Fimo/Polymer clay advice please

Craft Talk
1

I’m thinking about making my own buttons for my knits and crochet using Fimo
My question is would the buttons be ok when the garments are washed

Thanks

2

I’ve never tried it myself but found this info online that might help https://thebluebottletree.com/wash-polymer-clay-buttons/

3

@CraftedByEcho I just read that article and it is brilliant stuff. It looks like it is certainly possible, but I note that the person who wrote it did not use the Fimo brand and I would concur from personal experience. Although Fimo would withstand washing and drying (it is thermosetting plastic so it won’t melt) I imagine that the porous plasticine-like surface would not look as good after a few washes. The brands of clay used in the article might be more expensive but the results were really good @PamelaWestArt , so I would go for it!

Sam x

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4

Thank you so much.
I would onlyuse the buttons on ny wrist-warmers and scarves etc so they probably wouldn’t washed as much as baby items etc.
I’ll go for it then

Thanks again :slightly_smiling_face::+1:t3:

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5

Hello,
I had problems with Fimo going hard and found that the only way to reconstitute it is with water. Apparently it doesn’t have the same chemical make-up as other PCs. I don’t know whether this fact would make it unsuitable for a lot of warm water washing. Completely sealing all surfaces with a varnish might be the way to go. Hope this helps.

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Do you mean it went hard before you baked it? If so you might be able to reconstitute it with water
I would think after bakingyou couldn’t do that
Pam xxxx

7

Hi Pam - Yes, it went hard before baking. Perhaps using Classic or Effects rather than Soft would also be better for your buttons. I’ve read that putting baked Transparent straight into cold water gives a better transparency.
I look forward to seeing your results. :smile::smile:

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I can’t remember which ones I bought. I’ll let y9u know when I’ve done some. Thanks :slightly_smiling_face:

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I would test this so that you know for certain. Make some different sized buttons and attach them to cloth and then wash them a good 10 or 15 times and at various temperatures. After all, if a customer writes to you to say your buttons melted after one wash, at the moment, you wouldn’t know if it was true or not. I think this is the only way you could be certain.

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That’s a good idea :slightly_smiling_face:
I’ll try that
Kind regards
Pam