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!!

Holiday and Grab Bags

It was a public holiday here yesterday for the Hobart Show, I spent the day stitching, doing a few chores and looking after my son.
I worked on my Noah's Arc blocks, a little gift for my Stitching Angel package and I made a grab bag. It's a bit dull so I might add something to it, maybe some embroidery....hhhmmm, not sure, any ideas?
There's a link to the grab bag pattern under Great Tutorials in my side bar.

Obsessed

Are other stitchers as obsessed as I am at the moment with pincushions? I just can't get enough of them, inspired by the beautiful one on Daisy Quilts, I just had to make one. You can find the tutorial on here by Heather Bailey.

I used Robyn's method of using 4 charm squares....with 2 cut in half for the sides but I used 3" squares, what a quick and easy pincushion to whip up.

I also signed up for Quilt Fabric Delights Pincushion of the Month, I haven't done the first one yet but I've almost finished the second one by Crab-apple Hill. I hope to post about it tomorrow!

Lynette Anderson has also announced 2 new patterns with two pincushions in each, might just have to get them for myself.

Wonder when this obsession will end and a new one takes it's place?

Shrinky Pins

Pop over to If Only I Had Chocolate and Sarah will show you how to make these gorgeous little pins