Button Tutorial :: Covered Then Crocheted

Oh how I love to make pretty little thing and if I say so myself ... these are pretty dang pretty!

I have always loved covered buttons, but making them with that little plastic suction thing and then pushing the back in, never worked very well.

Use these buttons on a favorite denim jacket, hang one from a crocheted chain, or sew them to an old tag and give them as a gift. The possibilities are endless!

Tutorial: What you need: DMC crochet cotton in size 20, size 9 crochet hook, old buttons, a small clump of fiber-fil, scraps of fabric, hand sewing needle and thread.

Gather some old buttons and measure. Cut a square of fabric that is 2 times the measurement of the button.

Fold the fabric in half twice and then round out the corner to cut a circle.

Fold the fabric circle around the button just to make sure that it is the right size, not overlapping.

With a threaded hand needle, run a basting stitch around the perimeter of the circle, and gather up slightly.

Stuff a small amount of fiber-fil into the circle ...

then insert the button and cinch the fabric to encase the button.

Then stitch across the button, closing up the hole, then knot the thread.

Cut a very small circle of felt and using white glue adhere the felt to the back of the button and set aside to dry.

If you would like, you can stop here and use the buttons just the way they are or continue on and crochet a little 'snood' for them. Here's what I did to crochet the little snood: Ch 6, slip in the first ch to form a loop. ch 1, dc 13 in loop,slip stitch in the first dc. ch 2, skip first dc, then 2 dc in the next dc...continue until you are back to the beginning, slip stitch.

ch 3 then dc in every loop and continue around till you reach the beginning. Slip stitch and leave a long tail.

With a large eye needle, weave the end back and forth across the back, then knot. Weave in the start thread on the front and there you have it ...

Easy peasy and oh so pretty!

SHIRT #1

(I am AWFUL at taking pictures of myself, obviously, please forgive....and expect craaaazy faces)

1)TURN SHIRT INSIDE OUT. Take a shirt you already have and trace roughly, and pin. 2)Cut on your marked lines.

3)Take you sleeve scraps, trace your hand (these will be your pockets), then cut (you'll have four pocket pieces now) 4)Turn shirt right side out. Pin and sew one pocket piece onto one side of the shirt, for each one.

5)Turn inside out again, pin and sew from the armpit, around the pockets to the bottom.

BLAM! A new, fitted, long, new-to-you t-shirt with pockets!

SHIRT #2

1)TURN SHIRT INSIDE OUT. Trace a shirt that fits you already (or just eye-ball it), pin, cut (note we cut the neck bigger on this one), then just sew from the armpit down, and the shoulders.

2) Take your scraps and cut out the sleeves 3)Cut up the sleeve seam 4) Should look like this now 5) Pin and sew one side together 6) Trim off the big arch, so you just have a slight curve on top. 7) Looks like this now, one strip

8&9) with the shirt inside out still, pin and sew the neck on that sucker.

KA-POW! The custom cowl-neck shirt you've always wanted! The great thing about working with jersey material like this is it is stretchy and doesn't fray, so very, very forgiving. So don't worry about hemming the sleeves or even sewing straight! Yay for easy!

How to transform a boring old t-shirt into something that could make you the star of the party: turn it upside down & create some fancy pockets.