How to Make a Pin from a Button

Before: button and pin finding

I have no idea where I first bought this button. I think I bought it at Britex on a trip to San Francisco many, many years ago. I know I used it on a suit made when Reagan was in office (I remember wearing the suit on the day that Gorbachev got out of his limo and decided to take an unscheduled stroll down Connecticut Avenue at lunch hour during one of his visits to DC). The button made a reappearance on a dress I recall wearing to a dear friend's wedding. Those are long gone.... I have no idea what happened to the matching buttons or why I only have one button left.... but I still really like the button so we decided to turn the button into a pin.

Materials
Button
1/2-inch pin finding
JB Weld or glue of your choice

Tools
Wire cutter
Wet/dry sandpaper

Step 1
Select the button.

Remove the button shank

Step 2
Use a wire cutter to cut off the shank of the button.

Step 3
Sand the button, if needed, to remove all sharp edges caused by removing the shank. 

After: Pin by GeltDesigns.com

Step 4
Glue on the pin back. (We did not solder the pin because we were not sure if the button was solid brass or just brass plated and we did not want to risk harming the button).

Allow the glue to cure overnight or according to the glue maker's instructions.

Related Tutorials
Make a Hair Clip from a Button
Make a Leather & Button Bracelet
Make a Button Bracelet
Make Button Earrings
Make a Chain and Button Bib Necklace

Further Reading
"Beautiful Button Jewelry: 60 Easy Heirloom Treasures"; Susan Davis; 2010.
"French-Inspired Jewelry: Creating with Vintage Beads, Buttons & Baubles"; Kaari Meng; 2007.
"Button Jewelry & Accessories: 20 Unique Projects"; Tair Parnes; 2006.

Day 115. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: button
New Jewelry a Day.  

Make a Hair Clip from a Button

Before: button and bobby pin

My daughter has long, flowing beautiful hair. She likes to style it in different ways-- often using hair ribbons and hair pins.

Adding buttons to bobby pins is a great way to turn an ordinary object into an amazing fashion accessory. Buttons harvested from old clothes, found buttons and buttons leftover from sewing projects are all good choices for this project.


Materials
Button
Bobby pin
JB Weld or glue of your choice

Step 1
Select a button with a shank.

Step 2
Slide the button on the bobby pin.

After: hair pin by GeltDesigns.com

Step 3
Glue the button on to the bobby pin. We used JB Weld because we glued a plastic button to a metal bobby pin but we may have used a different glue if we used a button or a bobby pin made of a different material. Allow the glue to cure overnight or according to the glue manufacturer's instructions.

Related Tutorials
Make a Leather & Button Bracelet
Make a Button Bracelet
Make Button Earrings
Make a Chain and Button Bib Necklace

Further Reading
"Beautiful Button Jewelry: 60 Easy Heirloom Treasures"; Susan Davis; 2010.
"French-Inspired Jewelry: Creating with Vintage Beads, Buttons & Baubles"; Kaari Meng; 2007.
"Button Jewelry & Accessories: 20 Unique Projects"; Tair Parnes; 2006.

Day 114. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: button, bobby pin
New Jewelry a Day.  

Make a Ring from a Button

Before: Button

Buttons come in many shapes, sizes and colors. If you are like us, you or someone in your family has a box of old mismatched buttons just waiting to be used or made into something fabulous. Buttons are great for making jewelry. When we were sifting through our button box looking for a button to repair a jacket we spotted this little gem and thought: ring.

Materials
Button
18-gauge brass wire

Tools

After: Button Ring by GeltDesigns.com

Ring mandrel
Wire cutter
Needle files
Chain nose pliers

Step 1
Determine ring size.

Slide button on wire

Step 2
Cut about 12-inches of wire using wire cutters. Slide the button onto the center of the wire.

Step 3

Wrap wire around mandrel

Wrap the wire around the ring mandrel at the marker for the ring size needed. Take care that the button remains centered as you wrap.

Wrap the wire three times around the mandrel so the wire with the button is the center wire.

Step 4

Wrap around button shank

Wrap the excess wire around the shank of the button. Wrap with one side of the wire to create two complete wraps. Wrap with the other side of the wire to complete to more wraps. The shank of the button should be covered and the button sits on a seat.

Step 5

Back of button ring

Trim any excess wire with the wire cutters. File the ends of the wire smooth using needle files. Tuck the wire ends under the wire near the shank using chain nose pliers so the ends are hidden.

Related Tutorials
Make a Leather & Button Bracelet
Make a Button Bracelet
Make Button Earrings
Make a Chain and Button Bib Necklace

Further Reading
"Jewelry Studio: Wire Wrapping"; Linda Chandler, Christine Ritchey
 "Wirework: An Illustrated Guide to the Art of Wire Wrapping"; Dale Armstrong; 2009.
"Inspired Wire: Learn to Twist, Jig, Bend, Hammer, and Wrap for the Prettiest Jewelry Ever"; Cynthia B. Wuller; 2008.

Day 108. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: buttons
New Jewelry a Day. 

Make a Leather & Button Bracelet

Before: Button Box

I do not know where these buttons came from; they were in my button box. You may have a button box. My button box is the place I threw the extra buttons that used to come with most clothes. Its also the place I store "reclaimed" buttons from clothes that no longer fit, are terrible out of fashion or are otherwise relegated to the giveaway pile.

Great buttons often find themselves starring in my

After: Bracelet by GeltDesigns.com

favorite clothes for years. Buttons can update or transform clothes and create a new look with little work.... but buttons can also make fun jewelry. Today's project was made with only two brightly colored buttons and the imitation leather from the spool we've used in a few projects.

Materials
Two buttons
Leather, imitation leather or other stringing material
16-gauge brass wire or the clasp of your choice
Barges glue

Step 1
Select the buttons you want to use and feed the stringing material through the buttons. Tighten the stringing material so the buttons sit the way you like-- in our case we wanted the buttons so sit one on top of the other.

Knot the Leather

Step 2
Measure about 1-inch and create a square knot on either side of the buttons. Repeat to create a chain of knots.

Step 3
Create the "S" clasp from 16-gauge round brass wire or select a commercially made clasp. Attach the clasp by doubling over the stringing material. Feed the clasp onto the loop and then tie a knot to secure the clasp. You can add a drop of Barges glue to the knot for added security.

Brass "S" Clasp & Leather Chain

Step 4
Create the eye for the clasp by doubling over the stringing material and then making a knot at the bottom of the loop. Again, add a drop of Barges glue to the knot for added security.

Step 5
Trim the excess stringing material.


Related Tutorials
How to Make a Simple "S" Clasp (with or without Beads)
Make Your Own "S" Clasp 
Make Your Own Beaded "S" Clasp

Related Projects
Make a Glass & Knotted Leather Necklace
Make a Ring from Gimp
Make a Button Bracelet
Make Button Earrings

Further Reading
"Leather Jewelry: 30 Contemporary Projects (Lark Jewelry Books)"; Nathalie Mornu; 2010.
Knots & Knotting
"Mod Knots: Creating Jewelry and Accessories with Macrame"; Cathi Milligan; 2009.
"Decorative Knot Craft: Over 20 Innovative Knotting And Macrame Accessories"; Kim Sang Lang; 2008.
"Elegant Knotted Jewelry: Techniques and Projects Using Maedeup"; Becky Meverden; 2009.
Buttons
"Beautiful Button Jewelry: 60 Easy Heirloom Treasures"; Susan Davis; 2010.
"Button Jewelry & Accessories: 20 Unique Projects"; Tair Parnes; 2006.
"Beautiful Button Jewelry"; Susan Davis; 2006.
"Button Jewelry: Over 25 Original Designs for Necklaces, Earrings, Bracelets and More";  Sara Withers; 2006.
 

After: Back Side of Button Bracelet

Day 42. Month 3.  Jewelry from Found Objects.
Found materials: Buttons
New Jewelry a Day.

Happy New Year!



How to Make Other Clasps

• Hook & Eye Clasps
  
• Make Your Own Hook & Eye Clasp
• Make Your Own Clover Shaped Hook & Eye Clasp 
  Toggle Clasps
  
• Make Your Own Hand Shaped Toggle Clasp
• Make Your Own Heart Shaped Toggle Clasp
• Make Your Own Clover Shaped Toggle Clasp
  Metal Clay Clasps
  
• How to Make a Metal Clay Toggle Clasp
• How to Make a Metal Clay Hook & Eye Clasp   

Make a Button Bracelet

Before: Buttons

Today's project is a bracelet made from brass wire buttons pulled from our button box.

We've played with buttons before. Our very first project for this blog was a bib necklace made from recovered chain and two fabulous buttons  that served as the focal point of the necklace. We also made some stunningly simple post earring from buttons.

After: Button Bracelet by GeltDesigns

Materials
18-gauge brass wire
Six buttons

Tools
Round nose pliers  or 3-Step wire looping pliers
Chain nose or bent nose pliers
Wire rounder or needle file
Wire side cutters or flush cutters

Step 1
Measure the wrist of the person for whom you plan to make the bracelet. Typical bracelets are seven to eight inches, but many folks want bracelets that either larger or smaller, depending on wrist size.

Arrange the Buttons

Step 2
Select the buttons and arrange the buttons in the order you want for your bracelet.

Step 3

Different Sized Links

Make the links. We used
18-gauge round brass wire. For this bracelet, we made two different style links. We used ten small "S" links and two large links that are a variation of an "S" link.

Different sized links will give a different feel to the bracelet so we experimented with different gauge wire and different size links before we arrived on the size that worked with our buttons.

Make Clasp

Step 4
Make a matching "S" clasp. We made a clasp that was the same size as the links but you can make a larger clasp if you want contrast.

Assembled the Links

Step 5
Assemble the bracelet.


Related Tutorials
Make Button Earrings

Boxed Button Bracelet by GeltDesigns

Make a Chain and Button Bib Necklace
How to Determine Bracelet Sizes
How to Measure Wire
How to Use a Wire Gauge
Make Your Own "S" Clasp
Make Your Own Beaded "S" Clasp
Make Your Own "S" Chain
How to Make Kiln Fired Buttons
GeltDesigns Tutorials by Topics  

Day 20. Week 3. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: buttons
New Jewelry a Day.