Beaker Button Blog

Every year I make myself a Christmas jumper. I don't mean it has reindeer or snowmen on the front, or a nice nativity scene with the baby Jesus lying in a manger plastered across my stomach. It's a jumper I begin on Christmas day. I rarely get to knit something for myself. Mostly I'm knitting samples, designing new things, or knitting socks for my sock hungry family ( we're funding research into where the second sock goes after you wash it). At Christmas I rebel. I take time to plan what I want, to research the yarn and pattern, to think about the style of garment I'd like and what I'm going to use it for (walking jumper, mooching about jumper, gardening jumper etc). I organise my stash in the hope that I can use the yarn from it (never happens of course, I'm saving my stash for the apocolypse. Not this one, the real one, where there are zombies and all the yarn shops have already been looted).  This year I decided to use the fibre I'd inhereted from my ...

I had an interesting Facebook exchange with someone yesterday regarding some new thread buttons I've been teaching myself to make. These buttons are called shirtlace buttons, also known as zwirnkopfe, which means thread button. They are often mistaken for Dorset buttons, because they're hand stitched around a ring, but they are made differently and from a not from Dorset. I thought it might be a good idea to try and explain the difference here.  Dorset buttons are made by stitching in a blanket stitch around a ring (casting), turning the ridge around the edge into the middle (slicking), wrapping the thread around the ring to form spokes (laying), and then stitching in a back stitch over the spokes to form the inside pattern. Dorset buttons were made all over East Dorset, and sent all over the world. They were started by Abraham Case in 1622 and were an industry until 1851.  I know very little about the history of Shirtlace buttons, other than they were made in Germany, Austria...

These were great fun to knit. You can choose any of the charts for either side of the decoration. They are knitted in the round using stranded colourwork techniques. Skills involved are provisional cast on, working with 2 colours in the same line (stranded colourwork), magic loop or small circumference knitting in the round, three needle cast off.  It takes one  Beaker Button Christmas Baby skein set to make two ornaments. I worked one chart on each side. Tension: 13 sts x 18 rows over 5cm x 5cm  knitted in the round, 40m mini skein in green, red and white will make both ornaments, spare needle for 3 needle cast off, yarn needle for sewing in ends, 10g of stuffing, waste yarn. I used 3mm x 80cm circular needles for this project and the magic loop method of knitting small circumferences in the round. Yarn A was the colour red or green, yarn B was the white. Cast on 62 stitches using a provisional cast on. Join to knit in the round being careful not to twist. Work in stotc...

 Another of the patterns from the Ideas Gallery of Dorset Button Inspirations. Crinkle head band   4ply, 3.5mm hook, 3 x 18mm buttons Tension Fdc for the circumference of your head (my head is ..... cm and I made 80 fdc) 1 ch, dc into bl only of each st Repeat last row 19 times in total (20 rows including foundation row). Do not break yarn. Turn the work 90 degrees Button band is continued from the end of the headband 1 ch, 21 dc across the end of the headband. 1 ch, 21 dc into bl only Repeat last row 1ch, 2 dc, [1 ch, miss next st, 3 dc into bl only] x 4, 1 ch, miss next st, 2 dc into bl only 1 ch, 2 dc into bl only, [1 dc into ch sp, 3 dc into bl only] x 4, 1 dc into ch sp, 2 dc into bl only. 1 ch, 21 dc into bl only Repeat last row Fasten off and weave in tails Stitch buttons opposite gaps between button band and headband.

This was one of the ideas in the Ideas Gallery of my new book Dorset Button Inspirations . It works up very quickly and would make fabulous Christmas presents. Just saying. I-cord Anklet 4ply yarn, 2 x 3mm double pointed needles, 25mm Dorset button, safety pin. Cast on 4 stitchess Slide the stitches to the opposite end of the needle and knit the row. Repeat the last row until the I-cord wraps around your ankle twice. Put 2 stitches onto a safety pin and work the other 2 stitches as a tiny I-cord until it's 4cm long.  Graft the stitches together with the 2 stitches on the safety pin Stitch the Dorset button onto the opposite end of the I-cord Wrap the I-cord around your ankle (or around your neck if your prefer) and do up with the loop over the button. 

 I've been writing my fifth Dorset button book, Dorset Button Inspirations, and I thought it might be useful to share my process for writing a new book. First I get a brainwave idea. The one for this book was 'I wonder how many things I can come up with to use Dorset buttons for. 101 uses for Dorset buttons!' By the morning I had 104 and the beginnings of a new book.  There is usually a gap of 2 years between books because that's how long a new book takes from conception to printing. The first stage is mainly played out in my head, with samples being made where I'm exploring a new technique or something I'm not sure of. I do most of my best thinking when I'm walking. It gives me time to play with ideas and new projects without having to make something over and over again. A project will normally spend at least a week being constantly made in my head, working over possible problems. I also write a lot of lists on my phone. Project ideas, to do lists, contents...

As some of you may know, I have a BAHA (bone anchored hearing aid). This is a fabulous piece of kit. I have a metal screw in the mastoid bone in my head (which incidently has to be tightened each year so I do occasionally have a screw loose),and my heading aid clips onto this screw. I hear through the bone rather than through my broken ear. This does, however, make it a little difficult wearing hats, as the hearing aid sits proud of my head and anything placed on top of it makes it whistle like a tea kettle on the boil! Lyra Hat is my solution so I'm sharing it here for other people like me. It would also be useful if you wear a ponytail. Lyra Hat www.beakerbutton.co.uk   ©Jen Best 2019   Skills required. This hat is worked in the round from the top down.  Working in the round. M1r increases, knit front and back increases. Ability to recognise and work knit and purl stitches as they appear in the work without the need for a written pattern. Casting on and off within ...

Patterns are for personal use only. We are happy for you to sell things you make from them but please credit Beaker Button. I like making cloths. They're quick, easy and have a practical purpose. They're also a great way of testing new stitches as it doesn't matter if they go wrong. They can still be used as a dish cloth or a face cloth. I've added a few patterns for you to play with below.  Dish and Face Cloths and Wipes Ammonite Crochet Face Wipe Ammonite Face Wipe Tension: each face wipe is 6cm across at widest point, 3.5mm hook (or nearest size to get the correct tension), 10m Anchor Creativa Fino Cotton 4ply , yarn needle for sewing ends.  The pattern is worked in a spiral. Please check your tension. If it’s not the same as the tension in the pattern your sizing may be different. Crochet Abbreviations. UK terms used throughout. ch - chain st(s) - stitch(es) dc - double crochet ss - slip stitch htr – half treble tr – treble dhtr – do...