Knitting
How to Make Dorset Buttons.
Dorset Buttons are easy to make and are a great way to bring something unique to your work.
Step 1
There is a long history of Dorset Buttons - read more about them here. Many different styles of Dorset button evolved, one of the most common is the Dorset Crosswheel. This is the style of button which is shown below.
Step 2
The making of a Dorset button is a four stage process. Start with a length of yarn or thread (the amount required depends on the size of ring etc, but start with around a yard). The yarn is not broken during the process – if it does look as though you do not have enough yarn, the best time to join thread is during the 1st stage, after that you need to be careful to ensure that the knot appears to the rear of the work – not an impossible task but tricky to achieve and best avoided!Step 3
Casting: The first process is the knotting the yarn around the ring. To start knot the thread into place and the loose end can be worked in as you proceed. Simply work embroidery stitch (for knot enthusiasts – these are the same as half hitches!) around the ring until the ring is entirely covered. Do not break off the yarn.Step 4
Slicking: This is the process of turning the ridge at the outside of the work into the middle. This is simply a case of gently pulling the ridge into the centre of the ring.
Step 5
Laying: The process of ‘laying’ is the making of the spokes in the centre of the ring. Take hold of the ring and carefully wind the yarn around the ring to form ‘spokes’. The number of ‘spokes’ you create is up to you, however traditional buttons would be made by wrapping the yarn around 5 or so times giving 10 ‘spokes’. To start it is easier to work with fewer ‘spokes’ as this gives you more room to work. The centre of the spokes will be slightly off centre – this will be corrected by working a small cross stitch into the middle of the spokes which will pull them all together neatly and fasten them into place.Step 6
Rounding: The final stage of making a Dorset button is winding the yarn around the spokes, in effect making a series of ‘back stitches’ around the spokes. To start bring the needle from the rear to the front of the work and taking it around the spoke poke it back to the rear of the work and then bring it up in front of the next spoke. You are wrapping the yarn around each spoke from front to back. Keep working until the ring is completely full. To fasten off tie neatly at the rear of the button and bury the end into the work.
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