How to sew on a button without the spacer sandwich

A spacer sandwich?  What?


one kind of spacer sandwich

Actually, this post is not about UFO's on a bun, it's about a different kind of spacer sandwich--it's about a little trick to make sewing on buttons easier.  How it came about is that recently, I had to sew 9 buttons onto a sweater-coat.  Naturally, only on the very last one did today's neat trick decide to reveal itself.

The problem arises because non-shanked buttons (the kinds with holes in the top) still need to have a shank (shank = little stem on button back).  The shank raises the button high enough so that you can work the button into and out of the button hole without the button compressing the fabric.  Naturally, the thicker the fabric, the longer must be the shank.  


shanked and unshanked

Shanked buttons are offered in different shank heights, but unshanked buttons are more generally versatile--making the shank yourself out of thread allows you to custom-control the shank height, and so use the same button on a thin fabric or on a thick one.

The usual method for making a thread shank on an unshanked button involves inserting a spacer of the desired height (a matchstick or toothpick is common) between the button and the fabric, then sewing the button on over the spacer.  At the end, the spacer is removed. The needle is then poked into the space between the button and the fabric, and the loose sewing loops are wrapped tightly with thread to make the shank.  Finally, the end of the thread is "buried" in the thickness of the underlying fabric, taking one or two 180 degree bends on the way to stop it from pulling out.  The end result of all the sandwiching and sewing and wrapping and burying is a thread shank.


a thread shank being wrapped

Until today's trick revealed itself to me, I dutifully sewed on buttons by making each into a button-spacer-sandwich: the button on top, the matchstick in the middle, and the knitting on the bottom.  Naturally, until several stitches were made and this slippery sandwich snugged down, the spacer wanted to shoot out, fall down or generally wiggle around, taking the button with it and requiring the whole works to be carefully repositioned before sewing could re-commence.  Annoying.


a spacer sandwich about to be sewn

So, on button number nine, when patience was wearing out and sailor words were about to fly, it occurred to me to tack the spacer down FIRST! with a couple of stitches! and THEN sew the button on over the spacer.

tack the spacer down first with a stitch or two, 
and say goodbye to the wiggly sandwich

 Whew.

September Reviews Wrap Up

And I thought August was my busiest review month yet, I did almost as many reviews during September with 15 reviews!

I'm really going to be cutting back on the Christian fiction titles, I have been disappointed by the storytelling in a lot of them, so I'm going to stick with authors I know, publishers I really like (Revell, you're awesome!), or recommendations from fellow bloggers with similar tastes (hi, Renee!). I'm also cutting back on Historical Fiction (not YA or historical romances though, never!) unless I know it won't be too harsh or graphic with the violence.

So hopefully, my blog will be getting back to it's main focus of Young Adult reviews and Historical Romance reviews-yay!! Honestly, I'd love to read more of both, but I'm just not offered that many of my favorite genres for review.

So here are my reviews from the past month, in case you missed any!

















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Christmas Planning

I finished my first holiday knitting project - a pair of Crystalline socks for a girlfriend. I used size 1 dpns and Miss Babs Yummy Hand-Painted Superwash Yarn in Crazy E. The yarn was one of my Scavenger Hunt prizes and is a really lovely colorway. Even Bubbles seems to like it!



I am hoping to make a few gifts for DH in the yarns seen below. The colors don't really excite me but the fibers I'm using should be interesting. I'm going to do a basic pair of hiking socks in the cream colored Wick. It is 53% soy and 47% polypropylene which is supposed to wick away moisture. It kind of reminds me of chenille and I'm curious to see if DH likes it for his hiking adventures. It is listed as a worsted weight but it strikes me more as a sport weight. ( Knit One Crochet Too also makes a yarn called Pediwick that is fingering weight but it is bamboo and nylon.)

I also bought some Berroco Comfort to try. It is a nylon/acrylic blend and it comes in a lot of colors and weights. I'm pretty sick of DH destroying his hand-knit hiking socks by putting them in the dryer so I thought I'd try some yarns that are less likely to be hurt by machine washing. I'm using the gray worsted weight to knit the Thuja men's socks from Knitty and the dark purple to knit him a pair of Bamboo Field Mitts. Last but not least I'm using a super-soft yarn to knit him a pair of dress gloves. The yarn at the bottom left is Sunshine Yarns Luxury Sock Superwash yarn with 10% cashmere in the Coal Creek colorway (another Scavenger Hunt prize!).



That should keep me busy but if I have time I'll maybe knit him a skull cap from Cascade 220 as well.
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home sweet home

As much as I hate to see a vacation end,
it's always a good feeling
to return home again...

...to wipe the shimmering dew from the clothesline
and hang some laundry in the early morning sunshine,


...to check on the flower gardens and see what's
in bloom,

...to happily note that the pitiful little
pear tree is covered with pears this year,

...to admire a fresh coat of paint on the henhouse,

...to make sure the chickens are all doing well
and to see if they've begun laying again,
 so I can stop
buying store bought eggs
{no such luck}.


...and to enjoy an early morning walk
with my pal Marley.


~Deb
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Broken and bits and bobs crochet.





Blythe Shawl
Popcorn stitch with a vinatge feel.  I added the button to look like a little broach.
1st thing is to be Positive, the shawl I love.  Now the reason for my absence......
Negative.
My poorly pc

Big issues
My little net book, broke. broken bust.
Kaput
Not just under the weather....dead   My clever other half decided to fix 
(he's capable) 
But with little attention as its mine not his, he lost practically everything
I'd saved, yes pass words, calender all the things that I thought would stay.

Annoyed, an understatement.....if he said I would have memory's sticked them.  God forbid, wrote then down.

Hence no posts, not codes no saved favourite, every single book mark, lost lost.  
Lost tonnes, I'm lazy I use the pc memory, now I can't even remember what half the sites where. Huuugggh 

No more slow broken pc= fixed fast but pointless as honesty I'm missing all my favourite things.



Incy wincy spider, just thought it would make a funky screen saver.....
and if you look close you'll see what i didn't using the camera to zoom,
we are a few legs missing.
If you would like an original call it a Halloween screen saver send me an e mail and ill send you the original (not the resize)



Art, Knitted.



Covered.



Rasmus



My beautiful portrait I'm an so very pleased.  Fairy whispers artist painted this and I think that she captured him perfectly.  This is his concentrating face.
http://www.fairywhisperart.co.uk/


All the pinks it's Maddisons blanket, still on the blanket run im slowly working my way though all the demands;-)



Big blankie



It was a dress that I was given it will soon be art, watch this space.



Yet more shower puff art this is part of a collection that I'm working on at the moment.  Things that are not always what they seem..........







Above a bit of a risky picture on a quick glance, but be assured its hamless shower puff.

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moda crochet























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