I discovered by chance that many buttons are made of epoxy resin. When I was also able to buy a silicone mold for buttons on the ItsOkay website, I knew immediately that I wanted to make my own designed buttons for my clothing. This way I have the perfect match but it is also super fun to make beautiful buttons yourself!
Hi, nice that you are reading this manual! My name is Karin. Besides making jewelry with epoxy resin, I really like to make my own clothes. On my blog karinkay.nl you can read all about that.
Supplies:
- Epoxy resin 1:1 or UV Resin
- Silicone mold buttons
Possibly:
- Pigments (colours), glitter , decoration as desired
- Gloves
- Mixing spatulas and cocktail sticks
- Mixing cup
- Lighter or heat tool
- Kitchen paper and cotton swabs to prevent spills
- Clothes that can get dirty
- A well-ventilated work space
A sewing pattern usually indicates what size button you need and how many. With the silicone button mold from itsOkay you can make buttons of 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5 cm. Some have a groove, others don't. I usually make more buttons than I need to be on the safe side. This is in case something goes wrong. It is also handy for when you need a spare button later. You can then sew it to the label on the inside of your garment. This way you always have a spare button with you in the right color and size.
To determine the color, I first hold pigments and decoration with the fabric to see if it is a good match. You can vary endlessly in this.
Tip: in this example I work with the Epoxy resin 1:1 from itsOkay. This is affordable but needs to dry for 24-48 hours. I have multiple button molds myself, so that I can make multiple buttons of the same size at once. If you have to wait 24-48 hours for a button to dry each time and need 8, it will literally take a week! You can also use the Jewelry UV Epoxy resin from itsOkay: it dries in a few minutes outside in direct sunlight or under the UV lamp.
For making buttons you don't need that much epoxy resin, with 10 grams you have a whole mold full. In this example I use the Epoxy resin 1:1. This comes with one bottle of resin and one bottle of hardener. Mix 5 grams of resin and 5 grams of hardener together. Mix it well and then let it rest for a few minutes to let the air bubbles disappear.
If you want to make multiple colors, pour some into a separate mixing cup and add the dyes and decorations. Tip: use silicone mixing cups: these are reusable and therefore a bit friendlier to the environment.
The easiest way is to first stir the decorative material and/or pigments through the cup with epoxy resin. You can also pour the epoxy resin into the mold first and then sprinkle the glitter on top, but this is less precise and there is a greater chance of spilling.
Tip: the glitter will quickly sink to the bottom, so to the front of the button. Sometimes it seems like there is not that much glitter in it because you are looking at the back while making it. But when you remove the button from the mold you will see all your glitter again. So be careful with adding glitter if you want a more subtle result.
I actually never pour the small buttons directly into the mold, but drip this very carefully with an ice cream stick into the mold. With a cocktail stick you can still slide the glitter back and forth a bit.
Once the mold is filled, you can go over the epoxy resin with a lighter or other heat tool and pop the air bubbles. Do this very briefly and carefully. The mold is sensitive to heat and can melt to your project if exposed for too long. Cover the mold with the buttons so that no dust can fall in. I use a large lid from a box for this and carefully slide it over it. And then it's time to wait!
Especially the small buttons are hard enough to remove from the mold after 24 hours. Do this carefully, so that you do not bend them. It is best to just wait 48 hours. If you are bothered by rough edges, you can cut them away with pliers or scissors.
I have noticed that with the buttons with four holes the epoxy resin stays a bit more in the middle (between the four small protrusions). If you also have this problem and your button is convex, you can also fix this with a potato peeler.
Now it's time to attach your homemade epoxy resin buttons to your clothing! I'm a fan of the sewing machine foot that allows you to attach buttons with your machine. Of course, you can also attach the buttons with a needle and thread. Below are a few examples of my homemade clothing with homemade buttons!
Thanks for reading this manual I hope you found it useful. Love Karin
Do you have any questions or are you having trouble? Please contact the customer service from itsOkay or take a look at the Information Center .
Do you want to make this too?
- Epoxy resin 1:1 or UV Resin
- Silicone mold buttons
- Pigments , glitter , decoration as desired
- Gloves
Do you have questions about making art, jewelry or casting/coating floors or other objects? At itsOkay we have several epoxy experts each with their own expertise. We are happy to help you.
Contact the itsOkay customer service or take a look at the Epoxy knowledge center .
Do you also like to craft and develop your creativity? Then itsOkay is the store for you! ItsOkay is the Epoxy Specialist of Europe. Active since 2018 and therefore a large online epoxy store for more than 6 years.
In addition, our epoxy specialists always work transparently and give you honest and personal advic
Comments
Wat leuk dat je weer het knopen maken hebt ontdekt. Ik heb op een knopen fabriek gewerkt. 50 jaar geleden. Bij ons werden ze gemaakt van of platen. Daar werden ze uit gezaagd. Of staven. En werden ze in plakjes gezaagd. Dat hete rondellen. Een machine met meerde beiteltjes. En boortjes maakte de knoop. Dan gingen ze naar de trommel kamer. Met was korrels. Om de scherpte er af te halen. Dan werden ze verdeeld over de thuis werkers. Die ze op kaartjes naaide Ook waren er knopen die met de hand geboortd werden. Ook waren er die geglanst werden. Of op kleur gespoten. De fabriek bestaat al lang niet meer. Ik heb er gewerkt van mijn 15 tot 17 jaar. En toch was het super leuk werk. En als ik nu lees. Denk ik weer terug.
📍 Beste Barbara, bedankt voor je reactie. Zie het antwoord van Karin: wassen op 30 graden zou geen probleem moeten zijn. 📍 Beste Karin, bedankt voor je reactie op de vraag van Barbara! Gr, Stefanie, team itsokay
Hi Barbara, zelf was ik de kleding met zelfgemaakte knopen op 30 graden, en dat heeft nog nooit problemen opgeleverd.
op wel temperatuur moet wassen .