Beaker Button Blog

This is another pattern I wrote for a yarn club a few years ago. It's a great way to use up some of those bits of Aran weight yarn you've got hanging around. If you want a smaller shrew you can change the yarn size and hook size accordingly. Enjoy, and feel free to share if you make him. If you don't have safety eyes you can use embroidery thread and stitch his eyes. If you're making him for a littley I would do that anyway. If you don't have stuffing try old tights, old pillow filling or similar. I used washed sheeps fleece. This resource will be added to periodically so please check back and see what's new. Patterns are for personal use only, although we're happy for you to sell items made from them as long as you credit Beaker Button. Solomon Shrew www.beakerbutton.co.uk ©Jen Best 2017 Tension: 9dc x 7 rows over 5cm x 5cm square using 4mm crochet hook. 50m Beaker Button Aran, 20g of toy stuffing, 2 black safety eyes 10mm, removable stitch ...

It's been a tumultuous few months here at Beaker Button. In August we were told that the hollow brass rings we'd been teaching on, and using in our kits, were possibly being discontinued. After an initial mad panic I did a lot of researching online, phoning companies and generally making a nuisance of myself to try an find a replacement. I had long conversations on the phone with the company I bought my brass rings from and explained that without them Dorset button making was in peril. In November we were told that they were, despite our best efforts, foot stamping, pleading, praying to the Gods of brass etc., going to be discontinued. In my long searching I came across a Chinese wholesaler of rings, and they were willing to make to order within reason and had lots of very nice fine rings in a zinc alloy and a copper alloy. copper alloy Dorset button rings zinc alloy Dorset button rings All the other people I'd spoken to couldn't reassure me that the rings...

Some of you will know that I've always wanted my own sheep, which I can produce a yarn from to sell in the shop. Unfortunately I'm mildly allergic to lanolin, which makes owning sheep tricky as you can imagine. However, I had to great fortune to get to know Elizabeth of Warrenfield Farm, which is just down the road from Beaker Button, in the Clatfords. Elizabeth has a delightful flock of Hampshire Down sheep and I've been using her fleece for years to teach spinning with. It's soft, springy and wonderful to work with. This year we've gone into partnership to produce Beaker Button Warrenfield Sock yarn. It's going to be a soft and springy sock yarn in 100g skeins spun at the Natural Fibre Co. in Launceston. Cornwall. I was lucky enough to be given a tour of the factory on Monday when we delivered the fleece so I thought I'd share some of the photos with you. For those of you who are wondering part 2 is going to be all about dyeing the skeins when they'r...

I'm always surprised that more people haven't come across these techniques when knitting. I thought a tutorial on how I use them might be handy as I spend a lot of time telling people how to do them in the shop. This tutorial takes you through all the things I do to make lace knitting easier but feel free to use the techniques in any sort of knitting project. I'm using a pattern I've designed called Kelp Poncho,  knitted in Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace , which will be available to download later in the year.  Tools I use: Stitch markers ,  I'm using 1 set of simple rings and 1 set of beaded rings Hiya Hiya interchangeable circular needles , I use these as they have a handy hole to thread your life line through.  Cotton perle 5 weight as my life line Knitting App on my smart phone,  downloaded from the App Store If you don't have those tools Stitch markers,  you can use loops of thread or small rubber bands. I don't recommend using safety pins as they can g...

I'm using my blog for self publication this time. I do lots of talks and demonstrations, not to mention workshop, making Dorset buttons. One of the things that normally comes up is how fast can you make them, and I tell people that a good button maker could turn out a gross a day (that's 144 buttons!) I've always wanted to see how many I can make in a working day so I'm holding a Dorset button challenge on 20th February in the shop. I will be making as many as I can in 12 hours. I'm going to aim for 144 but that is one button every 5 minutes and even I'm not quite that fast, If you want to come and support me then please do. I won't be teaching but you can come and eat cake and drink coffee and squish the woolly goodness on offer. We're going to be raising money for Parkinsons UK, a charity close to my heart as I have a friend with Parkinsons. If you can't make the shop but you want to support the cause I've set up a just giving page here  so...

I don't normally use my blog to winge about the bad things that happen to me. I prefer to stay positive and see the bright side, and I like to project that bright side to my few readers. After all, you've probably got problems of your own to cope with, without having to listen to mine. However, something horrible happened at the Christmas Farmers market last year which made me really think. I thought I would share these thoughts with you all in the spirit of self discovery. I hope you don't mind. The Sunday before Christmas was a bad day for many reasons. We all have them I know, where if it can go wrong it will. Thankfully I don't get them very often but this particular Sunday more than made up for the lack. The crowning bad point was discovering that someone had stolen my needle felted rabbit from our stall at the farmers market. You might remember him if you follow our Facebook page. We made them as a group with Erica from Arts, Rush and Cane. He did a sterling...

Wreath Tutorial I've been promising this wreath tutorial for a very long time. Hope you all like it. Finished Wreath You will need a piece of foam lagging about 1m long. I bought mine from Wicks for about £2.50. Duct tape, preferably in a colour similar to the knitted or crocheted cover you will make, 100g of DK or Aran weight yarn to make the cover, DK yarn for the flowers in different colours, buttons for the flower centres (I used Dorset buttons obviously. For a Dorset button tutorial have a look here ), 4mm knitting needles, 4mm crochet hook, scissors and a yarn needle for sewing up. You can of course make the whole wreath in knitting or crochet, depending on your skills. Knit or crochet a flat piece of work slightly thinner and about 3/4 of the length of your lagging. I knitted mine in stocking stitch. Leave very long tails for sewing your cover on later. Bend the lagging into a ring and tape the ends together with duct tape. Wrap the duct tape at an ...