Flower Button Ring, just in time for Mother's Day!

I've been meaning to post this tutorial for a while, and this morning as I was lazing in bed I thought 'Ah ha, I could post that Ring tutorial for Mother's Day!'  So here it is.  Plus I get to use it as a blatant plug for our spankingly brand new button yarn, hand painted in my kitchen!  
P.S. we have rings on our website if you can't find any ;-) 
Thank you to Noelle for modelling the finished ring.  
Flower button ring tutorial.

Materials
1 brass ring about 1.5cm across, approximately 2m of Beaker Button hand painted button yarn, blunt ended needle, scissors.

Materials
There are four stages to making a Dorset Button on a ring.  Casting, Slicking, Laying and Rounding. 

Change the amount of petals by varying the amount of spokes.  Remember that you must have an even number of spokes.









Casting
Have a length of yarn approximately 2m long.
Tie the yarn round the ring in a single knot, leaving a tail of about 1cm.
Stitch round the entire ring in blanket stitch, covering the tail as you go.  Bring the needle towards you through the ring and pass it away from you through the loop created.  Make sure to cover the whole ring, moving the stitches along the ring so there are no gaps. 
the first knot
blanket stitch round the ring
cover the tail as you go
done
Slicking
Turn all the stitches so that they face inwards, leaving a smooth edge to the button.   The thread should drop from the back of the button at the top.

twist your stitches to the middle
done
Laying
When laying the spokes make sure the spoke you are laying is perfectly in the centre of the ring at the front.  Don’t worry about the back,it will not be central.  The holding stitches you put in will pull the back spokes into place.
Bring the yarn towards you under the ring then back up.  This forms one spoke. Turn the ring to the left wrap again until there are several spokes around the ring.  The spacing should be even.  For a flower button 10 spokes looks good (gives you five petals).  Make two stitches in the centre of the wheel to hold the spokes in place, being careful to catch all the threads from the back into the middle.  I make my second stitch across my first, so they look like a cross. If your spokes are not central and you want them to be, firmly tug the middle until it’s placed centrally, using the side of the needle.  

first wrap down and back up
next wrap to the left
and back up over the centre
first holding stitch from the back 
to the front
second stitch over the first
Rounding
Round 1: bring the needle up through the button from the back.  Pass it down through the button clockwise (right) two spokes.  Bring it up through the work anticlockwise (left) four spokes including the two spokes you stitched over first.  I think of it as over two, under four.  Continue in this way until you have reached the first stitch.  You should have five stitches.
Round 2, 3 and 4: repeat round 1 following the same stitches.

two spokes clockwise
four spokes anticlockwise
two spokes clockwise
first complete round
four rounds complete
Finishing and making the ring bit of the ring
Thread the needle through the back of the button.  Start at the opposite side from the tail and bring the needle out by the tail.  Pull the thread until you have a loop big enough for a finger (you choose the finger).  Repeat this so you have two loops.  Stitch round the loops in the same way as you cast round the ring to start with, a blanket stitch.  Once you've covered the whole back loop thread the tail through the back twice to secure it and trim.  

making the first finger loop
finger loop
two finger loops
casting round your loops
like this
all the way round
thread the tail through the back to secure and trim
Wear it out and show off to all your friends.

Noelle :-)

© Jen Best.  www.beakerbutton.co.uk
This is a free tutorial, and I don't mind if you make rings to sell.  Please don't reproduce these instructions for sale though and don't forget to tell people where you got them.  Many thanks.  Jen :-)

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