Rosette Ribbon from an Old Pin-Back Button

We’ve started using pin-back buttons at the shop for promotions. I make about half a dozen buttons for an upcoming event, and the staff wears the buttons on their aprons. Once the event is over… well, the buttons have no use. But, being the “true crafter” that I am, I couldn’t just let these buttons fall by the wayside (or end up in the – gasp – trash!), so I came up with this fun no-sew project!

These would be great to decorate a party (or a gift for a party) if you use fabric in a certain theme. They’d also make great awards for any kind of youth activity (or hey, even an adult activity… I love me some awards!), you can find a ton of excuses to pull out these easy-to-make ribbons!

Materials Needed: Focus fabric and accent fabric, old pin-back button, sandpaper, ModPodge, Hot glue gun. Scissors/Rotary cutter to cut the fabric, and a paint brush for the ModPodge.

Start by collecting your supplies. You can see that the buttons I used were ones to promote our Quilts of Valor event.

Turn over the button, and trace an outline on the back of the fabric using a fabric pen. I centered an image I wanted to have on the front of the finished rosette.

Cut about 1/4 inch out from the line, to give yourself some overlap for the back of the button.

I lightly sanded the front and edges of my button to help the fabric and ModPodge adhere better.

Start Podging! Using a paintbrush, I applied ModPodge to the front, then put on the fabric. I added more ModPodge on top (which is scary because it is white… but it dries clear. I then added ModPodge along the back rim, and folded over the fabric, tucking it down and adding more Podge as needed.

After the button has dried, you can start adding the rosette part. I used a 6″ wide by Width of Fabric strip of a coordinating print, folded in half. I left the first 1/2″ un-glued, then glued down the raw edge to the back of the button, folding and pleating so that the outside edge was fairly smooth. My “glue work” here is really bad… but, at least it is on the back – no one will ever know! ; )

After gluing all the way around, I hid the raw edges by folding them into eachother, making sure to line up the outer edge. This fold will just look like one of the pleats on the finished rosette.

Tails were added by taking a 2 1/2″ strip of fabric, cutting a notch at one end of each, and then hot gluing to the back. This fabric does have raw edges, which I could seal with some fray-check if I wanted. Next time I might consider using a wide ribbon instead, so I don’t have to worry about fraying at all. But, for now, I like it just the way it is. : )