Author: Jamie

Make Your Own Covered Buttons with a Modern Press, or the Hand Sewn Method

Hi Sis,

After hearing failed reports from others, and reading negative reviews on amazon, I bought my first silk covered buttons from Button Barron. They were beautiful, and I really really like fabric covered buttons now.

But, alas it is me we are dealing with. I wanted to make my own covered buttons. Why would I mail fabric somewhere, pay, and wait for them… when, I want them now!!!

I bought a legit button covering machine press. It was about $80.00 on amazon.  I figured with all the clothing we make it would pay for itself in about a year or two. 

I was sorely disappointed. It arrived with the wrong molds, it said it came with a 18, 25, and 30. (I like size 20 buttons, but figured 18 would do… it came with size 30, 40, and 48!!! Like seriously who needs a size 48 button? Thats a flipping pin)

Anyway, it also had the screws crocked and sent me cheap buttons, and I sent that back to where it came… just like the others before me. The box it came looked like it had been tapped up and shipped about 10 times.

Okay, now on with the good stuff. How to make your own silk covered buttons

First, buy your materials. You will need to get a kit the the button mold and press… if you don’t have one. Your choices are

  • pad back buttons – these are flatter buttons. Personally, I prefer these.
  • shank buttons 
  • various sizes. I used a size 20.

Other supplies, include your fabric and some kind of pad to help save your hand. I used a piece of felt folded up.

Step 1: Cut out your pattern. Cut it a bit larger actually then the pattern given to you with your buttons. Also, cut two layers of fabric!!! Silk taffeta is not thick enough in one layer, to hold. 

Step 2: Press it down into the mold. Then take the press, and run it along the edges and press everything down towards the center.

Step 3: Actually, press the shank down with the press. Press it like you mean business. I recommended a hand pad for this reason

pressure made by making just one button. Multiple buttons will really make your hand/fingers sore.

There you go! Now you have buttons easy peasy.

Working with Wool or other Fabric that Frays? Use glue, take scissors and cut flat to get rid of any frays that are sticking out. 

Clicking on an advertisement helps cover the expense of hosting our blog.

Hand Sewn (The Historical Way)

For some reason, I didn’t think to try the historical method. I saw a video on it recently, and thought, “Oh, that looks easy!” The press is a fidgety thing, and it hurts my hands. With this method I had my seven buttons in no time, with zero stress and happy hands! I also like the pad back. Shanks stick out, catch onto things, and press into you.

Step 1: Is to cut out your fabric a bit bigger than your button mold, and round the edges. Naturally, for historical purposes they didn’t have plastic buttons as molds! hehehehe But, I have those in abundance, so it happened.

Step 2: About 1/8 of an inch away run a running stitch around the edge of the circle. Pop in your button mold, and drawl it shut. Use your needle to sew it together, and yank taunt enough that your fabric is nice and smooth on the front side.

Enjoy your buttons! You can sew them directly on with the tail that you used to make the button. But, I do suggest securing it with a few knots first. That way it will not fall apart if you have to remove it from your garment. 




 

Silk Belt Pattern

Here is one of my versions of a fun bow belt. Belts and sashes such as these were pretty common in fashion plates, especially with bows. You can see them in the front, side, or even on the back of the dress. This version has rounded ends.

First, start with the belt part. Measure your waist, and add about 3 – 4 inches for overlap and seam allowance.

Then, figure out width. I wanted a 2 inch belt, so I cult mine at 5 inches wide, folded it over and sewed it with a 1/2 inch seam. 

Sew one corner and most of the side! Leave one side open so you can invert, and enough space to sew the tails into the belt. Press. Trim corners so you get a nice angle. I use a butterknife so I can get a crisp edge while pressing.

For the next part you need the tails. You will need to cut 4 of these. scanned belt tails pattern pdf

  • Do keep your height and hoop skirt size in mind. I am 5 ft 4 inches, and using a 108 inch hoop. If you are significantly taller or wearing a larger hoop, you may want to adjust the pattern to be longer and wider. I would cut out a paper version, tape it together, and drape it on your dress. See if you like the result before you make it!
  • You can always cut about 1/2 or so around the pattern if you want it just a smidge bigger.

Cut, out four of the tails, and sew with a 1/4 – 1/2 inch seam allowance. You will not be sewing all the way up the belt, as you see there is a line a few inches from the top that says, “Stop Sewing Here” that is so it is easier to invert your work. You can fold in that part later and sew it down. 

If you are adding the trim on top, you do not need to stress at all about having a perfectly rounded or straight edge. 

I made the trim by using a rotary cuter to make 1/2 inch cuts of silk. Then, I got a baby fork, and fork pleated. You can look up how to fork pleat on youtube. It is very, very simple and fast! I used the sewing machine to sew the trim right onto the tails.

I added a tack stitch in the center of the tail, to keep the tails together, so they didn’t overlap each other.

Put the tails into your belt about a half inch. Fold in the raw edge and sew your belt close.

For this type of bow I cut a 6×12 inch piece of fabric, and folded it in half so it was a square. Then, I sewed it together, but I left about 1 1/2 inches in the center un-sewn so I could invert the fabric. Trim edges to make them have a nice angle, turn in raw edge (no need to sew it now) and press.

Sew trim on top.Using your trim, pinch in the center and wrap the trim around a few times. Sew right into the center of your two tails on the belt. And it is done!

 

 Clicking on an advertisement helps cover the expense of hosting our blog. Thank you for your support!




 


Note: You may have noticed some slubs on my silk belt. Sadly, the only matching trim I could find for my dress was a shantung. In an ideal world, you should use silk taffeta for historical sewing. 

copyright2021 – this pattern is for personal use only. This pattern is not to be sold or redistributed.

A Quick Neck Bow

I cut out one piece of fabric 12X5 inches. Folded it in half and sewed one corner and the side with a 1/2 seam allowance. Flipped it inside out and ironed.

Then, I folded the sides into the back and overlapped them by 1/4 – 1/2 inch and sewed it down. 

Took a needle and sewed the center with some big stitches and yanked the thread to create the crunch. I usually do this two times, and then wrap the thread around the middle a few times for extra stability.

The center was a 3×3 inch piece of fabric. Sew a 1/2 inch seam to make a 1 inch tube. I didn’t both sewing the ends, you can just turn them under, while wrapping it around the bow. Flip inside out, and iron.

If you want ties, measure the length of tie you want. You can always make it shorter. I made mine 5 inches wide just like the bow and sewed it with a 1/2 seam allowance.

I wanted a fringed edge, so I left about 1 inch un-sewn on both sides of the seam.  Fringe by using a pin to pluck a few threads at time.

Just in case you are wondering, this isn’t silk taffeta… what it should technically be made out of! The silk I found that matched my dress was a shantung, which has slubs. But, since it was a trim, and I wanted it to match… I just went with it.

 Clicking on an advertisement helps cover the expense of hosting our blog. Thank you for your support!




 

Stitches

You will never guess what wild boy got stitches before the age of two? Grant bit his lip in half on Monday. He climbed the chest freezer in the kitchen and fell off landing upright between the wall and the freezer. Somehow in that mix, he chomped his lip.

My friend Kathy, came over to check him out. She is a nurse, and I called her up because I wasn’t sure if he should get stitches, or if I was being a fussy mom. Together, we went to Urgent Care, where Grant got one stitch. The doctor wasn’t sure he needed it, but we were afraid he was going to keep playing with it and not let it heal together properly. 

Anyway, it hasn’t slowed him down a bit, and the day diet of popsicles was apparently the best thing ever! 

But, if I have an early heart attack. You know who caused it!

A Million Little Fork Pleats

Wish me luck, I am doing a million little fork pleats. This is my very first time doing fork pleats. If you don’t know of what I speak, I really mean that I am making peats with a…

with a fork. It is way faster then doing it by hand. But, it is still taking me forever because I need yards and yards of pleated trim. What am I doing with this trim??? That will be seen in a future blog post!!! Yes, me excited and me keeping it a secret!!! mahahaha 

Tips on Fork Pleats

  • Use The Baby Fork!!! – Seriously, the big fork keeps hitting the side of the sewing machine. The swap to the baby fork was a game changer.

 

Halloween

This year, we ditched poor Brandy and went somewhere closer for Halloween. Sorry… sis! We figured, we could see you soon at William’s birthday party, which we didn’t make either. Third time is a charm, see you on Thanksgiving 😉 

Nate’s mom invited us over her place for Halloween, and we had a wonderful time. Evelyn wanted to be a fish, and really liked this blue fish headband on Amazon. Complete with a blue tutu and a Pretend I’m a fish shirt, she was a happy camper.

Grant sat around in his stroller wearing a sweater that said Gone Fishing and held onto his tiny toy fishing rod.

A great time was had by all.

And now we have plenty of potty training candy. lol 

We have been giving the kids a piece of their Halloween candy every time Eve pees on the potty. Grant is so into it, that he started yanking off his diaper and has peed three times already. My kids might potty train at the same time.

Undersleeves

While in the midst of making a new dress for the 1860’s, I decided to pick a fashion plate as my inspiration. The dress I am making has an interesting sleeve that is between a progoda and a coat sleeve. Either way, it isn’t a very full sleeve. But, it does need an under-sleeve, as it doesn’t come fully to the wrist.

Materials

Cotton Organdy – I purchased mine from EnsemblesofthePast,

White Cotton Thread

Embroidery Cotton Floss

Two buttons

1/4 Inch Elastic

Time to Start Sewing

Step 1: Essentially, you are making a tube. If you want to be fancy, you can make a tube from two pieces of fabric. If you don’t want to be fancy, one rectangle will do. I have a smaller wrist (5.5 inches) and didn’t want a very full under-sleeve.  So all together, my under-sleeve tube measured 26 inches wide by 14.25 inches long. Go larger, if you have a larger bone circumference, or want a fuller sleeve.

Step 2: For cuff, make it about 2.5 inches larger than your wrist. You want 1/2 inch seam on both sides, some overlap for the button, and some wriggle room at the wrist. You have two options that are simplistic. You can make a straight edged cuff, or you can angle the ends. My cuff was 2 inches wide, once completed. So, it required 3 inches for the seams located at the top and bottom of the cuff.

Step 3: If you would like to embroider your cuff, I recommend doing it before sewing it together, and even before you cut it out! I traced my cuff onto my fabric, and embroidered it as a larger piece, and cut it out later. I was inspired by the design on Past Patterns under-sleeves. 

Step 4: Sew the sides of the sleeves, and leave 2 inches un-sewn at the bottom. This is so you can have that overlap/gap at the button closure. Finish the bottom two inches by pressing the seam inward so there are no raw edges and sewing it down.

Step 5: Run two rows of gathering stitches at the end of the sleeve. I ran my gathering rows half way, so I could yank the strings in the middle as well as both ends. Then, gather and pin the sleeve right into the cuff. Remember you want right side to right side. Sew.

Step 6: You may have to sew the very ends of your cuff by hand. I have a hard time doing it with the machine.

Step 7: Fold down the inside of the cuff and whip stitch. Add a button hole to the cuff, maybe two if you made it wider.

Step 8: For the top of the sleeve, press down the fabric about 3/8 of an inch, and then fold it down again about 6/8 of an inch. I wasn’t particular, my fabric was starched and I pressed it by measuring with my eye.

Step 9: I used 1/4 inch elastic, and didn’t want space for it to swim. Sew, close to the edge. Leave about 1 inch open, so you can thread your elastic through. For elastic, I measured my arm where the sleeve would sit, and cut the elastic to that measurement.

Step 10: Thread through your elastic. Overlap the elastic by one inch, and sew it together. Then, sewed the hole shut. I personally found the sleeve stays in place very well between the elastic top and the cuff at the bottom.

 

 

Enjoy your undersleeves!

~ Jamie

 Clicking on an advertisement helps cover the expense of hosting our blog. Thank you for your support!




 

Hike

This week Nate had off work, and we got to enjoy some family time. It was warm for a few days, so we got to walk at a few of the local parks.

I really like how Ohio always has a metropark close to home. Even in the country I can get to three walking trails within 5-10 minutes.. that I know off. Here we are at Hogback ridge, one of our favorites.