Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Tutorial: How to make fabric covered button hair pins

I have seen a lot of these on etsy lately and have fallen in LOVE! Being the crafty mama I am, I had to find out how to do it! Honestly, finding a tutorial wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. In the end, I just combined a few different tutorials to get what I was looking for.


Supplies needed:
Buttons to cover AND the kit used to cover them (comes in most packs of buttons, I paid a little over $2 for a 4 pack with the kit)
Fabric scraps
E6000 Craft Glue ($3)
Hair pins designed to be decorated (I had to look in the wedding section with all the veils and stuff to find these at Michaels, I got an 8 pack for about $2)


Bobby Pins- Buttons-


Tools needed:
Pliers (If you don't have pliers, a pair of utility scissors will work, that's what I used. DON'T use your fabric scissors lol)
Spool of thread (you don't use the thread so color doesn't matter)
Scissors for cutting fabric
Ink pen (or fabric marking pencil if you're a pro like that... but the edges are completely covered so perfection on the edges is not crucial)

Step 1) See how big your fabric needs to be. The button kit says cut the fabric double the width of the button... but that (for me) left a lot of excess fabric, so doing a little less won't hurt. Draw a circle on your fabric using the spool of thread as a guide. Go farther out or closer to the spool depending on size needed.

Step 2) Remove the button shank (the shank is the little metal loop that pokes out and would be threaded if you were applying it to a garment) Follow directions on button kit to cover the button with the fabric circle you cut.
Step 3) Awe those little buttons are so cute! I was worried my fabric wouldn't be tight around the button but they were just perfect! Now take your glue, the hair pins, and the buttons outside or to a very ventilated place because this glue will stink up your house and probably give you brain damage or something. Lay the button over the little disc to see about where you should put it once you whip out the glue. When I looked at the button and the pin I didn't think it would lay right because of the way the button dips down where the fabric goes, but it worked perfectly fine. Put a little glue on the hair pin (on the little circular disc part) and press the button onto it, making sure it is centered. Let the glue cure... the E6000 packaging says it takes 24-48 hours but my button was stuck after a couple of minutes.... I still let it cure though.
Voila you're done! I probably made it look more complicated than it really is. It's super easy. I wish I had taken pics of the process.... but I was a little distracted :P I did this while I was playing cards with some friends last Friday night.

Total expense for supplies: $7; Cost per clip- $.85 approx. Time to complete: 15 Minutes

4 comments:

Katarina said...

These turned very cute!!!Happy crafting:)

Katarina

The Little Red Shop said...

Sweet!

: )

Julie M.

Bec said...

I was just wondering if you had some advice...I've tried making these and the buttons work perfectly but the flat back of the button is too far inside the shell for the bobby pin to sit flat - do you have any tips? I'm really not sure what to do about because I don't think it'll glue and hold properly.

littlepapermonkeystest said...

Thanks for this tutorial! I find that the e6000 does not form a very strong bond even after having let it dry for 24 hours and attaching it with a clothes pin. It seems like it has something to do with both surfaces being non-porous . Maybe, I'm doing something wrong? Any advice would be great!