Day 71 : Kismet
This button includes a fingerloop braid made with gold thread. This gold thread was specially commissioned by a group of medieval textile enthusiasts I was involved in many years ago, and it does have a silk core - that's quite rare these days. Suffice to say I had a fair bit at the time!. I had already made the braid and knot - it has been in my goldwork tin. The centre domed embellishment is an antique - part of a few that I bought at auction some time ago. There are some interesting pieces in that tin, and I like being able to use them when I can. The person who originally owned them was, I think, making items for the church. These have been stitched to the silk ground, and I have added a double stem stitch in Soie Perlee silk to enhance the overs-and-unders of the knot. I've also used a No 4 mould.
I've had a few people ask me about how I finish the back of my embroidered buttons. To be fair, I don't tend to! I leave them the way 18th centruy buttons were left. After all, no one is going to see the back. Here is the back of this button to show you what I mean.
Now, if I were to make the buttons for sale, I would finish according to the end use. For most modern applications, this would mean fabric or felt stitched on the back to hide the working. I'd probably also include a stitched shank. If for a costume, I prefer to keep the back in keeping with the period. If for one of my couture customers, the back will get a special treatment, in keeping with the rest of the garment. I'll plan up a blog post on the 'regular' blog showing some different types of backs soon.
Size : 31mm / 1 1⁄4" / 48L
