Found this on the net if anyone is interested and wants to try it out. This says to make them with Linen thread, but we make them out of yarn, adding beads to the spokes etc..Bit of history then how to do them...Cheers...Cher
Here is a variation in the directions: From The Lady's Guide to Plain Sewing, Book II:
The buttons usually used for shirts and personal linen were thread buttons. A well organized cottage industry, begun in 1622, in Dorset, England, gave rise to the name of numerous styles, including the Dorset Crosswheel. First bone discs then metal rings were used to make many of the buttons. They should be made without a break in the ring, such as those used for Roman shades and curtains. Those of 3/8 inch inside diameter are a good size.
To make a dorset crosswheel button, a linen thread of 40/2 or a similar size, usually bleached, is used to stitch the buttons. You will need a piece at least two yards long for each button.
The first step is called casting: using a small, blunt needle, make buttonhole stitches all around the ring, spacing the stitches very closely, and completely covering the ring. The knots, or pearls, of the stitches, will lay to the outside of the ring.
The second step is called slicking: twist the buttonhole stitches around the ring, so that the knots, or pearls, are on the inside of the ring. Use the needle to catch some of the pearls, and begin the twisting with a lever like action. After the twisting is started, it is usually quite easy to finish the slicking with the fingers.
The third step is called laying: holding the ring firmly with the fingers of one hand, and the thread pulled taunt by the other, wrap the thread around the ring, making "spokes". Usually, tweleve spokes are made. With your imagination, divide the ring like the numbers on a clock. The thread must be held taunt to prevent the spokes from loosening and falling off the ring. The centers will not cross exactly at this stage. Complete this step by securing the threads to the center with a couple of crosses stitches, catching all of the spokes. The first crossd stitches can be adjusted to the center using the needle to push the stitches. Cross the centers again. Check to be sure the crossed stitches are in the middle of the ring. This is very important!
The fourth step is called rounding: using the needle, weave around from spoke to spoke, taking a stitch under and back over each spoke (like a backstitch). Work from the center outward, fillin in the ring as closely as possible. Keeo your work even and neat.
Finish the button by using a sharp needle to run the remaining thread tail through the back of the rounding and exit at the center back of the button. The tail may be left to use to set on the button, or may be trimmed off.
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