Button Buddy

My button buddy sits on my bedside table looking happy. He's easy to make, his eyes are from my spare buttons box and his mouth is ironed on with bondaweb. You can see how to make him in pictures on the Button Buddy In Pictures page. I made a couple of friends too, they have arms which make them a bit harder. If you prefer the shape of the friends then use a square of fabric to start with instead of a rectangle. The red one was a 3.5" (9cm) square, the green one was made from a 5" (13cm) square. The red one doesn't have any hair at all, I skipped steps 9 and 10 and just used pinking shears and left the top with a raw edge. If you want to add arms it is easier to stitch them in place with a very narrow seam before you join the front and back.
  1. Cut out two pieces of fabric 4" (10cm) by 5" (13cm) for the outside of your Button Buddy.
  2. Cut out two pieces of fabric 4" by 5" for the inside.
  3. Choose a small piece of fabric for the mouth.
  4. Cut out two pieces of wadding 4" by 5".
  5. Trace the mouth onto a piece of bondaweb. Iron the bondaweb onto the mouth fabric.
  6. Cut out the mouth and peel off the bondaweb backing paper.
  7. Fold one piece of the outer fabric in half. Open it out again and place the mouth, glue side down, just above the fold.
  8. Place some baking parchment over the mouth and iron it in place.
  9. Take an outer and inner piece of fabric and place them right sides together. Sew them together along the narrow top edge with a 1/4" seam.
  10. Do the same with the other outer and inner. Then press the seam open and fold them so that the right sides of the fabric are on the outside again.
  11. Place the wadding inside to make a quilt sandwich.
  12. Quilt around the mouth to attach it more firmly. I used a zig-zag stitch.
  13. Place the back and front together with the mouth inside.
  14. Sew from the top left down the left hand side, along the bottom and then up the right hand side.
  15. Mark a line 1" (2.5cm) from the bottom in pencil and fold each corner flat.
  16. Sew along the pencil line to make each corner of the bottom of your Button Buddy.
  17. Turn your Button Buddy the right way around and stand him up. You might want to stuff him with a bit of toy stuff if he doesn't seem fat enough.
  18. Take a 4"(10cm) by 2" (5cm) strip of Stitch and Tear (or just ordinary paper if you don't have any) and mark two lines where the inside of your button buddy is.
  19. Wrap fancy wool around the stitch and tear, between the 2 lines. Fold in the two edges to stop the wool falling off.
  20. Carefully push the hair down into the top of your button buddy and sew across the top.
  21. Cut the top of the hair and then tear away the Stitch and Tear.
  22. Choose two buttons and sew them on. I found it easier to use ordinary white cotton doubled over.