How to Make a Button Purse

A button purse is a fun way to make use of your excess buttons.

In fashion and crafting, buttons can be used for their function or for as splash of style and color. Many crafters and fashionistas acquire a bundle of buttons, either as replacement parts from new purchases or ones salvaged from old coats and blouses. A button purse is one way to clear out your button stash and make a beautiful one-of-a-kind pocketbook in the process.

Things You'll Need

• Cloth/canvas purse
• Thread
• Buttons
• Scissors
• Needle

Instructions

1. Find as many buttons as you can get your hands on. If you don’t already have a collection, large bags of buttons can be purchased at craft stores. Packs come in a variety of tones—bright, pastel and natural (blacks, browns).

2. Decide what you would ultimately like the appearance of your purse to be, based on the buttons that you have. You can mix a bunch of colors together (like the one above) or choose to focus on only one color of button, like black.

3. Choose a purse to sew on. Making your own cloth purse beforehand is great, but this is also a perfect way to reinvent an old purse you no longer carry or even one that has been stained as no one will see the original appearance of the bag once you are finished. However, make sure the bag is made of cloth or canvas as you will be sewing through it.

4. Sew on each button individually. Unless you plan on re-lining the bag once you have finished sewing the buttons, make sure that you attach them cleanly and separately, otherwise items like keys and pens can get caught up in the excess thread and rip buttons loose.

5. Work your way around the purse, covering each side one at a time. Go slow. Take your time. Be sure to sew each button on cleanly and carefully. The stronger you sew a button on, the longer the purse will last.

6. Pay attention to where the sides meet and be sure to sew the buttons so that they make a smooth transition from one side to the other. Don’t leave sharp edges.

7. Fit the pieces in, like a puzzle. Use small buttons to fill in “holes” between larger ones. You want to cover as much of the bag as possible.

Tips & Warnings

• Instead of thread, fishing line can be used to sew on the buttons to make it last longer.