Saturday 17 January 2009

A Button Necklace Tutorial

I'm no expert at beading and jewellry making but I do like to dabble occassionally. So this is my tutorial for a button necklace that I made on an earlier post.

Things you need are:

30" of 28 guage craft wire

2 x 4 1/2" of chain (best to make these a bit longer for the first ones so you can adjust the fit to suit yourself, maybe try 6" lengths)

4 jump rings

1 toggle or parrot clasp

17 Buttons of various sizes (large)

17 Buttons of various sizes (small), I use 2 hole buttons as they're on the front

2 pairs of flate nosed pliers (useful for opening and closing jump rings)

1 pair of wire cutters

1 pair round nose pliers

Now here's how to put it together-

Layout all the buttons in the two rows (Back buttons and front buttons )of how you'd like your necklace to look.

Fold wire in half to find middle point. Starting with middle buttons first (largest one), thread the wire through the back and out the front of it's matching button and then to the back again.

Add the next button threading through the back of the larger button and out the front of the smaller one.

Position the button so it sits behind the first button and pull the wire, now thread the wire to the back again, basically a running stitch.

Now repeat this until all the buttons are added. I prefer to add a set to the left then the right and so on and so on.
Trim the wire to leave approx 3/4" at each end.

Using the round nose pliers curl these ends up to form loops at each end of the beads.

Attach one chain to the wire loop with a jump ring and repeat the other side.

Attach the toggles to each chain with a jump ring

You've finished, now try it on. You can adjust the length of chain to suit by shortening the chain and reattaching the toggles.Hope my instructions were clear enough for you all to follow. I've also thought about adding little beads to the very front, might try that next time.

I'd love to see your creations so make sure you put it on your blog and let me know!

Good Luck!!

50 comments:

Amanda said...

That's a great tutorial Jo, and it looks so effective. I'm tempted to try, I can buy all the bits and bobs at my local Hobby craft shop - just what I need, another hobby!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for the tutorial, Jo; even on a quick read-through it makes perfect sense. Now to go on a button hunt...

Willow Grove - Kez said...

wah hoo you have been busy. It looks great. Another thing on my to do list. Thanks jo

Chookyblue...... said...

very cool........maybe I could do this..........lol...........

sewkalico said...

Great tutorial and a fun necklace!

Kris Meares - Tag Along Teddies said...

Hey Jo! What a great, easy to understand tutorial - well done!! And the necklace is great. Will have to keep that in mind as a birthday giftie possibility!! Hope you're having a great crafty weekend! Bear Hugs! KRIS

Melinda said...

Great tutorial. Love the necklace.

Faith said...

Thankyou for showing me this, its cheered me up I was feeling the blues after being overwhelmed with so many ufo and projects to do so browsed round the sites and I love it you show us all what you are doing

julia said...

Hi Jo, sister!
Whooot! Thanks for that terrific tutorial.
As far as I could I tried it myself (have to buy a closure though)...already posted it on my blog...
Hugs, your sister Julia

wonderwoman said...

brilliant Jo!! and the necklace looks beautiful! will have to have a go - another new thing to try this year!

xxxx

Julie said...

Thanks for the great tutorial! I can't wait to try this with my daughter.

Locket Pocket said...

Thanks Jo - that's fab! I'm going to add it to my "wist-list"! Lucy xxx

Stina Blomgren said...

Oh thanks... love the tutorial...will have to try and make this one day...
Just need to locate a shop to find the needed things!!! :o)

Crafts a la Mode said...

That is a very cool tutorial. Very well done. I did a few tutorials and I don't think they are very good but I'm learning. Thanks for showing how to make the button necklace.
Linda

Annette said...

Your necklace is so pretty. Thank you for the tutorial, I'm going to have to dig into my button box and see what I've got.

Leanne said...

Thanks for sharing Jo. It looks like a fun project.

Jossie said...

Thank you so much Jo. The necklace looks gorgeous. I'll give it a try after finishing some Wisp's.

DAWNIE said...

Hi Jo, great tutorial thanks for sharing. The necklace looks great. Love your colour choice

Anonymous said...

Thank you Jo for all the hard work in presenting the 'Button Necklace' tutorial. Will have a look in my button collection, just might make one, Debs.

May Britt said...

Thanks for this lovely tutorial. Will try this one. Have a lot of buttons so now I will try to find they who match.

Queen Of The Armchair aka Dzintra Stitcheries said...

Hey Jo...this is great with the buttons. My Son bought me some beads etc before he moved to Tasmania (love the place) last year (he was there for 10 months)...it will help me!!! Thank You

NoƩmia said...

I let you a challenge in my blog to talk a little about you. In blogoland We all are curiose. You may passe it to more six persons.If you have any problem with tradution please say it to me.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the great tutorial. I will go looking for buttons and try to make it.

Sandi said...

Excellent tutorial, Jo. The necklace looks fab. I will have to make one of those.

Fee said...

What a lovely idea and looks great.

Fiona

Margaret said...

One great necklace. I saw one similiar to that one last Sunday , a friend was wearing it and I commented on how lovely it looked.

Cathy said...

Very pretty Jo!! I am trying really hard to catch up on my blog reading...not succeeding really! I am hoping to go to the Autumn Gathering, are you??
Cathy

Annie B said...

this is beautiful - thanks for sharing the tutorial, I would love to give it a try.

Anonymous said...

LOve the necklace - something else for the to-do list

Mistea said...

that is one very sweet necklace. You have done a great job on the tutorial. Thanks for sharing. I think I have all the ingredients in my stash, so I may just need to try making one of those. I'll let you know.

Jules said...

Hey Jo,
Are you still around and are you ok? Haven't heard from you for a while

Jules

Phoebe said...

Thank you for this clear tutorial. The finished necklace is very original and the colors really nice.

Greetings from Switzerland ;)

Sam R said...

great tutorials. where do u get your buttons from please? would love to have a go but am struggling to find suiyable buttons

Unknown said...

Such a clever idea! Thanks for sharing Jo,and for such clear instructions. This is a 'must try'!!

Arlette said...

Thank you for this fabulous tutorial!

dippyflowers said...

Thankyou for this fabulous tutorial. I am giving it a go with my vintage buttons.

My Heritage Fabrics said...

Linking! What a fun idea.

LadeeBee said...

Put a reference to your tutorial on our Button Fanatics Facebook group. Thanks for sharing this wonderful tutorial. If you are on facebook, please join us http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=145868605441260&ref=ts

The Beading Gem said...

I love this creative layered look to a button necklace. I will link in a future blog post so others can come visit. Thanks for sharing! Pearl

Anonymous said...

Great tutorial I have done as you said but must be doing something wrong as my buttons keep twisting back over so it doesn't look very good.:(. Pleasr can you let me know where I am going wrong

Jo in TAS said...

to Anonymous, are your buttons overlapping?

Mens Suits said...

dude thanks for your great tutorial,I love biding.

Anonymous said...

Love it! I have a nickel alergy, do you think this would work using thread, nylon, or hemp?

Jo in TAS said...

It may not hold the shape as well but give it a go, be creative and send me an email showing your finished creation!

Emma Tustian said...

Lovely, thanks for the tutorial. I'm tempted to attempt a version, if I can find some interesting buttons in my spare button jar (doubtful) or elsewhere.

Anonymous said...

I received a book on button jewelry for Christmas. I've been beading and making jewelry from shells & marbles for quite a while, but I'm excited to try this! I like your necklace better than any in my book!

Anonymous said...

This looks great. I'm going to try it. Thank you :+)

Vicky said...

Thanks for this! It's a really useful tutorial and very easy to understand. Will definitely be giving this a try!

Kura Carpenter said...

this is neat! hope you don't mind if I link to your tut?

Michelle Penfold said...

Great tutorial, Ive been collecting buttons for years but this is the first time Ive made a necklace, always wanted to do one. How do I send you a photo?!! Many thanks.