How to Design & Make Buttons

Summary: Buttons are a lingering icon in American culture. Once used to promote political candidates, raise awareness of breast cancer, or affiliate the wearer with a club or organization, buttons today are retro pieces of fashion flair found usually in the glass checkout counters of vintage clothing stores, places like Hot Topic, or used record outlets. Buttons from an unknown high school that advertise some silly event are generally the most sought-after button of all. With a mirrored back and straight pin design, the button is both elegant and fashionable, especially when the design is something from the 1980s. Like tin lunchboxes and frumpy roller skates, buttons will be a part of Americana nostalgia for an undetermined amount of time before being retired for good.

In this free video series, expert buttoner Robyn Lyman shows you how to make a button in your own home. You will learn how to draw a geometric design, how to select pens and colors for the intricate image, and how to put that image onto a transparency and finally onto a button. Robyn shows you how to draw 3-D designs with pens and how to choose a mirrored, glittery background for your new artwork. Whip it into a button press machine, maybe one you got from your cousin’s wife, and you will be set. Making buttons was never easier!