Fabric Covered Button Tutorial

I'm really thrilled to welcome Fiona to my blog today! Fi is a fellow Irish blogger, blogging over at Patchwork Delights and hers is one of the first blogs I started to follow last year. Better still, we have been lucky enough to actually meet up in real life, after discovering that she lives only 5 minutes from my mother!! We have a lot in common, sharing a love of patchwork, modern quilting, fabric....and both of us holding down busy jobs as well as looking after our family. So, I hope you enjoy her great tute... Fi kindly sent me some of her lovely buttons earlier this year and they are totally gorgeous.

Fabric Covered Button – A Tutorial by PatchworkDelights

First things first, I would like to thank Sarah for arranging this tutorial swap! Thanks Sarah x! You will find Sarah’s tutorial running concurrently on my blog here on making your own bunting, so why not go and check it out?

Fabric covered buttons are very straightforward to make and very little is required to make them. You can make small to very large buttons with plain backs or with wire backs (for sewing onto garments). You can make push pins, fridge magnets, bookmarks, the imagination is the limit!

Let’s get down to business shall we?

Getting started
Button covering kit. – you can get them in your local habedashery shop or online.
Fabric, scraps are perfect for this project.



What’s Next?

Well now you can start making buttons!

Get your scrap of fabric (now at this point when you buy a kit they include a measuring template type of thing, you can cut this out and perhaps put it on cardboard and use this to measure out your circle of fabric). I made my own for my larger buttons.

Get your fabric and cut out a circle.


Get the white part of your kit and place the circular piece of fabric (right side facing down) on top of the white thingy.

Then place the button top face down on top of the fabric. You will notice I trimmed mine slightly I was judging with my eye.


Push the button down into the fabric with your finger and of course this will push down into the white part of the tool kit.

This is the tiny bit fiddly part but nonetheless straightforward part. Tuck the fabric into the well of the button until it is all neatly tucked in.


Place the button back on top of this.


Get the blue little cap and place it on the button back and press firmly.


Now ideally you don’t want to pack in loads of fabric into this well but if you find the fabric is slightly on the thicker side then I sometimes use a hammer and with one tap get the button back in firmly and flatly, but this is only the odd time.

Now simply pop out your gorgeous button!


Finished!


My 8 yr old has made loads of my buttons so if he can do it..it’s so simple it’s child’s play and what’s more great fun!


You can choose animal prints, different toning colours, different sizes of buttons, you can embroider them or you can bead them!
I hope you try them, they are great fun and very simple to make!

Any questions don’t hesitate to contact me at patchworkdelights@gmail.com

Thanks again Sarah for arranging this tutorial swap!