Make Polymer Clay Buttons

Buttons can transform any garment. Adding artistic buttons to an old garment can give it a new look and a new life. Crafting your own buttons to match your hand made clothing will add value to your creations. Using polymer clay, you can make all sorts of buttons to enhance your RTW or handmade clothes.

Materials
Premo! or other polymer clay of your choice
Corn starch

Tools
Pasta machine (optional)
Floral mold (optional)
Jewelry sized drill bit, bamboo skewer, pen point, pottery tool, straw or other device to create holes
Polymer clay oven or toaster oven dedicated to crafts

Step 1
Gather your polymer clay supplies.

Step 2
Determine what color and brand polymer clay you want to use. In this example, we used Premo! translucent mixed with a small amount of blue.

Step 3
Condition your polymer clay before making it into polymer clay buttons by kneading it or passing it through a pasta machine (dedicated to crafts) many times.

Step 4
Dust the mold with cornstarch so the polymer clay does not stick to the mold.

Step 5
Press the clay into the prepared mold. Use your hands, alone or in conjunction with the mold, to create the shaped polymer clay buttons you desire.

Step 6
Remove the polymer clay from the mold. Use a straw, drill bit, pen point or other device to create holes in your polymer clay buttons. Shape as needed with your fingers to remove rough edges.

Step 7
Repeat to create the number of buttons you need.

Step 8
Bake the buttons in your polymer clay oven according to the polymer clay manufacturer's instructions. We usually bake our polymer clay buttons at 275 degrees for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the thickness of the polymer clay buttons.

Further Reading 
"The Complete Book of Polymer Clay";Lisa Pavelka; 2010.
"The Art of Polymer Clay Millefiori Techniques: Projects and Inspiration for Creative Canework"; Donna Kato; 2008.
"The Encyclopedia of Polymer Clay Techniques: A Comprehensive Directory of Polymer Clay Techniques Covering a Panoramic Range of Exciting Applications"; Sue Heaser; 2007.
"The Polymer Clay Techniques Book"; Sue Heaser; 1999.