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Buttons, felt & beads: Alice band
Alice bands for little girls won’t ever go out of fashion. In fact, every little girl needs and should have one!
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Buttons, felt & beads: All-button braclet
Don’t know what to do with all those small, random buttons you have left over? Here’s a fun and easy way to use them. This bracelet is made on a felt base, so it’s super comfortable to wear.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Basic bangle
Though this bangle looks everything but basic, I’ve described it as such because it so easy to make. Using this method, you can make as many different bangles as the buttons you have in your stash.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Bigger better
And much, much easier! In fact, this chunky necklace is so easy to make, we didn’t really have to take any step-by-step photographs to show you how to make it! The only difficulty you might possibly encounter when making this necklace is in finding enough large, rounded buttons with which to make it. If this is a problem, use smaller buttons around the back and neck area, keeping the large ones for the front.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Bracelet bonanza
Making bracelets is a real bonanza, especially if you started by making necklaces first. They are super quick and easy to make, and by simply adding a button or 2 or 3 you can create all kinds of fun and fashionable accessories. When making bracelets, use 4-hole buttons that are 23mm in diameter. This will give you the perfect base from which to start.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Brooch pouch
This pouch is simple and easy to make and is perfect for delicate brooches. The brooch and the pouch make a beautiful Mother’s Day gift that will be treasured forever.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Brooching
Brooches made with buttons are definitely the quickest, simplest and easiest way to get your creative juices flowing and build up your confidence for the next project. They simply can’t go wrong and are very satisfying to make.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Buttons for Africa
When it comes to making necklaces using lots and lots of buttons, your needle is your best friend. When I started playing around with buttons, I used to thread my buttons by hand and it took forever and a day! I also learnt the hard way that using buttons that are flat on one side, does not work at all with this type of necklace. The necklace tends to look broken in the middle and does not have a nice smooth curve. You must use buttons that are rounded, preferably on both sides.
When I go button hunting, I take 2 threaded needles with me and try a few different buttons to see if they will work. I’d highly recommend you do the same, because you wouldn’t want to end up with more than 200 buttons that don’t work for that beautiful necklace you imagined making.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Cellphone pouch
Use this cute cat template to make a protective pouch for your cellphone. The template is great to work with because you can change the look and feel of the cat by simply changing the buttons you use to represent its eyes. My cat doesn’t have whiskers, but you’re more than welcome to add whiskers on yours.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Crochet necklace
I absolutely love to crochet, even though, I have to admit, I’m not very good at it! So if I, with my very limited crochet skills, can make this necklace, so can you! I’ve explained the basic chain stitch below so refer back to that if you are new to crocheting. Having tried many ways to fasten this necklace I found the best way is to finish it off with crimps and a clasp. I am sure people with a sound knowledge of crochet can come up with a much fancier way to fasten the necklace using only a button.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Cupcakes
These cupcakes are an absolute treat to make. Use them as pincushions, to decorate your work area or kitchen, gift them to a friend with a penchant for cupcakes, or simply make them because they are fun!
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Buttons, felt & beads: Decorations
Using the same basic method as demonstrated below, you can make all kinds of decorations for anything from party to Valentine’s cupcakes, something special for Easter, or make beautiful additions with which to adorn a flower arrangement.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Delicacy
When you think of button accessories, they’re mostly big and chunky (maybe because large buttons are so much easier to work with than small ones!). But this little bracelet is small and delicate and although smaller buttons are trickier to work with, the result is well worth the effort.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Easy earrings
Button earrings are very quick and easy to make. Glue a button to an earring base and voila! You have a beautifully simple button earring. You can use jump rings to add buttons to the earring to create movement and give the earring some length. You will find the base for earrings at craft or bead shops and there are many to choose from. The base I have used comes with an extra ring (opening) in the base. You do not necessarily need the extra ring but it comes in handy.
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Buttons, felt & beads: felt beads
I made this necklace with felt beads that I made myself. I have a special machine that cuts the layers of fused felt into circles and I then use a leather punch or rotating punch pliers to make the hole in the centre of each bead. But don’t worry, it’s not impossible for you to make them, it’s just going to take a little more time and effort. As you can see, the end result is going to be very well worth the effort!
To make these felt beads you fuse several layers of felt and fusible web. The effort part comes in that you have to cut all the layers individually, and then layer them perfectly before fusing them. It’s not rocket science, it just takes time and patience.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Flat cord
It might not look it at first, but this necklace, once you’ve mastered the technique, is actually quite simple to make. It does take some time, but the more you practise and make this necklace, the faster and easier it becomes.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Floppy flower brooch
This is a lovely, large, floppy brooch that will complement any outfit or hat. Again, let your imagination and creativity guide you to make all kinds of variations of this brooch.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Flower brooch
The template for this brooch is wonderfully versatile and you won’t be sorry if you trace and cut out as many as your hands can manage. You can fuse the flower, fold it, gather it, the options are endless.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Fun 101
I’m sure you would have noticed by now that buttons really do come in all shapes and sizes! At craft shops, especially, you’ll find buttons shaped like anything, from cats and dogs to butterflies and hearts, with colours ranging from bright and bold to soft and subtle. This is a fun project for tweens or just the perfect gift for a little one.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Hairclips
Fun, fast and easy! You can make a hairclip in no time at all, and if you’ve been searching high and low for the perfect hair accessory to complement your outfit, here’s your solution! Hairclips come in different sizes and are available at craft shops, haberdasheries and also some bead shops.
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Buttons, felt & beads: Hearty magnet
Hearts are always popular and there’s so much you can do with them. With this template you can make a magnet, as I have, or a brooch. Give your imagination free rein. By using different stitches, beads and buttons, you can alter the look of every heart. This is also a great beginner’s project as there are no rules – you can decorate the heart any which way you want – it will look pretty!
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Buttons, felt & beads: Highly strung
This rope-tight necklace is another one of my favourites and again, is super-quick and easy to make. Choose a colour that will work well with the majority of your wardrobe because this accessory will complement any outfit.
If you happen to have, or ever come across, a big bag of white buttons – you’ve hit the jackpot. In large quantities, it will be worth your while to have these buttons dyed professionally, in any colour your heart desires! You’ll also then have a lovely, almost-never-ending stockpile of buttons with which to make as many of these necklaces as you can manage (trust me, you are going to want to).
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Buttons, felt & beads: Keyring
Making this key ring is a little more involved, but only because you need a specific number of buttons in specific sizes. So although you are free to play around with any colours of your choice (make a colourful lighthouse or a conventional red and white one), the number of buttons in the exact sizes provided here are needed to make the project work.
