Alternative Dorset Button Instructions

Dorset Button Instruction Sheets

A selection of the more unusual Dorset buttons.

The file is 15 pages and contains clear photographic and written instructions to make, Dorset Knob, Grindle, Birds Eye, Mite, Singleton, and a Crosswheel for those who've never made a button.

There is also a page of hints and tips to help you perfect your button making.

The document is printed straight from our computer on good quality environmentally friendly paper.

Dorset buttons were made by hand in Dorset from the early 1600’s to 1851. They were shipped all over the world and were even worn by royalty. This cottage industry employed over 4000 people at its height, making over 100 different button types. Their popularity died overnight after the Great Exhibition of 1851, when a new button machine was showcased. Many families were left destitute and emigrated to escape starvation, and the art was more or less lost. The W.I. and others have kept this fabulous craft alive and now you can learn how to make them too.

Dorset buttons are coming back in a big way. Here at Beaker Button we love using modern colour and materials to create a contemporary twist on this fabulous craft. There is nothing more trendy than personalising your project with your own hand stitch Dorset button!