Weekend Review: Thread Me a Button

 

Thread Me a Button / Jude Aquilina & Joan Fenney
Port Adelaide: Ginninderra Press, c2012.
73 p.

I discovered this little book of poetry in a library collection online, and the adorable cover and title drew me in. It really is a collection of poems all centred on buttons! It's written by two Australian women, and it's surprising how much they can wring from a button. 

The book is set up in 6 sections, each with an average of 9 poems, ranging from haiku length to full page poems. There are some that are straightforward, some quite funny, and a few that are more serious and moving. 

There is a poem about a woman who lost her lover in the war, and for the rest of her life she wore one of his buttons stitched to a petticoat. There are some celebrating beauty, or relationships. In the section "In the Sewing Drawer" I found some of my favourite pieces, lots about the act of sewing. And this section includes what I think was the most memorable poem, for me, called "In the Light"; it's about the closing down of Mrs. Pearl Morris' haberdashery shop, and I found it evocative and bittersweet. 

This was a chance find, and a gem. I enjoyed reading through this accessible collection, which will appeal to anyone fond of buttons and the garment sewing world. Easy to read a few each night before bed to relax and enjoy some sewing related whimsy! 

Learning About Dorset Buttons

This week my local Garment Guild held a workshop about how to make Dorset style buttons. I was really looking forward to it as I've always been interested in this technique. I really enjoyed the workshop but I was also surprised at how mentally taxing it was ;) 

The instructor was from the London chapter of the Canadian Embroidery Guild and was so informative and fun to learn from. We went over a brief history of thread buttons, made a classic Dorset button and a Death's Head wrapped button, and had a demo of the slightly more complicated Shirtwaist button. Just making two styles was intense! 

My Dorset Button!

I nearly finished my Dorset -- and as the instructor said, your first button is not going to be perfect! I'm planning on finishing it up with just a few more wraps. The Death's Head button was fiddly but I decided to use two colours, and since it looked pretty stark when it was done I added a couple of lazy daisy stitches to the centre. Totally not the way it should be done ;) 

Death's Head with embellishment

I love learning new things, and this is something I think I'll be exploring further. There are lots of fascinating links online, some shared in class and others that I've seen in my blog reading travels. Here are a few if you'd also like to explore! 

Needle n Thread

Henry's Buttons (UK)

Edmonton Needlecraft Guild 

Gina-B Silkworks 

Weekend Review: The Button Maker

The Button Maker: 30 Great Techniques and 35 Stylish Projects
by Sarah Beaman
London: Collins & Brown, c2005
128 p.

This is a delightful book that I found by chance. It is exactly what it says it is -- a book of buttons! There are a wide variety of button ideas in this book, from traditional Dorset or Singleton buttons to one made with found objects like shells, twigs or even erasers. 

Beaman goes over some basic techniques in each area that could be expanded with a bit of imagination, but also gives really clear step-by-step instructions and lots of photos for each project too. While it's unlikely that I'll end up making buttons from shells, there are many other ideas that I loved. I was particularly intrigued by the cord wrapped buttons; they are beautiful and really elegant, though they also look a bit time consuming. 

I like the variety in this book, also. From simply embellishing existing buttons with added images, adding pyrographic designs to wooden buttons, or topping a button with a fabric rose or pom-pom, she moves into more elaborate ideas like knots and cords, stitched and woven rings, or clay and plastic originals. 

While these are just quick intros to various techniques, some of them like the Dorset buttons have such a history and range of design that if this one example interests you, it's like a door into the whole subject -- there is so much you can look up about Dorset buttons and their many patterns.

One of the most unusual ideas, for me anyhow, was the quick project near the end suggesting that novelty erasers can be cut down into discs and used as buttons. Since I was a huge stationery freak when I was young (ok, still am) I'm surprised this idea hadn't occurred to me earlier!

The only slightly odd thing about the book is the way it's structured. In each section, the concept is introduced with techniques, ie: Wooden Buttons, Embroidered Buttons  and so on. Then immediately following, each button is introduced again with a one page layout of instructions and supplies, with the facing page a full page photograph, which really helps you to see the details. However, when first looking through the book it took me a few minutes to grasp why each button appeared twice. 

In any case this is a really fun book to look through, and there are at least 10 ideas I'd love to try out. I foresee some button up projects in my future! With creative ideas and clear instructions, I think this is a book that could inspire anyone looking to add a little something extra to a project. 

Mending and Making Do

This week I finally got to some of the mending and upcycling projects in my endless queue. I started with a dress that I was given in a bundle of fabrics that were passed on to me. This dress was an 80s print rayon (which I love!) and it was half made. The bodice was very close fitting, double breasted, and with long sleeves. It was very out of fashion, too small, and generally unsaveable. 

But the skirt was very full and pleated, already hemmed and with pockets. I had to save that. After pondering a bit, I unpicked the pleats which thankfully were so loosely sewn that the rayon didn't run as I removed the old thread. Then I went the easiest route ever: I picked up some wide elastic for a quick waistband, gathered the skirt and stitched it to the elastic for an instant pull-on skirt. It's comfortable, quick and now I can wear this fabulous print. One more project off the "fix it rack"!

While I was on a roll I continued on with some very minor mending projects that I've been putting off, who knows why. First, I changed the buttons on an 80s dress ("Sears Fashion") that I picked up at the thrift store last summer (!!) It fits perfectly and is so cute -- I just had to change the awful buttons that close it up the back. I was going to use black but found some charcoal ones in my stash that work even better. 10 minute job.

Old plastic mauve buttons

New charcoal buttons!

Then I added another buttonhole and one more matching button to the neckline of the Sorrell Dress by Jennifer Lauren Handmade, which I made almost a year ago, and have been meaning to add an extra button to ever since.

And finally a super quick fix to the grey Butterick skirt that I just made -- the waistband button slides around a bit as the buttonholes are a bit larger than optimal. So on that one buttonhole I just closed up one end by about 1/8th of an inch just by hand stitching a bar over the buttonhole stitching. Easy enough.

I don't know why I put off little fixes for so long but I'm glad I got a few down this week. My mending rack is still pretty full, though, so I am hoping to get a few more things back into the regular wardrobe this summer by tackling a few of them each week.

Do you find mending your own makes difficult or dull? Do you often bother? Or do you actually like mending?