Wood Buttons

My wife loves to knit, and this is an art form she is very adept at. As part of her creative process she also spins and plies her own fibre, to make yarn from raw wool that has been sheared from sheep or alpacas.

All things being said her hobby is almost totally vertically integrated, and about the only thing she hasn’t done is to shear her own wool – but I have not yet ruled this out as a possibility.

When our son and daughter travelled to Iceland last year to celebrate their graduations from school they were sent with explicit instructions to bring back some wool.

Icelandic Lopi wool is special in that it is a 100% pure wool that is known for being being lighter, warmer, and more water-resistant than wool found elsewhere. Over the centuries, the wool of Icelandic sheep has developed in a way that ensures as much protection as possible from the harsh northern climate.

Icelandic sheep fleece is double layered. The inner layer of light fine fibers are soft and crinkly, insulating well against the cold, while the outer fibers are long, course and smooth – and as a result, water repellent. These fibres are also irregular, and they create air spaces when loosely bound together. The two combine to create a light but sturdy water resistant yarn.

After knitting this magnificent sweater my wife found herself having unexpected difficulties finding appropriate wood buttons.

This is where I got involved.

Using offcuts of solid Black Walnut I sculpted each of these buttons with a slightly rounded face. After drilling the holes and carefully sanding by hand each button was then hand rubbed with multiple coats of a protective urethane finish.

Given how well these turned out I will likely make more of them, and possibly offer them for sale on Etsy.