Does anyone recognize that phrase? I vaguely recall it as a childhood game but I don't remember actually playing it. It came to mind as I began to write this since our topic at last Wednesday's Sewphisticuts meeting was "Making a Dorset Button". According to Wikipedia, a Dorset button "is a style of craft-made
button originating in the English county of
Dorset.
Their manufacture was at a peak between 1622 and 1850, after which they
were overtaken by machine-made buttons from factories in the developing
industries of
Birmingham and other growing cities." There are many variations of the style, which are described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorset_button
The basic button is formed by wrapping a ring with fiber, creating spokes by running the fiber across the center, then weaving around these spokes. We used plastic curtain rings with a one-inch diameter. Some of us chose a white crochet cotton thread, while others used sock-weight or light sport weight yarn. The most difficult part of the process was creating the spokes; most of us had to try the wrapping several times before getting the yarn as evenly distributed as we liked. But then the weaving went quickly and everyone created a button within an hour. Typically these would be appropriate on a hand-knit item since the buttons would made using the same yarn as the item, allowing the buttons to match the garment. But another use we thought of was embellishment on quilts or craft items, where a custom-made button could lend a unique look.
Directions for making these buttons can be found on-line at various blogs and in many Youtube videos.
We also had some show-and-tell.
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| Sue's quilt top |
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| Another quilt by Sue |
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| Judy's one-seam pants from Louise Cutting pattern |
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| Judy's velour robe |
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| Embroidery on Judy's robe |
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| Cyndy's jacket from scuba fabric |
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| Connie's tool caddy from serger workshop |
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| Maura's denim bag |
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The basic button is formed by wrapping a ring with fiber, creating spokes by running the fiber across the center, then weaving around these spokes. We used plastic curtain rings with a one-inch diameter. Some of us chose a white crochet cotton thread, while others used sock-weight or light sport weight yarn. The most difficult part of the process was creating the spokes; most of us had to try the wrapping several times before getting the yarn as evenly distributed as we liked. But then the weaving went quickly and everyone created a button within an hour. Typically these would be appropriate on a hand-knit item since the buttons would made using the same yarn as the item, allowing the buttons to match the garment. But another use we thought of was embellishment on quilts or craft items, where a custom-made button could lend a unique look.
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