I had an e-mail from Becky asking if I had tried using fabric with my Badge It and not using the plastic covers ….. well the answer is yes, I bought mine for that very reason as I wanted to make badges like I had seen in Accessorize, (but couldn’t afford) that could be worn or put on bags etc.
As you can see from the first picture I have a several materials to demonstrate it’s versatility. First I’ve used a light cotton. All you do is use the template to draw round the material and cut it out.
…. and then pop it into the drawer marked 1, on top of a badge front, slide it all in and turn the winder on the top until it stops, it makes some weird and wonderful noises which almost convinces you that you’ve broken it, but touch wood It hasn’t happened yet!
The next stage is to add the back, which you do in exactly the same way, but using the drawer marked 2. That’s all there is too it ……. but I have to stress this is sold as a toy, not a craft tool, but I have had mine for two years now which isn’t bad going.
This next piece of material is a little thicker and a very small sample obtained (ahhhhem, cough, cough) from a lovely material shop in Shrewsbury, I dread to think how much it was a metre …. but let’s say I couldn’t afford even a fat quarter, but it is exquisite.
The material for this final badge has been cut from an old embroidered table cloth, bought from a car boot sale for 50p, sacrilege I know ….. and perhaps I’ll live to regret it … but at least the beautiful embroidery lives on and can be admired in another guise.
You can buy Badge It’s new for about £20 from many toy shops, or Amazon but it’s worth looking on e-bay first, however charity shops and carboot sales are good hunting grounds too …. I got a spare machine for 20p, including badges because the lady said she didn’t want to take it home again! Badge It refill sets are also available direct from Bandai or Amazon for about £9 for 30.
Again – I stress this is sold as a toy not a craft tool.