Button alert - textile looks with FIMO soft and FIMO effect
Boring was yesterday!
Pretty buttons transform plain items of clothing and humdrum home accessories into trendy designer pieces. Use FIMO soft or FIMO effect to make buttons tailormade to match your very own fashion or furnishing style. All the rage: ‚Knit‘ your own impressive textile-look buttons with FIMO. They‘re not only easy but fun to make too. Caution - highly addictive: Once you start making these hand-crafted buttons, it‘s hard to stop ...
Step-by-step tutorial
All buttons shown here are made using strings of FIMO soft or FIMO effect. The amount of modelling clay required varies and is dependent on the number and size of the buttons as well as on the thickness of the strands of clay. You can make modelling clay strings by rolling the material with your hands. However, perfectly shaped, evenly thick and uniformly long strings are best created with the clay extruder: Knead half a block of FIMO soft or FIMO effect in the colour of your choice to a soft ball and then use your hands to roll it into a sausage. As far as thickness and length are concerned, you need to roll the sausage until it fits nicely in the clay extruder. Cut an appropriate length off the sausage and insert into the clay extruder. Add the motif disc required and screw tight. These buttons were made using the motif disc with four holes (1 mm diameter per hole). The single-holed motif disc (2 mm hole diameter) is ideal for very large buttons, e.g. decorative XXL buttons. Then firmly turn the handle of the clay extruder to press strings of FIMO out through the motif disc. Continue to turn the handle until all of the clay in the extruder has been used up. Make more, different-coloured strings of FIMO in the same way as required.
If you use the four-holed disc, you can make approx. four 90 cm long strings of FIMO (each with a diameter of 1 mm). Place the strings of FIMO on the work surface and cut to size. To make one medium-sized spiral technique button (approx. 3 cm in diameter), you will need two approx. 20 cm long strings of FIMO – either both in the same colour or in two different colours. The knitted-look buttons require more – but shorter – strings of FIMO; e.g. 10 strings of FIMO each approx. 5 cm in length for a button with a diameter of approx. 3 cm.
Place two same or different-coloured FIMO soft or FIMO effect strings parallel next to each other. Gently squeeze both left-handed ends together and then gradually wind the two pieces around each other, twisting them like a screw right to the end to create a cord. The more you twist the strings together, the closer and tighter the winding will be. You can make cord out of three different-coloured strings of FIMO if you like too (spiral look only).
FIMO buttons in a spiral look: Working from the inside to the out, use the cord of FIMO to create a circular flat disc. Every time you go round, press the cord together to avoid any gaps in-between. By using two differentcoloured strings of FIMO, you can create a lovely spirallooking pattern. The bigger the button, the more interesting the pattern. Cut off any surplus FIMO at a slant and press the end of the cord against the button. Prick with a toothpick to create button holes. Place the finished buttons on a piece of baking paper and harden in the oven for 30 min at 110°C. Take out of the oven, remove the baking paper, allow to cool and then varnish.
Tip: Decorative XXL buttons
Pretty oversized buttons have a similar effect to jewellery when it comes to attracting attention. You can make FIMO buttons to match your outfit. Knit-look FIMO buttons go particularly well with knitted clothes. These XXL striped buttons (each approx. 5 cm in diameter) were ‚knitted‘ with FIMO soft in white (8020-0), dolphin grey (8020-80) and black (8020-9).
Buttons in a knitted look: Place two same-coloured FIMO soft or FIMO effect strings parallel next to each other. Then twist the strings to a cord as described in step 3 ensuring as you do so that the underneath string is always wrapped around the upper string from bottom to top (type 1 cord).
Twist two more same-coloured strings together, this time wrapping the upper strand of FIMO from top to bottom around the underneath one (type 2 cord). Next, place cord 1 next to cord 2 and press together along the side so that the diagonal threads face inwards. The result is a vertical row of ‚knit‘ stitches; the clay looks as though it‘s been knitted. Make lots more FIMO cords, press together along the side to create strands of ‚stitches‘ and keep going until you are left with the required size of ‚knitted‘ FIMO. If you use only one type of cord – i.e. just type 1 or type 2 – you create a ‚purl‘ effect. Combinations of alternating knit and purl FIMO stitches look pretty too.
Place the ‚knitted‘ piece of FIMO on a sheet of baking paper. Put an old button on top and cut a circle out of the knitted FIMO going around the edge of the button with the kitchen knife. Create the button holes by pricking with a toothpick. Lift the button off and remove the surplus modelling clay. To make motif FIMO buttons, e.g. in a heart or flower shape, cut a button out using a shaped cutter of your choice. Straight-edged square buttons can be cut out with the kitchen knife. Place the buttons on a piece of baking paper and harden in the oven for 30 min at 110°C. Take out of the oven, remove the baking paper, allow to cool and then varnish.
Material overview
What you need
Additionally required:
Smooth work surface (glass or ceramic), kitchen knife, old buttons in any shape or size, heart-shaped pastry cutter, toothpick, sewing needle and thread, brush for varnishing, baking tray and baking paper
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