So Sam: DIY Yo Yo Button Hair Clips

We are so excited to introduce our first guest post by our good friend, Sam O'Donoghue of So Sam! Also known as "the button lady," Sam collects vintage buttons from estate sales, antique fairs and thrift shops.  She then creates one-of-a-kind jewelry, small sculptural items, shopping bags, clips and other projects that strike her fancy!  For Little Yellow Couch, we asked Sam to come up with an accessory we could all wear to our end of year cocktail party.  We introduced her to our partners at Fabric Place Basement and we all spent a morning looking through buttons and fabrics, mixing and matching until Sam was happy with the materials to make the three beautiful hair clips you see here.  (I know, I know, there are four clips in the photo...I couldn't decide if I wanted to wear a big one or a little one so Sam made both for me!).

Sam O'Donoghue

Sam in her studio

Supplies

Fabric *
Buttons *
Hair clips 
Needle and thread
Scissors
Yo Yo makers 

* Our beautiful Fabrics and Buttons are from the Fabric Place Basement
 

To make a yo yo, you can use a yo-yo maker as I am doing here.  Place the fabric wrong side facing you between the plate and the disc. Cut around the disc leaving 1/8" - 3/16" allowance.  Cut two circles in different sizes (use 2 colors or patterns).  I used the 7" size for the gold cloth and 3.5" size for the turquoise.

If you don’t have one of these simply cut a fabric circle using any template such as a cup or small plate.

Thread your needle and tie a knot.  Stitch through the holes in the plate. If you are working without a yo yo maker simply fold over a ¼ inch and stitch around the outside close to the edge.

Remove the disc and plate and gather the thread. When the opening has closed tie a knot and cut the thread.

Don't worry if any thread shows as this will be covered by a button.

When you have created two different sized yo yo’s you can attach the button. Sew through the button hole and through the center of the two yo yo’s several times to secure them together.

Sew a snap clip or alligator clip to the back of the larger yo yo.

You are done! A beautiful hair piece perfect for any event.

The perfect Cocktail Party accessory!

Hello Badge DIY

When we started brainstorming ideas for this month's theme "Pleased to Meet You", one of the first things that came to mind was the classic red and white "Hello My Name Is" badge.  Though handy at large gatherings, they are a bit cliché and frankly not all that flattering.  However, our felt embroidered version is sure to get a few complements!  And ... you are sure to make some new friends!  (We do what we can here at Little Yellow Couch.)  Stitch on your own name or get a bit cheeky and take on a new persona ... "Wonder Woman" or "Coco Chanel" strike our fancy.  So, lets get stitching!

xoxo Karen June

Materials: 

Pattern

1 6x9 Sheet Red Wool Blend Felt*

1 6x9 Sheet White Wool Blend Felt*

Printer

Scissors

Sewing Pins

Embroidery Needle

White Pen

Black Pen

Red Sewing Thread

White Sewing Thread

Black Embroidery Thread

White Embroidery Thread

1" Sew On Pinback** 

 * Sweet Emma Jean on Etsy has a great selection of Wool Blend Felt.  For our project, we used Bright Red and White

** Create for Less is a a great source for sew on pinbacks

Instructions:

1. Cut one piece of white felt and one piece of red from Pattern A
2. Cut one piece of white felt from pattern B
3. Line up white piece B on red piece A to use as a guide
4. Copy text onto red felt with white pen and embroider text with white embroidery thread using a backstitch*
5. Write your name on felt piece B and embroider with black embroidery thread using the stem stitch*
6. Sandwich the red and white felt pieces from pattern A and stitch together using red sewing thread and a blanket stitch* 
7. Sew white felt piece B to red piece using white sewing thread and a whip stitch* 
8. Sew pin to white backing and you are ready to meet some new friends! 

* The Embroidery Stitch Bible is a great source for learning basic and more advanced embroidery stitches.