DIY Liberty Fabric Button Push Pin Art Tutorial

I posted this DIY Liberty fabric button push pin art on my Instagram feed recently and wanted to share a tutorial so you can make one of your own. This is such a great project for small scraps and would make a lovely decoration in your home or a gift for a fellow fabric lover!

Here is a close up of the fabric button push pins.

I’ve listed the exact materials I used but you can substitute with something similar or what you have on hand.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use and love, or think my readers will find useful.

Materials

• 12″ x 12″ shadow box with push pin display board You can substitute with a burlap canvas or anything display board that will hold push pins.
• Dritz size 36 button making kit I also purchased a set of 50 on Etsy. Make sure to select flat backs as you are gluing thumb tacks to the back  to make push pins. Also purchase the assembly tool if you don’t already have one. Note you can use larger or smaller size buttons depending on your preference or you can mix the sizes too.
• Fabric scraps minimum size 2″ x 2″ for each button. The size will vary if you are not using a size 36″ button.
• Thumb tacks. I used these quilting thumb tacks but any size thumb tacks should work.
• Glue for metal. I used an adhesive from a previous craft project but I’ve read that E6000 should work just fine.
• Pen – I used a Pilot Frixion Pen so I could iron out the pen marks but it’s totally not necessary.
• Water Erasable Marking Pen
• 1-2 sheets of paper to create a heart template

Instructions

1. Make your buttons using your fabric scraps. A size 36″ button needs about a 2″ square piece of fabric. I used about 60 size 36″ buttons for this fabric button push pin art but you may use more or less depending on the button size you select and how large you want your heart to be. This is a great tutorial on how to make different kind of buttons. I didn’t use interfacing or double layer my fabric like the tutorial so you can see a glint of the button metal shining through my buttons depending on the lighting. I decided on size 36″ because it is just big enough to fussy cut a lot of my favorite Liberty prints including my beloved Hello Kitty prints.

2. Glue the thumb tacks to the back of your buttons. I used a Qtip to spread the glue on the thumb tack but it’s optional. The back should look like this after you’ve glued the thumb tacks. Wait for the glue to dry according to the instructions before using.

3. Create a heart template on a piece of paper and trace the heart on your display board using the water erasable pen.

4. Insert push pins around the outer edge of the heart you traced so now you have a heart outline.

5. Now fill in the rest of the heart using your fabric button push pins.

6. Finally use water to remove the blue marks from the water erasable pen. I used a blow dryer to dry the water faster on the display board or you can let it air dry.

Thanks for stopping by today and happy “mad” fabric button making!

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DIY Liberty Fabric Book Tutorial – Part 3 DIY Pincushion Tutorial With Free Pattern DIY Pincushion Ideas DIY Liberty Fabric Book Tutorial – Part 1