How to Make Fabric Covered Buttons

I need to make some quick fabric covered buttons to embellish my recycle bag, and I am thinking of placing a mini ric-rac on it. Thank goodness, the button maker comes in handy to my crafty possess.

Since July 4th is less than a month away, I am swirled in getting my fabric-covered buttons done in a red-white-blue theme. Don’t call me a patriot, I am not an American, and I am not living in the USA either, but, I have to confess that I always wanted a chance to have a short-term stay abroad. The USA is on the top of the list of my dream countries. Actually, I made them for only 1 simple reason: because I love these colors.

I found some scrap fabrics of a white star with a blue background in my fabric scrap which is so perfect for my idea. Then, I hollowed out my lace/ribbon storage box and found a short length of mini red ric-rac that I am going to experiment with, excite!!!! The result is less than 30 minutes…… little cute red-white-blue fabric-covered buttons with star pattern and red ric-rac on top… I can either pin or sew on my tote bag.

Variations:
Instead of using the fabric-covered buttons as a “button” only, you can make them into:
(some of these need either to remove or to bend the button shank in order to attach better)
1. Hairband: Tie the elastic on the shank
2. Hairpin: Glue the button on bobby pin or barrette
3. Headband: Sew or glue some buttons on the headband
4. Bookmark/paper clip: Glue the button on a big paper clip
5. Fridge Magnet: Glue the button on a magnet
6. Brooch: change the shank to a brooch pin
and more…

How to Make Fabric-Covered Buttons

Materials:
1. Fabric scrap
2. Ric rac or soft lace or ribbon

Tools:
1. Button maker of your preferred size, mine is 1″
2. Scissors
3. Tacky glue or craft glue
4. Pencil or compass (to draw circle on the fabric)

Cover button maker comes in 2 parts, white rubber mold, and a blue plastic pusher.
The button comes in 2 parts too, a metal cap and a metal backing with a shank.
Mark a circle on the wrong side of the fabric with the given template from the button maker. If the button maker kit comes without the template, use a compass to draw a circle of 1″ + the diameter of the button, eg. if your button is 1″, mark a 2″ circle, if your button is 2″, mark a 3″ circle and so on.
Cut a short length of ric-rac. The length is about the same length of the fabric circle’s diameter.

In order for the ric-rac to stay in place, tack it with some tacky glue or craft glue. If you use craft glue, you need to set it aside to wait for a few minutes until the glue gets tacky.

Place the ric-rac on the fabric circle, within the button’s range. use your hand to press the ric-rac so that it sticks properly on the fabric.

Position the button’s metal cap at the center but the wrong side of the fabric circle. A small tiny dip of tacky glue could come handy to hold the position but it is optional.

Insert both fabric and metal cap into the rubber mold.

Tuck in all the fabric into the mold neatly. If you find that the fabric is too bulky to tuck in especially those with a thick texture, trim to make it less bulky.

Place the metal backing/shank plate onto the mold and make sure all fabric is under the backing plate.

Place the blue plastic pusher onto them, with close-end facing up.

Press with thumb or palm to push the backing into the mold.
Since this button cover has ricrac, it is more difficult to get the backing plate down, so press harder.