MAKE YOUR OWN BUTTONS
Slice up your own dried tree branches. If you take a
branch off the tree, let it dry before you make buttons.
Here in South Carolina, I find them in my woody backyard.
They are as easy to slice as a piece of lunch meat.
You can actually slice up a whole branch in no time and they
don't all have to be the same width or length, as you can
see, some of mine have little knots on the side which I
love.
My DH liked the ones with no bark but I loved the ones with
bark so we did both.
After you slice them drill 2 or 4 small holes and lightly sand.
Soak them overnight in a (clean) margarine tub filled with
satin polyurethane or shiny polyurethane (makes 2 very
different looks).
Next sand both sides lightly again.
Once sanded pin them to a box, a pizza delivery box with
sides intact is perfect, then go outside and spray the side
facing with satin or shiny poly and let them sit outside
overnight.
I purchased some steel straight pins (you remember, the
kind we learned to sew with? Because you'll be
spraying the pins as well as the buttons, the pins are
pretty much ready to throw away after you're finished with
them. Don't worry a box of pins are inexpensive
compared to the price of hand made wooden buttons. I
left them in the house to dry since I live in a humid
climate winter and summer.
Next day turn them and spray them again. Another light sand,
another spray , let dry, spray other side, let dry and
they're done. So you've sanded them 3 times and sprayed them
twice.
After the first test one was done I sewed one to a swatch
and machine washed and dried it 5 times that day while I was
doing laundry. The test one came out just like new so I knew
we had a winner. I've had my wooden buttons on a best
loved cardigan ever since we made the first button back in
the 80's. The buttons look good as new although the
sweater could use a replacement. I always take them
off the garment when I toss it so I have never run out of
buttons.
When you sew them on, don't necessarily look at the
dimension, try it in your buttonhole, it depends on width as
well as thickness and the little knots on the sides, whether
or not it will go through the hole so your sweater may have
5 different size buttons.
BTW, after you have finished spraying them with the poly,
you can get some acrylic paint and a small paint brush and
paint flowers or toys or whatever you want on them, spray
that after its dry and you have a button that will match any
theme and they look very different from the plain ones.
Try a branch, I'll bet you love them.
Email Roz
©
Rosalind Porter, Piney Mountain Cottage
2007-2008
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