
Dorset buttons are thread covered buttons, created with embroidery stitches. Learn how to make dorset buttons in our step-by-step tutorial.
Throughout the 18th century, as well as in the end of the 17th, and beginning of the 19th, men’s shirts were fastened with clever little buttons made of thread. These were simple to make with…
Easy attic window quilt pattern using a half square triangle instead of a complicated Y-seam - perfect for beginners!
One of my joys last winter was taking part in excellent online learning events by the UK Braid Society. My first event by published lacemaker Gillian Dye, was on a technique that surprisingly grabbed my attention - Yorkshire Button making. Less known than passementerie buttons such as the Dorset button, the Yorkshire button has a pleasing rounded organic shape which I recall seeing many a time on historical garments. As my fingers started to learn the technique on a wintery afternoon, little did I realise how much pleasure weaving would give me and others. The 21st century mindset is for buttons that are generally flat, and sadly all to often mass produced in plastic. How often in my stitch work I have come to the end of a project only to struggle with finding a pleasing button. While there are now many other options for making closures, buttons provide a charming decorative edge which is hard to beat and this is actually where their origins lie. Cultures around the world developed their own traditions for button making, which in the first instance were purely for those who could afford to decorate garments. Often soft stuffed like these French antique crocheted buttons, many designs resulted in an uneven shape that is perhaps less appealing to the modern eye. The Heritage Crafts website gives an excellent account of this history of the creation of these passementerie buttons in England. The beauty of this Yorkshire button is that unlike many passementerie buttons, the technique is reasonably simple and easy to learn. All that is required is a simple cardboard template, a smooth yarn or thread and a tapestry needle. A template of around 4cm is an excellent starting point and should be marked with accurate clock face points that are evenly snipped into by around 3mm. For this working example I chose a remnant of variagated sock yarn and started with a length approximately one and a half lengths of my arm. I found it is best to avoid very long working lengths which ususally resulted in thread tangles. Leaving a tail of at least 20cm, the button is started by bringing up through the central point on the card Then starts weaving the framework around the card, beginning by pulling the thread into the snip at the 1 oclock position and around the back of the card and up into the 2 o'clock position. The working thread is then taken diagonally over the template and down into the 7 o'clock snip, round the back and up in the 8 o'clock snip. And so this pattern of weaving continues, ove to the 2 o'clock position and round the snip and up through the 3 o'clock snip. The framework 'warp' is continued in this way, going diagonally across the top of the card and down and round the back of the card by one snip and up to the right. This is of course perfect for right handed workers and the direction can easily be reversed for those who are dominant with their left hand. When the working thread comes round again to the 12 oclock position, it may look as though something has gone wrong as the 6 o'clock position is empty - this is however as it needs to be. The warp weaving then continues around the template a second time, finishing with working thread coming up through the 6 o'clock snip. At this point the back of the template should look like this. It is important that the wraps around the back are reasonably tight and even, as this will ensure more even weaving and gathering at the end. Then the needle comes into play. A tapestry needle is a good option and the slightly rounded point will avoid splitting the yarn - choose a size that is comfortable to work in your hand and has an eye which is easy to thread with your working yarn. The first weave is behind the 2 threads that sit in the 12 o'clock snip - this will be the one and only time that you weave behind the threads in a single snip. The next weave is back under the 12 o'clock threads and also under the 11 o'clock threads. For those who are left handed you can work in the opposite direction and move to the right. The weaving continues in this way going back under the warp threads immediately to the left of the working thread and ALSO under the next pair of warp threads to the immediete left. The weaving progresses quickly with a sock weight yarn and it is easy to see and correct any misweavings. The weaving is continued and when you run out of thread, simply start a new yarn and weave in the tail of the old yard again a spoke for a couple of rounds. The weaving should then continue right to the edge of the card until it is impossible to fit any more weaving with the working thread. The weaving can now be removed from the template by turning over and pulling off the securing loops around the snips with the point of your needle. Then take the working thread and pass the needle through each of the 12 loops in turn and once again through the first loop. The working thread now becomes a drawstring and after pulling a little the emerging shape is stuffed - I used a firm wool for mine. I found it best to leave the tail from the start of the button pulled out of the gathered button and I used this to tie the working thread tighly against. And one finished woolly button - I really liked the soft fuzziness and the way the variaged sock yarn colours fell. The thread possibilites for making Yorkshire buttons are many, with the general rule that the working yarn should be smooth. I also enjoying using variagated perle thread in different weights and my students that I shared this technique with did too - particularly for Yorkshire button earrings! This techique can also be used to cover flat button forms or old unintersting buttons that might otherwise not see the light of day. One of my students Meg, so enjoyed the weaving and covering old buttons that she continued until she had sufficient buttons to create this marvellous picture - just perfect for a technique that gave so many of us pleasure and a sense of simple achievement working with our hands. And a few summers later on a wonderful return trip to the Orkney Isles, I adapted this most enjoyable technique on broken limpet shells - I have a feeling that this simple pleasure will morph into yet another creation along the way :)
This is an A5 sized booklet containing 16 pages of comprehensive information to enable someone to begin making all sorts of Dorset buttons. The instructions have been developed from many years of making and showing others how to make Dorset buttons and would be useful if you are unable to get al...More This is an A5 sized booklet containing 16 pages of comprehensive information to enable someone to begin making all sorts of Dorset buttons. The instructions...More
I have discovered the joys of sewing with felt after attending a Wendy Williams class at my local quilt shop. How quickly things come toge...
