How to make a giant Dorset button

We did this at the book launch on the 21st September so I thought I'd share it with you all.

Take one hula hoop, 2 100g balls of chunky yarn (Patons Jamboree in our case) and a bevy of willing minions.

Start by tying the yarn in a single knot around the hula hoop.  Begin casting by passing the yarn through the hula hoop from back to front and then back through the loop created.  This is a blanket stitch.


 Supervise your minions doing this first step as you eat some of the delicious cake they bought you to celebrate the launch of your book.


Invite interested people to peruse your new Dorset button jewellery kits, available from the website soon, as your minions do their thing.


Get your minions to take turns so they don't get tired (Shirley takes her turn)


Once the casting has been completed, lay the spokes your self by wrapping the yarn around the hula hoop like the spokes of a bike.  Make sure each spoke lies across the centre at the front.


The back will be off centre but your holding stitches will pull the back spokes into the centre.


Once you have put a couple of holding stitches over the spokes in the middle (I make mine as a cross in the centre) ask a minion to begin rounding by back stitching over the spokes.  Bring the yarn up through one of the big triangles and take it down over the spoke to the right.  Bring it up again to the left two spokes (this includes the spoke you have just stitched over).


Take your turn as well, so your minions don't get to tired.





When you get the middle filled in finish the rounding in a relay.  Here we are stitching a side each.





Make your last stitch and thread the yarn through the back stitches to hide it.


 Take a group photo with all the minions who are left (some had to go home to other minion commitments).


Six and a half hours later hang it in pride of place!


A huge thank you to everyone who came and supported the book launch.

Comments

  1. Beaker Button5 October 2013 at 08:42

    Yes we did try it on our heads before hanging it up.

    ReplyDelete

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