We’ve finally finished our headboard(!) and I can now say with some authority that upholstery-weight velvet is a PAIN to work with. I learned this lesson time and time again, but the first time was early in the process, when I attempted to make covered buttons.
I had learned from my bench project that button cover kits don’t work very well, so I was already a little nervous. I tried half ball covers, but there was no way the back cover was fitting on over the thick fabric. I also looked at nylon upholstery cover buttons, but they were crazy expensive – I needed 62 buttons! Finally, I called every upholstery store in the area to see if they’d make buttons for me. They all acted like I was crazy for even asking. It was very strange, since I know other bloggers have had this done before.
Anyway, though, it became clear that I’d need to find another option, so I did some research, and ended up with a triple-reinforced approach that worked like a charm. Be warned: This tutorial is only going to be interesting a small amount of people. If you don’t have any plans to cover buttons with super-thick fabric, this will be useless and boring, so feel free to skip it. Just keeping it real.
How to Cover Buttons with Extra-Thick Fabric
Supplies:
- Fabric
- Half-ball button covers
- Fabric marking pencil or marker
- Scissors
- Sewing needle
- Thread
- Permanent fabric glue (I used Fabri-Tac)
Step 1: Cut out the button pattern that’s included with the half ball covers and trace it onto your fabric. I wrapped it in some tape to reinforce it, since I knew I’d be doing a lot of tracing.
Step 2: Cut out all the circles you’ve traced.
Step 3: Thread your needle with about an arm-length of thread and pull it through to double it up. You should be left with about a foot of thread. Starting on the outside of your fabric, sew a straight stitch all the way around the circle.
Please pardon my grown-out nails.
Make sure your stitch finishes on the same side that it started. Both ends of the fabric should come out next to each other.
I think they look like lollipops. Brad thinks they look like balloons. I was really dreading this part of the process – I hate hand-sewing – but it turned out to be kind of relaxing.
Step 4: Pull firmly on the ends of the thread to make the circle into a cinched sack. Don’t pull too hard – you’ll break the thread and be really bummed. I did that at least four times.
Leave enough of an opening to drop in the button cover.
Step 5: Apply a thin layer of glue to the front part of the button cover.
Drop the button cover face-down into your fabric sack and press down gently to set the glue.
Step 6: Tie the two ends of your thread together with a single knot, then pull tightly to close up the sack.
As you’re pulling it tight, poke the fabric into the pointy teeth on the inside edges of the button cover. The cinched thread and teeth will work together to hold the fabric closed at the back, and the glue will make sure the fabric doesn’t move around in front.
Step 7: Once the fabric is as tight as it will go, tie the two thread ends together with a few more knots, then cut off your excess thread.
When you’re done, the loop on the back of the button cover should stick out enough for you to get a needle through it.
Throw away the back piece from the button covering set. You won’t need it, and it wouldn’t fit even if you did.
And that’s it!
This method may seem unnecessarily complicated, but if you’ve ever tufted anything, you know the buttons take quite a beating. I didn’t want there to be any chance that my buttons would come apart. So far, so good! (Knock on wood?)
All righty! Any questions?