Belle Amour: Wedding Ideas Less of the traditional. More of the original.

If you saw my Snow White-inspired sweet table you may have noticed the cross-stitched heart & bow creation around the cake. For those that want to add a DIY touch to their cake but haven’t got fancy icing skills then a project like this may well be perfect for you :)

You will need:

• 12cm piece of ribbon
• 15 cm piece of ribbon
• Piece of ribbon long enough to wrap around your cake
• Buttons to cover kit
• Bezel cups slightly bigger than the button
• A circle of Aida; cut to double the diameter of your button
• Needle
• Thread
• Glue (forget to photograph in image above – oops)

Cross stitch pattern

Step 1.

Fold your circle in quarters to find the rough centre of your Aida and insert the needle to mark it. This is where you will begin the first stitch marked in a lighter shade on the pattern above.

Step 2.

Cross stitch your heart according to the pattern. If you’ve never attempted cross stitch before here’s a simple tutorial. Tie off the loose threads at the back and trim the ends.

Step 3.

Get the smooth metal part of the button kit (apologies you can’t really see it in the photo) and stretch the Aida over it, first one way then the other ensuring your heart is in the middle.

Step 4.

This is the tricky bit. Hold the material in place securely and push into the white plastic part of the kit. I haven’t shown this in the image as my hands would have blocked the camera but the trick is to hold the Aida to the metal button whilst you push it in so that it remains in the middle! The plastic holder is slightly transparent, enough to see if it’s in the centre when you turn it over. If you’re a bit of a perfectionist (like me) you may need to do this several times to get it central! Once in place, fold all the raw edges into the middle.

Step 5.

As this is a covered button kit there’s a pesky button-loop part that isn’t needed. I used scissors to bend the pieces of loop ends back so I could then pull them through the holes, but you probably have a better tool for this :) Something that cuts metal would be perfect; a lot simpler. Then just put the button back on top of the raw edges of your button.

Step 6.

Push the back down securely into place with the blue tool provided. When it’s down as far as it will go (I used a hammer to help me with this bit!) you can pop your covered button out of the plastic holder. Then add glue to your bezel cup and stick your button on the cup.

(Not really a) Step 7.

Here’s what it should look like…

Step 8.

Take your 12cm piece of ribbon and fold it into a loop with the ends overlapping, right side facing out. Pinch the loop in the centre, as shown in the image, and stitch right through the centre securing the ends to the ribbon. Repeat with the 15cm piece of ribbon and then stitch the two together with the smaller loop on top of the bigger loop.

Step 9.

Super-glue your cross stitch button to the bow…

Step 10.

Then all you have to do is secure your remaining ribbon, with icing, around your cake and where the two rough edges meet cover them with your button, again glued in to place with icing.

Pick a colour

And that’s it! Although of course you can make it in any colour you fancy and with the power of Photoshop here’s an idea of what other colours would look like…

You could even choose different colours for the heart and the ribbons or stitch something entirely different on your button such as you and your partner’s initials. Or if cross stitch isn’t your thing why not cover the button with a fancy fabric of your choice – even easier!

Debs

P.S. For the Snow White-inspired sweet table I used a slightly bigger heart design. Feel free to email me if you would like the pattern for it :)

Tags: boutonniere, buttonhole, cake, craft, heart