Learning About Dorset Buttons

This week my local Garment Guild held a workshop about how to make Dorset style buttons. I was really looking forward to it as I've always been interested in this technique. I really enjoyed the workshop but I was also surprised at how mentally taxing it was ;) 

The instructor was from the London chapter of the Canadian Embroidery Guild and was so informative and fun to learn from. We went over a brief history of thread buttons, made a classic Dorset button and a Death's Head wrapped button, and had a demo of the slightly more complicated Shirtwaist button. Just making two styles was intense! 

My Dorset Button!

I nearly finished my Dorset -- and as the instructor said, your first button is not going to be perfect! I'm planning on finishing it up with just a few more wraps. The Death's Head button was fiddly but I decided to use two colours, and since it looked pretty stark when it was done I added a couple of lazy daisy stitches to the centre. Totally not the way it should be done ;) 

Death's Head with embellishment

I love learning new things, and this is something I think I'll be exploring further. There are lots of fascinating links online, some shared in class and others that I've seen in my blog reading travels. Here are a few if you'd also like to explore! 

Needle n Thread

Henry's Buttons (UK)

Edmonton Needlecraft Guild 

Gina-B Silkworks