Friday, March 19, 2021

How to make a basic Zwirnknopfe Bottle Cap Button - aka Dorset Bottle To...


I've had quite a few of you ask me for this, so here it is. A very simple version - I think the real beauty of this button lies in the extra doodling that each maker adds. Because you need a larger ring, there is more scope for decorative stitching and wraps.

We also have those larger rings available now (well as I finish the listing on the website haha).

Don't forget I'm on Hochanda on Monday evening - 5pm and 9pm. I will of course add another blog entry to let you know beforehand.

I've had my first covid jab - yay! Really does feel like it is an important day. This time last year I was at Hochanda and it was such an odd day. No one quite knew what to do, but everyone knew life was about to change. There was a real heavy feeling in the air, and a lot of stress flying around. 

Stay safe and well everyone x

10 comments:

  1. Yeh for the nanobots! Hope you only have a slightly sore arm! I remembered to have mine on the side I don't sleep on - clever!
    Useful film - nice to see the sequence from cap flattening to buttonhole binding.
    I've been aching for an ice-cream sundae for ages and we finally got in the car and did it! Yum! But I think we are having some fruit and a tiny bit of cheese for dinner - not low calorie stuff.
    Please do drive very carefully on Monday - remember, they are all blind, drunk, and out to kill you personally! And pack a nice picnic thing, not forgetting the Toby treats. I'll watch as soon as I can lay hands on the film. Have fun, stay warm and well. xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Slightly sore arm and very tired yesterday, but much more awake today thank you. Ooh I haven't had a proper ice cream sundae in forever. Hot fudge with nuts... oh maybe after all this I should give it all up and start a proper ice cream place...
      Census day here today. Duty done. Didn't ask much really this time around. I seem to think there were many more questions 10 years ago. Right, off to take some photos, plan some demos and maybe even paint my nails...
      Stay safe and well both of you xx

      Delete
    2. Only the best hot fudge - the kind that is so dark and rich you really can't eat too much - and toasted slivered almonds, and really thick whipped cream, and the ice cream must be top notch. I prefer coffee myself but a vanilla with flecks of vanilla bean is good too. Oh dear, I've made my little bowl of cherries and yoghurt look quite pitiful! But it is here in front of me so I will eat it instead. The ice cream place is closed anyway! Let me know if you pack in the button/craft gig and go for ice cream - we'll make a special trip over for the grand opening!
      Warm and well and safe to you three.xx

      Delete
    3. In Central Europe (Hungary, Rumania, Slovakia, etc.) a row or two of the simple wave pattern are put at the top edge of the middle of a sleeve to add the needed gathering of the width and make a very pretty joint with the body of the garment. You often don't notice it because of the amazing embroidery all over the place, but once seen it is always looked for. Took me ages to muddle around and find out how that join was made and here you had it all along!
      Your host was a sweety - He would have been over there doing his own flowers were it not for plague!
      And I loved the bat book - I must make me one!! All in all, very satisfactory programs from our point of view and, I hope, from yours. Trust you are home safely and collapsed on the sofa with refreshing beverage in hands - into full packing and shipping mode tomorrow. Sleep well. xxx

      Delete
    4. Thank you so much, I am glad that you enjoyed watching. Yes, home safe, quiet drive thankfully, and collapsed with tea and toast. I love the interconnections of textile techniques. I'll need to look that up. Surprised I manage to focus for so long on one - but you see that every so often my mind must wander. Bat books - have you seen Jacqui Carey's book analysing the embroidery on an original? A complex form of gimp embroidery that's quite special. Adam is really lovely, makes you laugh!
      Right, onward and upward! time to pack! Have a lovely day and stay safe and well both xxx

      Delete
    5. Have not had the chance to see Jacqui Carey's book - looks like an excellent edition to the library!
      Huge sigh of relief - laundry almost complete. I have drifted into the very bad habit of putting it off. After all, no one knows or can see that you are going around in someone else's t-shirt and no bra, so you put off the dreaded days! Another thing to relearn!
      Called my son in Wichita this afternoon - his 53rd birthday! How I ever got to be old enough to have a child that age is just beyond me! He is doing well, as are the wife and two daughters, the youngest of whom just got her driving license. I guess the grey hairs in the brush should tell me it is all true, but I swear I'm only eighteen on a good day!! I may faint the day one of the girls gets engaged!
      Oh well, onward and upward. Have a good time packing, short post office lines, and no rain or sleet while getting to and fro. And both of you stay safe and well. xxx

      Delete
    6. I made a button (surprised?) using the stitches on the original back when I got the book. It is a good one for the library.
      Yes, I know what you mean. Our friend's daughter has just had her first baby - we were at HER christening. I remember her as a bump. Eeek. I reckon a year of lockdown can be erased from our year tally, don't you?
      Thankfully, not long at the post at all!
      Have a good one - are you going to actually iron too? ;)
      Stay safe and well both xxx

      Delete
    7. I'm afraid I am going to have to do shirt fronts and one linen thing - didn't get them out of the dryer and hung up at the optimum moment:(.
      Sometimes I think it was simpler when I dragged it all down to the laundomat and did it in one three hour swoop. But I don't think I could face the prices they charge now!
      Glad the postal line was short - good luck with the rest of the work.
      We will stay safe and well if you two stay safe and well! xxx
      ps- weren't Yoko's Victorian flags with the matching flat silk and soie perle magnificent? I just drooled happily on the keyboard. c

      Delete
    8. I just remembered - Don was having trouble posting on his facebook page too and it seems they are now doing some sort of terminally slow super vetting thing. This might be the reason you couldn't shift stuff. c

      Delete
    9. With Facebook, they decided that I have to have a separate identity as Gina-B Silkworks and Gina Barrett. Split them right across so I have to manually change. However - they have lost the plot. Posts aren't showing up - can't share from Instagram (they own it now) and personal comments don't show up. Even had a friend message me - I got a notification that you commented by there's nothing there (I can still see it). I currently hate FB. I know, who doesn't right... lol
      Yes, as always, Yoko's buttons are beyond beautiful. Perfect.
      Stay safe and well xxx

      Delete