How do you make buttons?

Question

I am not talking about "buttons" for the web, but real buttons used on clothing. Web buttons are the only result I have gotten by searching online. Would Sculpy Clay work?

Answer 1

Oh, you betcha!... and they're fun to make from polymer clay too.

I wouldn't use Sculpey** for them though because it's weak after baking in any thin areas, and buttons could be thin-ish... better choices would be the polymer clays Premo, FimoClassic (not FimoSoft probably), Kato Polyclay, or Cernit.

(**Sculpey, SuperSculpey, Sculpey III)

Buttons can be made from clay in any size or shape you want, with any patterns or surface design, and they can have holes or or you can add (or make) shanks.
Polymer buttons can even be washed and dried by machine wherever you sew or glue them on (but don't dry clean them, or remove from clothing first).

There's a load of info on how to make buttons with polymer clay, as well as links to many examples, on this page of my website:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/buttons.htm


HTH, and have fun!

Diane B.



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Answer 2

It could. You may need to reinforce it, however, Oddly enough, cloth would make a good reinforcement for clay. Take plain old washcotton (like they make bedsheets from) and cut a shape a bit smaller than your button. Work the clay around, over, and under this reinforcement piece so it can't be seen. Use a little glue as you work it in, if needs be. This cloth piece will help keep the clay from snapping in the middle when you put it through a button hole once it's been baked.

A bent paper clip -- or half of one, really -- would make a fine loop for the back. Using heavy wire cutters, snip a paper clip in half. One paper clip gives you three loops. Using pliers, bend one 'leg' north from the loop and the other one south. This should give you enough stability so the loop won't pull out when you try to sew it on. Cut the ends off a little shorter if tthey're too long, but be sure to leave enough for a good anchor, and bury it well into the clay before baking.

Feel free to email me (click on the name under my avatar for the link) if some of this isn't quite clear, or with any questions it raises. Have fun!

You may find it simpler to glue baked clay designs onto plain buttons. Look for these in fabric shops and crafts shops -- or at yard sales and thrift stores. I find them all over.