It seems like one of the things most crafters and vintage collectors all have is a surplus of is buttons. You never know what sort of thing you'll come across that needs a neat button, so you save those suckers up! And sometimes you end up with a ton of them and it gets a little outta hand. And by "You" I mean "us". We have a lot of buttons. One day when I had a surplus of time on my hand I decided to come up with a way to use a few buttons for something a little different...
A button statement necklace!
What you'll need for this project is: a piece of felt in a color of your choice, buttons, a needle & thread, and some ribbon. I used an exacto knife for one portion of the process as well, but there are ways to MacGyver around that if you don't have one available. Side note: sleepy expression not required for this project, but I was clearly rocking it just as a bonus. You're welcome.
Start off by sorting through your button stash. I know you've got one! If I'm wrong, and you don't, you can usually find tons of neat buttons at any craft store, or for super cheap at places like yard sales and markets.
Lay your buttons out on your felt in a configuration that looks good to you. I like necklaces that look a bit abstract, so I chose a semi-weird configuration that was pleasing to my eyeballs. Feel free to use whatever shape you'd like - stars, hearts, circles... whatever your heart & eyeballs desire.
Outline the shape of your buttons with a marker so you can cut it out. It's also helpful at this point to take a picture of your buttons, just so you can remember how they're arranged. Or maybe it would just be helpful to have a better memory than me, and in that case no camera is required.
After cutting your shape out, start sewing those buttons on!
And ta-da! You have a necklace! Well, part of one at least. You can attach jump rings through the felt and attach it to a chain to finish it, or you could just thread some ribbon through it like I did.
If you choose to go the easy-peasy route like I did, here's where the Exacto knife comes in. Cut two small slits close together on the bib, and make sure it's hidden behind a button so you won't see it in the front. Thread the ribbon through one side and out the other, and knot it back onto itself so it's secure. Repeat on the other side. This method makes it so it just slips on over your head, so be sure to leave enough room for your noggin. You can finagle the ribbon a bit before tying it off and cutting the excess to get it the length you'd like.
Ta-da! You have a whole necklace now! And you've put a dent in your button collection... so now you have an excuse to go out and buy more! :)
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