Saturday 9 October 2010

How to: Button Sweater

Today's how to is a quick and easy way to revamp a boring sweater (jumper) and turn it into a buttony thing of beauty.

You only need basic sewing skills for this, plus an assortment of small, colourful buttons, a sewing needle and thread to match your sweater... and, of course, a sweater in need of a makeover! I used an old black v-neck jumper that was getting a bit boring and bobbly and very much needed pepping up.

First, choose your buttons. I chose bright buttons in a mixture of shapes and sizes, but all small enough to fit along the neckline of my sweater. Rearrange the buttons until you're happy with the layout.



If you're aiming for a "random" layout of buttons make sure you spread colours and shapes and sizes out so there's not too much of one type in one place, and check that you don't accidentally create a pattern from your alternating colours.

Place the buttons on a tray or table in the order you want to use them.

Gradually sew the buttons in place using thread that matches your sweater, spacing them as evenly as possible along the neckline. Secure each button with lots of stitches, and sew small stitches inbetween each button. If your sweater has a lot of stretch to it (or you can't find thread to perfectly match the sweater) you might want to sew each button on seperately to keep your neckline stretchy (or to avoid having visible lines of stitching between the buttons).


Finally, if you want even more buttons on your jumper, add some to the cuffs!

Please feel free to borrow photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial on your site. Thanks!
 
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6 comments:

Millie D said...

I love this how to, I have got a boring black cardy that would be perfect for this,
thanks
Millie

Unknown said...

Very cute! I'm definitely saving this as an idea for future revamping!

LPFish said...

shameful plug... buy some buttons here!
Cute cute hair x

Sarah said...

Great revamp! I shall dig through the wardrobe, I love the cuffs best!

Rebekah said...

I love how you added buttons to the sleeves, too.

kraplap said...

Love this decoration idea ! Your tutorial is featuring at my weekly BUTTON WEDNESDAY blog post: http://kraplap.blogspot.com/2011/06/button-wednesday-button-shirts-2.html . Enjoy !
Kind regards, P8ronella