Embroidered Buttons
Blogger: Kirsten Mann
Featured patterns: Sarasota and Kendall
Embroidered Buttons
Embroidered buttons really give garments an heirloom finish, and I love the extra pop of color they bring too! So when I do decide to use buttons, I love making them extra special with embroidery.
To embroider buttons on your next project you will need the following supplies:
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Milliners needle
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Glue stick
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Pin
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Buttons with 4 holes (5/8" used in this post)
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Embroidery thread
For this blog, I have kept it simple and used 2 colors: one for the leaves and one for the flower bud.
Once you have sewn your buttonholes, mark the button placement locations. Use a small amount of glue to place the first button into position. Place the button so that the holes are positioned in a diamond shape like this:
For this tutorial, the holes will be numbered like the below image.
Thread the needle with all 6 strands of embroidery thread, and tie a knot at the end.
To make the steam/leaves of the flower, pull the needle up through hole 2 from the underside of the garment. Then push the needle down into hole 1. Before pulling the thread completely through, slide a straight pin under as pictured above. This will help the preserve some volume for the end result.
Next, pull the needle up through hole 2, over the pin, and across to hole 4 as pictured.
Repeat this process to create the second leaf going from hole 2 to 3 as pictured.
Tie a knot on the underside of the garment.
Thread the floss for the flower bud with 6 strands.
From the underside, pull the needle up through hole 1. Create a French knot - using between 2-4 twists. For buttons this size, I used 3 twists to create the size flower bud I wanted. Hold the thread taut as pictured, and push the needle down into hole 1, and tie off the thread.
Carefully remove the pin. Voilà! Once you get comfortable with this process, consider experimenting with other botanicals, colors, and designs.
