How to make Button Flowers…

 

How to make Button Flowers…

 

In the summer of 2012, I was on my annual road trip from Pennsylvania through Illinois where I visited my cousin, Linda, before heading to Minneapolis to spend a week or so with my youngest son Brian.  My husband had passed away in 2011 and I had finally sold my summer home in Maryland.  I began making road trips with friends and to visit my sons, either by driving (Brian) or flying (Rob and his wife, Kate).  The 2012 summer trip was a delightful adventure where Brian entertained me which included a trip to Turtle Lake, WI to visit Tom and Mary Stark.  Mary is a quilter/crafter, so we had a lot in common.  It was on that trip that she taught me to make button flowers.

These are button flowers.  They are beautiful, quirky little decorations that are made with old or new buttons and floral wire using a drill.
 
WARNING:  Learning how to make button flowers can be very addictive.  Before you know it, you will have button flowers on your dressers, the backs of your toilets, windowsills, nightstands, tops of bookcases, and any other places that just need a little something.  When you are invited to a friend’s house or a neighbor’s backyard party, you will come armed with a food dish, a bottle of wine, and a little vase of button flowers.  To help validate your obsession you will teach your crafty friends, your quilt guild, or your girl scouts how to make them and they will become addicted.  From just one or two of those that you teach, the Button Flowers will continue their journey until they are all throughout the country, maybe even around the world.
 
Recently I saw a Facebook post that showed one of the quilters in a group that I follow with a LARGE number of buttons spread out in a LARGE container asking the question: “Do you think I can find 8 green buttons that match?”  Many folks weighed in with comments, but I said that I would make button flowers out of them.  I just needed to get my drill and floral wire,  Surprisingly, one member of the group was actually one of the ladies I had taught how to make the Button Flowers and she said that she still had her Button Flowers.  Another member asked if I could show her a picture as she was curious.  I took a picture which I shared, and she asked if I could tell her how to make them.  So, I am writing these instructions with pictures so another generation of Button Flower makers can become addicted.

Button Flower Tutorial

 

Button Flowers are exactly as they sound, delightful little flowers that are made from buttons.  They are unique, delicate, and very simple to make.  But this is a warning, making Button Flowers can be very addictive.

 

These are the materials that you will need to make button flowers:

The first and primary items you will need are buttons.

A collection of old, regular buttons…  most households have a box of buttons.  You can also find them online, on eBay, or Etsy, etc.

You can also get newer buttons.  Walmart, Joann Fabric, and Michaels would be a great source of these newer buttons.

You will need 22 Gauge floral wire.  Do not use anything lighter.  It needs to be easy enough to twist and yet give the flowers the ability to stand up on the stem that you will make with the wire.  Much heavier and the stem will not have a gentle bounce that makes the buttons move more like flowers.

You will need a drill, either corded or cordless.  You will also need a small pair of wire cutters.

You will need small containers or vases to display your Button Flowers.  The stems are very thin.  The secret to displaying the Button Flowers is the opening of the vase.  It either needs to be a very narrow neck or have a device to hold the stems in place.  A wide opening will not allow the flower stems to stand upright.  In the sample above there are two vases with narrow openings.  There are two fake lightbulbs with a single hole in the top for one nice Button Flower.  Salt and pepper shakers have holes for the stems to go through without falling over.  The purple container has a wire covering that creates little squares.  Not ideal, but it will work.  Just become aware of the fun places that you go, like Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Joann Fabrics, antique malls, yard sales, second-hand shops, or any other place that you can find little decorative objects that might just be the perfect container for your Button Flowers.  It will become part of the obsession.

You should also look for something to put in the bottom of the containers.  The height of your Button Flowers may cause your container to fall over.  Marbles, tiny stone nuggets, or glass pebbles work very well to keep your container from falling over and keep your flowers in place.  Again, Walmart, Joann Fabrics, Michaels, etc. are the best place to find these items.

So, let’s start making some Button Flowers…

Step 1:

Sort through your buttons.  Pull out big ones, then medium ones than small ones.  You are going to layer your buttons to make the flowers.  Colors are up to you.  They can each be different colors, a variety of one color family, or all of them exactly the same, just different sizes.  All of these flowers should be the kind of buttons with holes in them.  The minimum number of holes will be two, but four holes will be fine, you just need to have one hole for each of two wires that will make up the stem. You can also use one shank type button in your flower.  BUT, it has to be the smallest button or the top button, or the first button used in your flower.  I have used one like the little white button in the picture above.  I have also found a ladybug shank button or a butterfly shank button to decorate the top of the Button Flower.  I have also used sparkly, jeweled-like shank buttons to add bling.  You can do whatever you like, these are your creations, so try them all.  It is part of the addiction, trying all of the many options to create a beautiful button bloom.

 

Step 2:

Take the 22 Gauge wire and unwind a piece that is about 2 to 3 times longer than the container that you are going to put them in.

Gently fold the wire in half, leaving a loop at the fold.  This fold will be where the buttons are layered to make the flower.

Step 3:

Begin to string the selected buttons onto the folded wire.  Begin with the smallest first, then the next size up, then a bigger one, until you have all of the buttons for this flower on the wires.  If you have a 4 hole button the wire should be going through the holes that are across from each other so the button will center up in the wire… unless you want the button off-center, then do it your way.  It is part of the fun.

Push the buttons up until they are tight against the top of the wire.

This is what the wire will look at in a button with holes.  If you use a shank button, get the second button up as tightly as you can against the shank.  It will hold that button in place.

Step 4:

Holding the buttons tightly in one hand and the wires in the other, gently twist the wire directly under the buttons to hold them in place.

Then fold to open ends of the two wires to make a small loop.  This will give an area for the drill to grab for making the twisted stem.

Step 5:

If you have never used a drill, have someone that you know help you learn.  The protruding cone/clamp is seen here grasping the end loops of the wires.  That little cone/clamp opens and closes using the plastic ring just behind the metal cone/clasp.  Open the little cone/clasp enough so you can insert the wires into the come/clasp and then turn the ring in the opposite direction to tighten the cone/clasp on the wires.  Make sure that the loop is secure.  You will be pulling on the button end in the next step and the looped ends will need to remain in the drill cone/clamp end.

 

Step 6:

Grab the buttons firmly between two fingers.

Pull the wires as tightly with one hand as you hold the drill in your other hand.  Turn the drill on, slowly at first.  If you are lucky, you twisted the wire by the buttons in the right direction.  If not, those twists will untwist which is why it is important to hold the buttons tightly.  Keep the drill running until the wire stem becomes a single twisted piece of metal.

Do not twist it too quickly or too tightly or you will snap the wire off just below the buttons or break in the middle.  Take your time at first until you get the feel of the drill and how much of a twist that you need in the wire.  The tighter the twist, the stiffer the stem will be.

Step 7:

Open the cone/clasp back up and remove the folded end.  You can see how the wire has twisted down to where the fold in the wire begins.

Clip off the folded end of the Button Flower.

Step 8:

Now take a look at the finished stem and Button Flower.  If you are just making a whole bunch of miscellaneous flowers, this is where you would stop.  When you finally are ready to put it into a vase, you will determine the length that you want to cut the flower in order for it to work in the vase or container.  I usually put odd numbers of the flowers in a vase, so either 3 or 5 or 7.  Cut them to different lengths to make the decoration have balance and interest.

I put this Button Flower in the one tall vase that I had on the table.  I think it is too tall, but in the right vase, it would be perfect.  You can add other decorations to the flowers, perhaps leaves or ribbons. to glitter or crystals. or whatever your heart desires.

 

If you have any questions, please email me at jrudewick@gmail.com