Field Trip: Tender Buttons, NYC

We almost went right by it, my sisters and I, as we walked along 62nd Street in Manhattan on a humid morning in July. Luckily, the golden button hanging above the storefront caught our attention and we found ourselves on the doorstep of Tender Buttons, a shop that's been beloved by button collectors and needle artists of all sorts for more than five decades. 
I first learned about Tender Buttons in the 1980s when I was working as an assistant copy editor at McCall's Needlework & Crafts magazine. Before each issue's photo shoot, the fashion editor would make the short trip from our office on 53rd Street to Tender Buttons to select the perfect buttons for the knit and crochet sweaters that would be featured. Back in the copy editing office, we made sure Tender Buttons, along with the yarn companies, was credited in the captions. After the issue was published, I was responsible for sending tear sheets to each credited vendor. Although I found the buttons that came out of…

Red, White & Blue Beanbags


I hope you're celebrating the unofficial start of summer with family and friends today. I plan on spending the day relaxing, visiting, and eating some burgers and potato salad. To get you in the summertime spirit, I'm sharing a project that's pretty and practical--these super simple red, white and blue beanbags.  You can use them to hold your tablecloth, napkins, and paper plates in place on breezy days. You can arrange them in a basket to make a simple centerpiece. You can even use them in a beanbag toss game. (They are beanbags, after all.)

I used three cotton prints to make my beanbags: a blue swirl pattern, a red-and-white floral, and a red polka-dot fabric. They're embellished with red, white, and blue rickrack, and red-and-white gingham ribbon. You can, of course, use any ribbons or trims you have in your sewing stash. Click here to download a printable pattern sheet.

Start stitching now, and you can have bunches made in time for your next summer picnic!

(This design was published on my previous blog, KBB Crafts & Stitches.)