Bit of a departure here, but no apologies – my only brief for this year’s samples is to respond to anything that interests me. Preferably different to my other, “work” stitching. I firs came across Yorkshire buttons just the other week on Gina Ferrari’s blog Fan my Flame, where she’d finished a beautiful handmade coat with some. Being a Yorkshire lass though and through, I was ashamed I’d never heard of them. And obviously had to try making my own! Pretty, aren’t they? But more decorative than practical, I think. Little seems to be known about the origin of these buttons but I can’t believe they ever made a worthwhile industry. They’re basically ribbed spider’s web stitch, freed from any fabric. A stitch I love anyway – see my Limpets post for example. There are several articles online with instructions, but I found Mary Hickmott's was the best. You create the spokes on a notched circle of card, then sort of back stitch round and round them, going under two spokes forwards and over one back. You need an even number of spokes, say 12 to 18. This was my first attempt - I ran out of thread! The loops shouldn't be so big. It's tricky to estimate the right length of thread to complete without a join. It depends on the diameter of the template, the number of notches, and the thickness of the thread. A nightmare for me, with my waste phobia. And I didn't enjoy pulling vast lengths of thread through for every stitch - perhaps not something to do sitting round a table with other people either, you could take an eye out! 😉 This is how they look when you pop them off their cards: I love these! The free-standing spider’s webs might be good for cards or hanging decorations, even jewellery? Slightly gathered into little domes or dishes, you could possibly use them in an art composition. But for buttons you thread the remaining yarn through the loops and gather up over a disc of card (or maybe recycled plastic) for a flattish finish, or a bit of toy stuffing or wadding for a domed shape. Unfortunately a lot of the pretty stitching is wasted on the back with a flat button; maybe that’s a reason to make them spherical. Thicker threads are quicker to stitch and variegated ones look fantastic, But the centres can be a bit ugly and bulky: So using a thinner thread for the spokes is sometimes a good idea: And if you have 14 or 18 spokes you can do a bit of weaving for variety - just weave under and over two spokes at a time. Each button I made suggested other variations to try… but I’ll stop now before I get addicted!