Supplies needed Ever try to use those covered buttons and can’t quite get the little rubber casing to do what it is supposed to do without you breaking a sweat?
Don’t clip the fabric until you have it placed in the covering tool. Put your fabric over the tool, place the metal button into the tool then pull the fabric outward from the button so you have no pleats around the edge.
Now, cut the fabric. I use the tool as my guide and I cut about 3/8 of an inch all the way around and it is just what you need to fold into the button to put the back on.
Now, carefully put the back into the tool, over the fabric covered button.
Small Buttons - I use a pair of pliers to press it and lock the back piece onto the button. I open the jaws of the pliers to be wider than the button tool, as this keeps the metal button from bending and you come into the tool evenly and the plastic piece that presses into the button tool will go in without a hitch.
Now, carefully put the back into the tool, over the fabric covered button.
Small Buttons - I use a pair of pliers to press it and lock the back piece onto the button. I open the jaws of the pliers to be wider than the button tool, as this keeps the metal button from bending and you come into the tool evenly and the plastic piece that presses into the button tool will go in without a hitch.
Large Buttons - sometimes they just snap into place with my fingers. However, heavier fabric demands a little help. If you use a hammer directly onto the plastic piece that presses the back onto the button, you have a good chance of breaking it and if there are multiple buttons to do, that can be a problem. I use an old spool on top of the entire tool, hold onto it and hammer on top of the spool. It gives you leverage and if you break an old spool, well, it made the job easy for you and you can throw it away. See there, we are repurposing the spool by using it again for something totally different.
** From the beginning, don’t use a heavy fabric. It rarely works out quite the way you hope. If there is nothing you can do but use the heavy fabric, put a dollop of E6000 glue on the inside of the metal casing, then once you have the fabric clipped, and folded in, put another dollop of E6000 before you press the back onto the entire button. Use any glue sparingly, you don’t want to gob it up! You can use Super Glue also. I have found hot glue does not adhere to metal very well and it just takes up too much space inside the button casing.
**If you are using vinyl, I have discovered you can peel away the backing (canvas or felt) off the front of the fabric and it usually takes away at least 2/3 of the bulk.
These are by far my favorite button tricks!!
**If you are using vinyl, I have discovered you can peel away the backing (canvas or felt) off the front of the fabric and it usually takes away at least 2/3 of the bulk.
These are by far my favorite button tricks!!
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