Button It! – Turning Buttons to Art

Wall Art for a sewing room makeover

As I have been working on my sewing room makeover, I have had to ponder the balance between creative and practical. First and foremost I need my space to be practical. I have more stuff than I care to admit and it needs to be neatly tucked away but should there not be some room left for something purely decorative? As this is the space where I do my creating, shouldn’t the space be creative itself? Anyway, I decided that the answer was yes!

So that leads me to the question of what to do? With all the self-space taken and every available surface used more often than not, that leaves me with the walls. The fact that I rent makes it a little difficult but there is one heavy-duty hook over the spare bed that is crying out for something large.

Firstly, I decided on a frame piece after a shopping trip to IKEA where I picked up a large ornate frame that was really cheap. A quick spray paint and it looks a million dollars, even if I do say so myself! Here’s a photo with the framed thread painting:

Free-motion thread painting

Now comes the fun part, what to put in the frame? After a little bit of experimentation, I decided that free-motion quilting with BSR was the way to go. Now I really don’t consider myself artistic so the first thing I did was find a template of what I wanted. Download the Tree Template Here:

After tracing out the tree and ironing some wadding on the back, it’s time to get stitching. The thing I love most about the BSR is that it greatly helps uncoordinated sewists like me by regulating the stitch lenght according to our speed of movement. I use BSR 2 with no foot control, meaning the machine only stitches when I move the fabric.

I find the best thing to do is start with the outline. But remember: Don’t stress about staying in the lines, it’s ‘FREE’ motion and isn’t meant to be perfect!

Once the outline is finished, go around it again. Don’t even try to stay on the same line, it adds to the character of the tree.

When the outline is complete, it’s onto the middle. Again, this is all about creating character so don’t get too bogged down in the detail. Keep it fun and add some bark texture!

Attaching the buttons

So with the tree now completed (very happy with my results I must say), it’s time to contemplate the leaves. I thought for a while about felt and 3D petals and all sorts, but in the end buttons won.

After sorting through a mixed bag and deciding my colour scheme, it’s onto the all-important stitching on. Now I don’t do anything by hand, if possible, so its time to break out the Button Sew-On Foot #18. This presser foot has two rubber feet and a shank adjuster in the middle that makes sewing on buttons a breeze!

Button Sew-On Foot #18

For sewing on buttons and hooks ✓ The rubberized sole holds the button firmly in place ✓ For 5.5 mm and 9 mm machines ✓

Learn more

Button Sew-on Foot #18

The foot is really easy to use. Simply line the Button Sew-on Foot #18up with the holes in your button. Select the Button Sew-On program (or a zig zag with a width of 4mm and length of 0mm). Make sure the needle lines up with the holes and stitch.

The worst that can happen is that you hit the button with the needle, which really isn’t the end of the world. It just means that you need to adjust the width of stitch to suit that button.

I always try to make these things random. I find perfection a bit boring. After sewing on one type of button an random places, I change the setting for the next type and continue on, until my tree has as many buttons as I like. This assortment reminds me of the last few autumn leaves which see the first snow.

And there you have it, my first attempt to make my sewing room pretty 🙂

It’s such a fun and easy project, and you can showcase your favorite buttons from your collection. If you decide to make one for yourself, please share a picture on Social Media and tag me so I can see your work! https://www.facebook.com/TheSharedStitch/?ref=hl