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Celebrate National Button Week with WeAllSew

March 16, 2020 WeAllSew


If you (or someone in your family) have been sewing for a long time, chances are you’ve got a button collection of spare or special buttons floating around in your sewing box! Buttons are not only invaluable fasteners for our clothing, but can be fun to collect. In celebration of National Button Week, let’s have some fun looking through our button collections, learning more about special techniques for sewing buttons and buttonholes with your sewing machine, and as a bonus scroll to the bottom of the post to enter our fun Button Week giveaway!

National Button Week with WeAllSew

The first buttons used by humans were made of natural materials, wood, bone, and shells. Modern buttons are made of all kinds of materials from plastic to enamel, cardboard, porcelain, metal, glass, cloth, wood, horn, bone, leather, shells, or mother-of-pearl. Button styles can range from plain and utilitarian to highly decorative. There are two main types of buttons used today for garment sewing.

National Button Week with WeAllSew

Shank Buttons

A shank style button is solid on the top and has a stem underneath with a hole to connect the button to the fabric with thread. This raised stem, called the shank, allows enough space for the buttonhole to lie flat and tight against the button shank after passing through the buttonhole.

National Button Week with WeAllSew
Flat Buttons

A flat button is shaped like a disk and has two or four holes to connect the button to the fabric with thread. Flat buttons can be almost any shape, from circles to squares, triangles, flowers, animals, you name it. When sewing a flat button to fabric, you must create a shank with the thread to allow enough space for the button to pass through the buttonhole and sit on top of the fabric. If a flat button is stitched tight on top of fabric without a shank, the fabric with the buttonhole does not have space to sit comfortably underneath the button.

Little Art Quilt-sewing on buttons

Sew a Button with Your Sewing Machine

Most shank style buttons need to be stitched on by hand because the shape does not allow for stitching by machine. Flat buttons on the other hand, can be stitched by machine, even including creating the thread shank!

Best feet for garment sewing
You can use the BERNINA Button sew on foot #18 to quickly attach buttons, snap fasteners and eyelets to your project. This handy foot features an adjustable middle toe that creates the button shank for you, and a non-slip sole to hold buttons in place securely.

Sewing buttons on by machine is faster and more secure than hand sewing, and almost all sewing machines can do it! Click here to learn how.

Sewing on buttons by hand can be terribly tedious, it’s so much faster than hand sewing! Find tips and tricks for sewing buttons by machine here.

How to Sew Buttonholes

Buttonholes are usually the last step in finishing a garment. You want them to be perfect and precise! BERNINA has tools to help, from specialty feet to accessories. Check out these buttonhole how-to’s, tips, and techniques.

Buttonholes_buttonhole_cover

Making buttonholes on a BERNINA sewing machine is truly a breeze! The sturdy presser feet and on-screen navigation make this an easy operation for beginners and experienced sewists alike. Find out how to create buttonholes with three different techniques in this details tutorial.

Buttonhole Tips from WeAllSew

When you have special situations that make creating buttonholes challenging, BERNINA has a few accessories to help!

Manual_Buttonholes_first_bead

Not only do BERNINA buttonholes stitch beautifully, but they’re also so versatile and customizable! You have the ability to make your buttonhole suit your fabric, project, and button perfectly. Let’s look at all the ways we can design buttonholes in this post.

Buttonhole Sewing Tip - denim buttonhole duplication sample

Here are 4 helpful tips for creating better buttonholes on any fabrics, from woolens and corduroy to fleece.

Jeans Tips: hardware, buttonholes, and rivets at WeAllSew

Sewing a buttonhole in the waistband of jeans can be difficult because of the thickness of the fabric, and the location of the buttonhole close to the edge of the waistband. To remedy this dilemma, read about two methods to create a buttonhole with success.

National Button Week Giveaway!

One lucky WeAllSew reader will win this fun package featuring one Bits and Bobs Buttons mixed button collection, one BERNINA precision seam ripper, and one Metrosene Plus Thread Set of 28 assorted spools!

Bits and Bobs Buttons

 

Basic Tools for Beginners at WeAllSew

Metrosene Thread Kit Giveaway at WeAllSew

All you have to do is post a comment below and share a button story with us. It could be about the first time you tried to sew a button, loosing a button, or a story about button collecting. The the giveaway is open through Monday, March 23.

The giveaway is open to residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. One comment per fan. Comment must be submitted to the WeAllSew.com blog by Monday, March 23, 2020 at 11:59 PM Central Time. Winner will be chosen randomly. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to contact to claim the prize.

Good luck!

Difficulty level
Beginner
Techniques
buttonholes, sewing
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289 comments on “Celebrate National Button Week with WeAllSew”

  • As far back as I can remember, my mom had a “button box” on top of the refrigerator (of all places!). It wasn’t really a box, but a round, leather container about 6 inches tall. The buttons it contained were nothing fancy, but all taken from old shirts and coats that had been disposed of. If someone lost a button from a garment, we went to the button box for a replacement. I remember playing with those buttons as a child and sorting them into piles…colors, sizes, hole numbers, etc. When Mom passed away 10 years ago, I asked for that button box. It now sits in my sewing room as a reminder of my sweet mom and once in a while, I’ll throw a few old buttons in there.
    duchick at gmail dot com

    • Both of my Grandmothers, Mother and I have loved buttons which I have inherited so I began my life sorting buttons. My sister and I strung them into bracelets and necklaces to match our “dress-up” clothes. I learned math concepts by putting pinks in one pile and blues in another. My favorite buttons were purchased by my Mother in the ‘60’s in Paris. They are gorgeous on black jacket lapels. Right now they are in their little box, but they may join me for Botton Week!

    • I have similar memories. Only Mom and Grany (her mom) kept a community button jar. As an adult, I continued their tradition with my own jar. I actually bought bags of color and decorative buttons too. Counting and sorting buttons is great therapy for stress relief. When my adult children find me “sorting a jar of buttons” they immediately assume I’m sorting out a problem.

    • I am a button collector from way back! I have even discovered some diamond tie tacks in one newly purchased tin of old buttons I got for $5 at a garage sale!

    • I have fond memories of my mother’s button tin. Before tossing old clothes we always saved the buttons. I am sure that was a practice that started during the Great Depression when nothing was wasted. To this day I I save buttons
      …not quite as diligently as my mom but still when I look at my button jar I think of my mom.

  • I have had a Bernina 550QE for almost 5 years and have not figured out how to use the buttonhole foot. I had to make a buttonhole in a pair of sleep pants and had to drag out my old sewing machine to do it. It was kind of embarrassing; the video should help! Thank you! Would love to win the thread!
    When I was growing up, one of my favorite things to do was to play with was my moms button box, looking at all of them and sorting them. She never minded, it kept us busy and my little brother did it, too!

  • I love my Bernina button foot #18 sew much I bought 2 by mistake. My most recent button story is… I purchased an adorable sample OWL quilt to use as a wall hanging. I added buttons to all of the owl’s eyes. Now every owl on the wall hanging has different colors & sizes of button eyes, sew cute!

  • I love buttons. I have jars full. My favorites are ones a friend gave me which are antiques. My grandson loves to play with my collection sorting them in several interesting ways.

  • When I learned that my machine can sew on a flat button, I was over the moon. Today, years later, I will turn on my machine and change threads to sew a bottom on by machine. It is so worth the extra effort. I taught my daughter, and she agrees, and she even looks for opportunities to machine sew a button!!!

  • I remember as a child the big button canister my mother had. I loved running my hands through the buttons. She had lots of buttons that she would cut off of clothing before it was disposed of as well as other buttons that were still on the cards. She made all of our clothes and had lots of buttons. When she passed, I got her button canister! I also have inherited 3 other button collections from my husbands 2 grandmothers and my uncle’s as well.

    I’m recently retired and starting to form ideas for my sewing space. I’ve purchased big mason jars to be able to display them!

  • Oh for the love of buttons. Yes I have a collection of buttons as most of us do, stored in a glass container so I can see them even if I don’t use them. I have not made button holes with my Bernina yet but that foot looks amazing and I would love to have it in my supplies. Thanks for providing great info for our Berninas.

  • Buttons have been a fun and creative part of my life. As a child my mother kept a coffee can of buttons in her sewing room. On rainy days I spent hours at a time pouring the buttons out on the carpet and sorting them by color and size. When my own children were young, on rainy days, they continued the tradition of sorting the buttons I’d collected over years of my own sewing. Collecting buttons and incorporating them into sewing projects still provides me many moments of pleasure.

  • Before I bought my Bernina, I was asked by two different people at church if I could please sew the buttons on their coats… and one of them was a grown woman! This foot looks really cool, and it certainly would make the job easier!

  • My mom had a button collection and as a kid I used to love perusing through it. She had a lot of unique and fun buttons, but I don’t think I was allowed to actually “use’ any of them…they were her special collection!

  • Have collected buttons for many years and also … like many … have inherited a tin of buttons. A few months ago I found a nice tutorial on YouTube by The Stitch TV Show on a “Wonky Christmas Tree” wall hanging with a garland made of buttons…a cute way to preserve those memories.

  • I love it when I find exactly what I need in my box of buttons that I have collected over the years. My favorite was a set of lime green flat buttons that went perfectly with a Hawaiian print shirt that I made.

  • My hubby always seems to lose buttons, sometimes in groups – is he pulling them off?!? Well, I have often wondered! So one day, years ago, when I was busy cooking he needed 3 buttons sewn on . . . I took the time to teach him how to sew buttons on using my Bernina 1230 machine today he used my B880.

  • My Grandmother always had a jar of buttons in her sewing area. When I moved out on my own I noticed that I kept picking up various button cards and loose buttons which I put in a see-through container. I always seem to feel better when I have a contain of buttons in my sewing room.

  • When I was a little kid and went to my paternal grand mother she always let me play with that big tin of buttons she had. I made so many necklaces and bracelets…. sweet memories!

  • I bought a 880 bernina and the button foot. It was so much fun learning to use the new foot. So much easier to sew button.
    Love my 880
    Rebecca

  • I came to love buttons as a little girl because my mother had a button box with eight drawers that were completely full of buttons. I played with those buttons constantly and still wish I had the button box I could pass down to my children.

  • As a child I loved going through my Nana’s button collection. One of my favorite memories of Nana was when she would sit all four of us grandchildren on the couch and play “Button, button, who’s got the button?” It was so magical as we all waited and wondered who would end up with the button!

  • My mother has arthritic hands and button holes are difficult. I use narrow elastic loops on her closures instead of button holes. This allows her to have the beauty of buttons without the difficulty. Often, it also allows her to pull on the garment without having to deal with the buttons at all.

  • There’s something about a jar of buttons that takes me back to memories of my childhood… of the four siblings, I inherited my mom’s button jar! I feel that my treasure is greater than the chinaware and crystal that my sisters inherited!!

  • I love buttons…sadly, before I started this hobby, my Mom passed away leaving me to go through all her stuff. There was a huge green box full of buttons…literally overflowing. I couldn’t figure out what I would ever do with all those buttons, so into the donation pile they went. I’ve never forgotten that green box, those buttons, and wish I could live that day over again. RIP Mom. ❣️

  • I have my grandmother’s and my mother’s button collections, in addition to what I have collected over the years. It’s fun to sort through them to remember which garment the extra button was from or to look for enough of one kind for a new project. My granddaughters like to sort them-by color, size, shape, etc.

  • I had a coat with beautiful buttons that had ivory carved flowers on the inside of the button.I loved the buttons more than the coat.I lost one of the buttons and knew that I would never find another one .One year later I was at the grocery store still wearing the coat with a missing button and the clerk noticed my buttons and ask me to come back when she got off work. When I came back she had my missing button.It was in lost and found. I just knew I would never see that button again . I was very happy !

  • My Mom had a tin can filled with buttons. As a child I loved to play with
    all the buttons. As an adult, I have buttons displayed in a glass vase and
    more in an old tin can of my own! I have purchased buttons just to add them to put in my tin!

  • I am a yard sale and estate sale queen. I do have a stash of buttons, but am not a particularly avid collector. Four or five years ago, I ran across several really cool mid-century modern buttons in a sale. I enjoyed them for awhile, and then decided that I would sell them on eBay. Now, I am sooo sorry I sold them. I have begun to quilt in the last year or so, and it would be sooooo cool to have them to embellish my quilting projects.

  • The coolest thing ever when I was a little girl was to be allowed to go through my grandmother’s or my mother’s button collection. They lived through the Great Depression and would never dream of throwing out a perfectly good button. Even when the clothing item had to be discarded, the buttons must be kept! Round buttons, square buttons, cloth-covered buttons, bone buttons, buttons with sparkles, every color of the rainbow. They made the most wonderful sound when you ran your fingers through them. Clickety click, over and over. I still have Mom’s collection. Hmm…maybe I’ll get that big round canister out and run my fingers through those buttons right now, once I’m done tearing up because I miss my mom and grandmother so very much. Rest in peace Martha and Mabel.

  • I love buttons so much that I often buy the buttons, and any coordinating trim before I choose and buy the fabric. Sometimes the fabric is a neutral and the buttons and trim are the focal highlight. Other times I’ve bought antique retro buttons and then made a shirt with pin tucks and other Victorian details.

  • My mother always had a button box…an old metal box…and I always loved going through the buttons, sorting them, finding “sets” as a child. There was such a fun variety of buttons, some old, some new, some shiny. When my mom passed away, the box became mine. I still enjoy looking at the buttons – I even remember some of the outfits they came from. My dream is some day to make an art quilt and attach my favorite buttons!

  • When I was a kid, my brothers, sister and I spent many hours playing with a Suspender Sam quilt my grandmother made. Today the quilt is in taters, but all the tiny buttons on the suspenders are still intact.

  • I remember playing with the buttons in my Grandmothers’s button box. I have now inherited her box of buttons. What fun I had. One of my sons when in Grade school had a teacher than planned a day of learning “crafts” of the pioneers. At my house I had to teach each student how to sew on a button. That was a challenge for some of them.

  • My first memories of sewing include looking with wonder through the treasures in my grandmother’s candy tins and cigar boxes of buttons. How lucky I am to have those very treasures in my sewing room today! As a little girl, I learned to sew on her treadle machine and also how to sew buttons on by hand, How nice to have a Bernina 630E that does that for me now! 🙂

  • I always LOVED to go to my Grandmas’s house. We would go to her hall closet and take out the biscuit can. Inside were treasures beyond belief, Diamond buttons(actual rhinestone) but we did not know this back then. It was a treasure trove and we got to play with them every time we came over. I now have my grandmas and my mom’s button treasures. I tell my sewing classes to start their own button boxes.I give them each a small jar of buttons to start with. OH, what a treasure those buttons were.

  • My mother in law and I have a lot in common…including our love for Bernina. She lives hundreds of miles away and take all the classes available at her local store. Every once in a while, she gets to class and realizes she left some important item (needed for the class) at home and must buy a replacement at the shop. And bless her heart, I get the extras! Thank you Ginny for the extra feet, and especially number #18!

  • I was pregnant w/ my 1st child in the mid 70s, in Ohio, and made some of my maternity dresses. One of them needed 1 button hole on each sleeve…Six weeks AFTER my baby arrived, we went back to MINN to see my family and show off the baby, and…to ask my Mom if she’d put the buttonholes in my dress for me! (Yes, she did! 🙂 )

  • I have my husbands grandmother’s button collection that must be close to 100 years old. I believe most of the buttons were removed from worn out clothing that was turned into rags. When his grandmother passed away years ago no one wanted the buttons but me so I was so happy to receive them. They are displayed in a clear vase in my sewing room. Always a reminder of sweet grandmother Lyllyan. ❤️

  • Back in the 80’s I had surgery for pancreatic cancer. The DR sewed the stitches with 6 flat pearlized buttons. When I went back to have the stitches removed along with the buttons. It was a very long curvy incision. I asked if I could keep one. The DR said no because they were hard to come by.

  • When I was in the eighth grade and learning to sew, my grandmother wouldn’t trust me to use her button hole maker. My machine was very basic and had no attachments. So I didn’t really learn how to make buttonholes til I had children of my own to sew for. But now I can make them easily on my Bernina and even sew on buttons with it.

  • As a child, I loved having permission to open my mother’s button box….a festive Christmas cookie tin. I remember the tinkling sounds and the tactile experience as I sifted through buttons in tantalizing colors and shapes and discovering what appealed to me that particular day. Now, I have my own button box…..but the experience is not as exciting.

  • I created a patchwork denim jacket and was searching for unique buttons when I came across some coins left from a recent trip to Norway. They were silver and the right size but had a small hole in the center. I attached them using a blue bead as a stopper. They continue to attract comments each time I wear the jacket.

  • For years I always had someone else sew on buttons. I WILL NOT sew by hand. That all changed when I got my 1st Bernina , the newer 180 E. Oh how I love the #18 foot. Over the years I have continually upgraded to now the 880+ and still use the #18 for buttons. Just wish Bernina could come out with some gizmo that could sew on a shank button.

  • Love buttons!!! I have wonderful memories of my grandmothers’ and my mother’s button tins. There is nothing like rummaging through a container of buttons. As a primary teacher, I had a bin of bottons that we used for math. The children loved counting and sorting them. Hope this made great memories for them.

  • I still hate sewing buttons on by hand, but using my sewing machine scared me. I am always afraid I’ll break my needle. This article was very helpful. Thanks.

  • As a young girl, some 60 years ago, I’d have special trips with my mother to the fabric department in The BIG department store downtown. I loved all the different buttons in the big wooden and glass cases. When Mom wasn’t looking, I’d slip my hand under the heavy lid and run my hand through all the buttons. It was such a treat to feel the buttons tumble through my fingers.
    Thank you for your tips and giveaways! Kolive

  • I love my Button feet !! Makes it so easy to make the holes and install the buttons LOL sew on the buttons I would be totally amazed if I win !!

  • Going through the button tin my Grandmother kept is a family history lesson. Big coat buttons, colorful buttons from dresses and blouses and lots of buttons from my grandfather’s shirts. I don’t often find anything I can use, but it’s always a pleasant time to reminisce when the button tin comes out.

  • I remember my Grandmother having a tin of buttons she had saved–my Mother also had lots of buttons and my sister and I used to string them together just for fun.

  • My church has a day care center and since they want to make everyone able to help in anyway, they have asked me to make the bibs for the kids. The center wanted all of them with buttons. So after sewing on buttons on the the first 30 bibs, I decided to get the Bernina button foot to help me out. What a God send!!

  • I used to love to play with the buttons at my parents dry cleaners. They had an alterations department and would keep all the buttons in cookie tins. I would get the tins down and look at all the buttons. I would separate them by metal, plastic, wood, fancy and weird(hahaha). My mother would let me take my favorites home.

    I still organize my buttons and keep them in a divided decorative box that my in-laws brought me from a trip to South Korea.

  • I had to use my foot book and read step by step to sew on my first button and make my first button hole. I was so amazed it turned out exactly like I needed. I can tell you I was very surprised and happy. ?

  • Because I came from a family of garment sewers who survived the Depression and WWII, I have been collecting buttons all of my life. When garments wore out, we saved the buttons for future use. Family members have given me their button collections through the years. So, now that I am in retirement and using my stash, I have a ready supply of buttons for my newest garments.

  • I’ve collected buttons my whole life & purposefully go to button stores where ever I travel too! My uncle worked at Goodyear his whole career & I recently learned that Goodyear made Some of the first rubber buttons! I found some online & surprised my cousin with them!

  • I have many buttons that I have acquired over the years. When my Grandmother pasted I inherited her buttons in the cookie tines. Still have them and fondly remember her whenever my hands sort through her buttons

  • I sew many Batik shirts for my husband and I am always on the hunt for buttons that will match the color of the fabric. That can be difficult to do at times. I love the buttonhole foot for making consistent buttonholes.

  • National Button Week!!! I didn’t know of such a thing. I also didn’t know of the buttonhole compensating plate. That is amazing and should make those difficult buttonholes a breeze. Thank you for this great article.
    BTY I love buttons and have a decent collection. Not to actually use, just to collect those pretty pieces. The cute glass jar give away will make somebody’s collection stand out.

  • I have a BERNINA 590. This machine is new to me and I am still learning how to use it. I bought this machine because I was making pillows and wanted to put wooden buttons on them. I did use the button hole foot. Was perfect. I can’t wait to try the button foot.

  • Looking at the pictures above brought a smile to my face and many treasured memories. I have several tins that my grandmother, mother and I saved every button in. I was taught never to throw something away that had a button on it. When my granddaughters come over they love to go through the tins and ask me questions about the buttons. Some of the buttons I can picture on my mothers favorite dress or my fathers suite he wore to church every Sunday. I will admit that I do embellish some of the stories I tell the girls, I like to create in them an imagination of things from the past. The idea that money was so tight that we had to save buttons and make our own clothes!! Every time the girls and I are sewing if buttons are needed they will spend hours hunting the perfect one in those tins.

  • I inherited a wonderful gift, my mother’s button jar. It has so many colorful buttons of many types. I have used them for making pins, on clothing and for a sorting exercise for my children. If buttons could talk…..

  • I just finished an embroidery towel. The thread had a dark spot in it and it was evident on the bee hive. I found a petite flower button and placed it over the spot – problem solved and it looked great !!

  • I didn’t realize until a few years back why my grandmother had a large repurposed cookie tin full of buttons she had cut off worn out garments. She was thrifty, and when I started to price buttons for my own projects I realized why she recycled. Buttons can be a little expensive. I did not inherit her organization skills because my cookie tin has buttons just thrown in together. She would take a short piece of cotton or thin twine and string the buttons together that looked alike and tie a knot to form a circle. She then knew if she has 2, 4, 6, etc in the look alike set.

  • I love buttons and inherited collections from my mom, aunt and grandmothers so I already had lots. Then about 12 or so years ago at the SewExpo in Puyallup, WA, I took a class on making button bracelets. There was a vendor that year selling bags of glass Czech buttons so I bought several bags. Over the next few years I made button bracelets for lots of friends, anyone who wanted one, just saying bring me some buttons and I’ll make you a bracelet. I sold some but gave away most. I always included several of the striking glass buttons in each bracelet as that’s what, I think, provides the shine and “wow” factor. I have ten times as many buttons as I began with, yet made more than 400 bracelets in the process. My oldest son has managed gyms all around the world and he loves to give the bracelets to friends and employees where he works. Also, my family has had exchange students we keep in touch with. Consequently my bracelets are in Hungary, Poland, China and Japan, as well as up and down the west coast of the U.S.

  • I had a terrible time learning to create buttonholes; my teacher told me they were ill shaped pigs eyes. While sewing buttons on, I would also prick myself far too often to the point that I had to pretreat things because of teeny tiny blood stains. This hasn’t happened in many, many years because I own a Bernini that does all of the work for me!

  • I remember learning to sew and sewing button holes with my Grandma. She showed me how to use a button hole scissors. I had never heard of one before and using this specialized tool made sewing button holes much easier when it came to opening them for the button to pass through. It was nice that my Grandmother shared her knowledge of sewing with me.

    When I had purchased my Bernina I had leaned in class about how to use gimp for button holes to make them not only look more professional, but to help them be more durable and last longer.

    My grandmother also had a large collection of unique buttons that she had collected over the years that we would take buttons from to place on projects to make them truly unique.

    I really enjoyed learning how to sew from my Grandma and then embellish with embroidery. Sewing On a Bernina is truly a joy and with all the various presser feet available it makes your sewing look very professional.

  • I love buttons for crafting and sewing. I have made Jewelry, wind chimes, mixed media items and sewing with buttons. I cut them off of my old clothing and find them at thrift stores and pretty much anywhere. These would be a great addition to my stash! Thanks

  • As I sort through my mother’s sewing stash, I have come across clothing, table covers, towels, pillows, etc. with assorted antique buttons. Seeing each article brings back memories of my grandmothers and my mother and their sewing experiences. One grandmother, a farmer’s wife, used buttons that served a purpose. They were mostly plain and sturdy. The other grandmother had her own drapery business but her abilities as a seamstress went far beyond those gorgeous draperies hanging in her clients houses. She also made most of her clothes and had a flair for accessorizing with buttons. My mother inherited most of their sewing notions, including their buttons. I have tiny Mother of Pearl buttons that adorned a child’s frock. I have white shirt buttons, alligator covered buttons, wooden buttons, abalone buttons, butterfly buttons, crystal buttons, leather covered buttons, buttons of all shapes and colors. They remind me of fun times learning from each of them, sneaking a peak at their button stash as a young girl, dreaming of great sewing experiences that were in store for me. Even as an adult, I never tire of searching their stash for just the right adornment for my current project!

  • I have several containers of buttons, some were given to me. I’ve made a lot of craft items with them including jewelry. You can never have enough buttons ?

  • My mother started me sewing at a young age. When I was four or five she had me sewing on buttons as a way to learn how to use needle and thread. Later, she had me sorting and stringing buttons to help her out. I just thought it was having fun but I have some of those buttons now, still on loops of thread. That was at least 60 years ago and I have fond memories of my mom teaching me to sew whenever I look at those buttons.

  • Oh, how I remember my first experiences with buttons. When visiting my grandparents’ farm as a wee one, she used to pull out her button drawer, hand me a threaded needle and have me occupy my time threading buttons onto the thread. She passed away when I was 3! So I started respecting needles and playing with buttons at a very early age. I inherited her treadle sewing machine and all her buttons. I love and treasure them.

  • Button stringing was the first project I used to keep my young children occupied while I sewed.As they got older, they advanced to sewing buttons on pieces of fabric. Now, I use my Button-sew-on foot #18 whenever I have buttons to sew on!

  • The best part of sewing flat buttons on my husband’s favorite shirt is that the result pleased him immensely. He said, “Jane, you are a miracle worker, thanks”. I won’t forget the feeling.

  • I think we all have enjoyed our mothers collections of buttons, or buttons of someone we love. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I was not the one that got to keep my mothers buttons. Here it is 30 years after her passing and my sister, who did get to keep my mothers buttons, made each of us in the family ornaments for Christmas out of wool and mothers buttons. I can’t tell you how many times I thought of mom’s buttons through the years, however receiving that ornament was the best gift I could’ve had. And she did it so creatively!

  • My first time sewing a button on with my Bernina machine was absolutely amazing- I was in awe of how easy it was -that is once I was not nervous that I surely would break a needle or the button-just could not see how this little foot was going to successfully sew a button on to my garment!! I was stunned and amazed for sure and love that option with every Bernina machine I have owned!!

  • Happy National Button Week! Thanks for the chance to win this awesome prize! My button story is that when I was working all my co-workers knew that I liked to sew. One gentleman had lost his mom quite a while ago and one day he came in to my office and asked if I thought I could use his mom’s old buttons. He brought me an old dented tin filled with all kinds of old buttons. What a wonderful gift for me and an ease of conscience for him that he didn’t have to throw them away. That tin is now sitting on my shelf along with my mom’s button tin, my mother-in-law’s button tin and her mother’s button tin! ♥
    Debby E

  • when my grand daughter comes over she always asks to see my button collection. she wanted to bring it home with her so bad so I let her have them. she’s only 5 but loves them so much. I bet she does something wonderful with them in the future. can’t wait to see what it is!

  • One of my earliest memories is of my mother’s button box (handed down from her mother who was a superb seamstress). It was a tin with worn off drawing from some long forgotten company that filled to the very top with an assortment of buttons in all sizes, shapes and colors. As a child I delighted in pouring them out on a table top or the floor and then sorting them in different ways. This was how I began to learn to count as well.

    Somewhere along the way, the tin was lost but I still have many of the buttons in my own box today. This treasure trove has provided “closure” for many a garment throughout the years. Now my granddaughters play with them.

  • When I was a little girl about 4 or 5 years old, we had a neighbor that had a beautiful box filled with buttons. My mother would visit with her and she would let me play with the beautiful box full of all kinds of buttons. Little things like that a child will never forget.

  • I love to collect unique buttons. I found a set of really nice aqua shell like buttons in the basement of an old store in Downtown El Paso, shortly after we moved here. I saved them for a long time, and finally sewed them onto a shirt I made.

  • I love figural buttons and started collecting them when my boys were small. Well, my boys are now men in their 50s, and I have a few buttons, to say the least. I used my Bernina to sew many of my favorite buttons to a large piece off fabric and framed the fabric. Now I can enjoy them as they decorate my sewing room walls.

  • I am not sure how you got a picture of my buttons but they look just like mine. My button collection was mostly inherited. I’m sure my mother and grandmother had them before me. I also received some from a childhood neighbor when she passed away. The button box contents are precious gifts of memories.

  • I would love to win more buttons to add to my collection that I keep in the English bone China teacup collection I inherited from my beloved mother-in-law. I sort by color and lovingly place each group in the corresponding color teacup. That way I not only get to fondle the buttons but cradle those precious cups often.

  • I remember making buttonholes with the Singer cams and then I got my Bernina! Love, love the buttonholes it makes. As for a button collection, my mom had a collection; my mother-in-law had a collection. I inherited their love of different buttons and their button collections.

  • I love buttons – especially unique buttons. I particularly like it when stunning buttons transform a plain-looking dress, jacket or sweater into an extraordinary garment.

  • My favorite button story is actually a game. My grandmother had a button box with quite the assortment. There was a large green/gray leather like button from an old coat. We would play “Button Button Who’s got the button?” with anyone there. It was a fun family game that adults and children alike enjoyed. Thanks for stirring up a wonderful memory!

  • When I was younger, I enjoyed collecting buttons. I would cut them off clothes and sweaters that were ready to trash. I really liked finding old antique buttons.

  • I love to collect button, all different kinds. My Granddaughter loves to go through the my jars and pick out buttons to do different projects. My favorite is her initials in buttons. I would love to add to her collects and watch the delight in her eyes.

  • I have my grandmother’s buttons and my mother’s in addition to my own collection. I probably have buttons that are 100 years old because my grandmother was born in 1894. I can remember dumping out the button tins and sorting through all the colors and styles. Lots of fun to spend time looking at them and finding one’s that matched and stringing them together on thread.

  • My grandmother was a tailor and seamstress, I have all her leftover buttons, Actually, as a kid, I use to play with them while my grandma sewed. We would sort them by size and color and type and anyway my grandma could thing up. We would play checkers and crazy made up games with the buttons. My grandma was super creative and we would eve create pictures. I sure wish I had some actual pictures the things we did. But oh the memories are so much fun, thanks for making me think about the Buttons of my childhood and now in my collections and my very special grandma.

  • My great grandmother’s and grandmother’s buttons remain in their original container tins so I can open them, take a good sniff, and be transported back to my childhood.

  • How about a button tip? One way to be environmentally friendly, and thrifty, is to find garments at the thrift store with buttons you like. Often, the cost of the garment is less than what you’d pay to buy the buttons. Plus, your garment then has a little bit of history to it.

  • When I was a child, my mom was a prolific seamstress for herself, me and my dolls. Of course, like many women, she saved buttons from worn-out clothing. She put them all in her “button box” – a small, old, lidded tin. When she made clothing, she would find a button she liked and give the tin to me to find mates to that button. I remember sifting through that tin on many occasions, looking for enough of one kind of button to use for her project. Who knew that I was engaged in a “sorting” activity before that was a popular thing in pre-schools!

  • When I was young my mother had a friend who collected buttons. When we visited she would bring out cards full of them and explain why they were special. They were so beautiful and to this day I always think of Rose when I see a jar of buttons.

  • As I grew up in the 40s and 50s, we NEVER threw out a piece of clothing without first cutting off every single button. Those buttons were re-used and re-used whenever a button came up missing or on new clothing we sewed. When my mom died, she still had several jars of buttons. My sister and I kept a jar or two. Nothing particularly special about the buttons but I do remember outfits they were on.

  • Button, Button who has the Button. We all do.
    I always wondered why my Mom and Grandma saved
    all those buttons…I think it was for me? Love them all.

  • My grandson got some polymer clay for his birthday. I jokingly said that he could make me some buttons with it. He did and I was tickled to get them. But when I looked a little closer I saw that he had put 3 holes in them! So they will be kept in my jewelry box as the special gift that they are.

  • I found a vintage sewing basket filled with very old buttons at a barn sale. It had the most unique buttons in it. I had fun sorting through them, matching them up, cleaning them. I use them every now and then on small quilting projects as decorations. Thanks for the opportunity to win!
    kakingsbury at verizon dot net

  • Hi, I have a sale man button sampler set that my mother had some time in1960. It has about 6 pages of new buttons there cards like you would buy in a store. Nice new buttons

  • I can remember how, as a preschooler, I learned basic arithmetic and sorting skills with my mom’s button collection. I also enjoyed arranging them into whimsical arrays…..in the time before Legos.

  • I can remember momma showing me her buttons and telling me what outfits they came from or off who’s clothes. For some reason it always gave me this warm feeling, like memories being saved. They still do.

  • When I think of buttons, I think of my Mom’s button jar. I loved to look at it when I was a kid – so many kinds of buttons, colors, sizes. And before my Mom threw any old clothes away, she checked for buttons to remove. I have that button jar now and still love to look at it.

  • My temple is collecting buttons to use in portraits of well known people. So far they have collected 900,000 buttons, and hope to collect 600,000 more. Each button represents one child murdered in the holocaust.

  • Hi, I have a sale man button sampler set that my mother had some time in1960. It has about 6 pages of new buttons on cards like you would buy in a store. Nice new buttons. Dorothy

  • I have a button collection that started with my great grandmother. She gave hers to my mother. When we moved from England to America the collection came along too. My mother moved back when my father retired. I was married and stayed here. When my mother passed away I got the buttons again and brought them back here. So my collection is well travelled!

  • My earliest memories of buttons are of poring out the dozens of buttons in my grandmother’s button box. The box was a wooden tub that originally held a tin of molasses. It had a rounded handle on top that would rotate over to the side out of the way so I could see all the wonderful treasures inside. At 3 or 4 yrs. old they were real treasures! She had buttons from the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. What fun it was to match them, counts them and sort them!

  • I learned to sew when I was five on a treadle machine, 67 years ago. It was hard because I was very small for my age. Mom was a good teacher, though… because she did not like to do it. I did. One of the first things I learned to do was sew on Daddy’s shirt buttons. I did it very well. I bought a toy singer sewing machine and a bag of embroidery floss at a rummage sale when I was five with the quarter that mom gave me. A quarter was a lot of money back then. I got my first sewing machine at 10 years old and was making all my own clothes by the time I was 12. I keep my buttons in an old Bubble gum machine. It really looks cool in my sewing room.
    Elizabeth

  • I love the #18 foot for sewing on buttons. However, I once tried to sew on buttons with smaller buttons behind them on the wrong side of the fabric, in order to give the “real” buttons more stability. Oops. Something slipped. Can you say, “broken needle”? Luckily, that was the only damage. Whew!

  • I remember visiting an older friend of my parents when I was a child. She collected buttons of all sorts and had them attached to cardboard (I think) so they were easy to see and categorize. She even belonged to a button club. Button collections always remind me of her.

  • The most recent and weirdest button story I have is from about two years ago. I have been an avid thrift store shopper for most of my life. Two years ago I found a real treasure: a vintage-style black jacket with large black and rhinestone buttons in pristine condition! The buttons were huge and beautiful but held on by what looked like bobby pins for your hair! I’d never seen this before, ever. I was going to sew the buttons on permanently as soon as I got the chance. However, the first time I wore the jacket, I lost one of the buttons, I was heartbroken and sadly put the jacket away in my closet. I began the hunt for appropriate replacement buttons. Then, last December, in preparation for a coming holiday with my son’s new wife coming to visit, I decided to clean out the front closet to make room for company coats. I pulled out my boots to take them up to my room and, inside one boot, something rattled–yes, it was the lost button! I now have the full set of buttons once again and, thanks to the internet, I now know how to attach them properly so they can be removed before cleaning! I should clean more often, that’s for sure!

  • My senior English project was sharing my knowledge about the wonderful world of sewing. Besides telling classmates about Butterick, Simplicity and Vogue, I created a three piece wardrobe. That was over 50 years ago,1969, and I still have one of the red, white, and blue buttons I used on the blouse I made! Doesn’t seem like it was that long ago.Fun memory.

  • My Mom taught me to sew. It was something we enjoyed doing together. She had made several clothing items for herself, my daughters and I. When she died, I took the fancy buttons off the cloths she made for herself. I have kept them and incorporated the buttons in items I have made for my daughters and things I will make in the future for my granddaughter. My oldest daughter also likes to sew, so we are continuing the tradition.

  • I do have a collection of buttons – many came from my grandmother and mother. The most beautiful ones came from a garment-sewing friend who died suddenly and unexpectedly – her husband gave me her buttons and her woolens.

  • I remember playing with my grandmother’s wooden button box as a child. It was fun to run my fingers through all the buttons and to sort them all different ways. It would occupy
    me for hours.

  • National Button Week Awesome , sewing with my B790 makes everything easier.

    My mother made most of our clothes when I was a child and into my early teens. A favorite memory of mine was going to Minnesota Fabrics picking out the material and then going to look for the really cool buttons that I wanted sewn on my outfit that would accent it. Buttons were and are like clothes jewelry to me.

  • I remember loving to go through my mother’s button box – and it looked just like the tin on the top of this page! Big and small, black and white, shinny and leather-like. Where did all those orphan buttons come from??? And why is it that with all the buttons you never seem to have the right one?

  • In the late 60’s a friend asked me to make a couple of dresses for an upcoming visit from a boyfriend, of course I said yes. When she showed me what she wanted I was not deterred but I was dreading all of the covered buttons…….The buttons were from the back neckline to all the way down the back and the sleeves were puffed somewhat at the top and the cuff started just below the elbow and stopped at the wrist. I can’t recall how many little covered buttons there were but there were a lot! The fabric was taffeta with a wide sash that was cut on the bias that made a large bow in the back at the waist. Oh my goodness it was a lot of work! the dress was a hit when the boyfriend came but after she washed it and it shrunk to the size of a 4 year old! I was horrified! After all of that work all she had to say was “oh my goodness the dress you made shrunk, oh well”. I haven’t made anything that required that many buttons either before or since that project. But I do remember that dress with all of those buttons well:)

  • I have never figured out why I love buttons. As a young girl i would play wwith them on my clothes, if they came off I would store in a little box. One year I only collected black, another was buttons with knobs but only red. I didn’t have a lot of them but loved touching them. Have several jars with them. Would sure like to get this package. Thank you for your consideration.

  • I used to buy cute buttons and literally design an outfit to sew just to showcase my buttons!! Now I Quilt instead of sewing clothes, but use my large collection of buttons for embellishments.

  • Looks like I need a few new buttonhole feet to perfect my buttonholes. I’ll get there with practice, practice, practice. Thank you Bernina for always being a step ahead of me.
    Deborah H
    Camillus, NY

  • When my mother passed away a few years ago, I was able to take home her large collection of buttons. As I sorted them by color, I remembered playing with these buttons as a child and it made me feel close to my mom once again.

  • I always enjoyed playing in my Aunt Elizabeth’s buttons. She stored them in an old cookie tin! After she died I inherited (read confiscated) her buttons. Over the years I have added to her collection. They are stored by type and color in old glass penny candy jars. Now my 4 year old granddaughter, Emma, is carrying on the tradition. She has her own cookie tin and has been allowed to take buttons from my glass jars as well as shop from friends collections. We have as much fun playing with buttons as any game made. We look at color, size, and what they are made of. She loves mother of pearl, mourning glass, and the cut metal buttons. Hopefully her button collection will continue to grow just like the precious memories we are making together.

  • When my cousins and I were cleaning out our grandmothers house I was the lucky one to inherit her treadle sewing machine. In the back drawer was a jar of buttons that my
    Grammy had saved. Along with the lovely mother of pearl buttons was an “I Like Ike”
    Button! What a wonderful find!

  • I have so many buttons of my own as well as those I’ve inherited from grandmothers and my mom. Some are so unique: leather, wood, some look like shells and pearls.

  • I love sewing on buttons from my grandma or mom onto doll clothes for my granddaughter. It keeps them in my heart and how much they would love that I use their buttons in this way.

  • I just used the sew on button foot for the first time today. I was nervous I would break a needle. It was so easy and perfect. Off to add buttons to some projects…

  • Hi! I absolutely love old buttons. I have been fortunate enough to get a quart jar of buttons from my grandmother and over the years have picked up other jars of buttons from antique shops and yard sales. My collection has some beautiful bone buttons, pearlized buttons, wood buttons, oversized buttons, brass buttons. I love using the old buttons on gifts and clothing articles. My friends always enjoy the retro touch!

  • Foot #18 is one of my favorites. I use it for things other than buttons. I make small wall hangings with embroidered inspirational quotes as gifts. I use foot #18 to tack down ribbon, burlap twine, or whatever I’m using to hang the wall hanging. I couldn’t be without it.

  • I have inherited button collections from my great grandmother, great aunts, and mother. All of these buttons are stored in numerous #10 coffee cans with the majority stored on thread loops to keep similar buttons together. Some of the more interesting buttons are single hole mother of pearl and the very large shank coat buttons from the early 1900s. When I am searching through my button stash for buttons and I come across the very old buttons, it reminds me of my relatives and how times have changed.

  • I have a big jar of buttons that I have accumulated from mom, grandma and my many years of sewing. One day a friend had a button come off of a favorite jacket. She had gone to the fabric store and couldn’t find one that matched. She was telling me about it and I said lets check my jar. After quite awhile of sifting through buttons, and much laughter over the buttons I had, we found the exact button for her jacket. Nope don’t ever throw those buttons away.

  • I collect buttons too! I have my grandmothers collection, my mothers collection and my collection. My granddaughter will probably inherit those as she is a collector at heart at the age of 11!

  • Here’s my button story…a little long…Like so many I have jars of old buttons which are fun. But there is one button in my life that is distinctive and noteworthy.

    My husband and I traveled to Ireland and I really wanted something wool. I bought a lovely long cardigan wrap made of wool yarn and the artisan used one large button in front to connect it. It is about 3 inches square and made of two layers of hard leather. I have received so many compliments on this sweater and in particular the button. It is something I cherish and my daughters have already asked me to pass it on. I may have to put it in my will to prevent a fight over it. 🙂 Since it is almost 20 years old, I have had to repair the sweater but the button has stayed in good shape. The cleaners make me remove the button before dry cleaning. It is special to me and a cherished keepsake of a memorable trip.

  • After my Mom passed away I found a cookie tin filled with old buttons among her belongings. There were buttons that had belonged to my Great Grandmother.

  • My first memory of Buttons was when I found my Mom’s button collection. In her box of buttons there were little white pearl like buttons with “diamonds” (rhinstones) in them. I was allowed to sew one on my Barbie dress I was making. This was when my two sisters and I had to share one Barbie (back when Dinosaur roamed the earth ) I always spend time looking at buttons on clothes, card stocks and Art shows.

  • buttons, buttons, buttons…I do not think anyone loves buttons as much as I do!!!

    My love of buttons goes back as far as me being a little girl. I used to sit with my granny at her sewing machine and sort through her buttons while she worked on her patterns. I always felt like I was in hog heaven as I was allowed to use ANY button(s) that I wanted on whatever grama was making for me.

    When granny passed-I inherited her collection. ?

  • I learned how to sew in school, Home Economics. However, they do not offer Homes Economics so I was happy to help my granddaughter earn a Girl Scout badge while teaching her how to sew on a button by hand. I also helped her Mother, my daughter, earn the same Girl Scout badge teaching her how to sew on a button. I love sewing, my granddaughter loves sewing, my daughter does not sew.

  • I’m a mom of five daughters and my youngest daughter loves buttons. It goes back to when she was younger when we put out buttons from Santa each night counting up instead of down to the 25th of December. we were low on Christmas funds and thought she might actually like various buttons! She really enjoyed the Christmas surprise.. so many years later as a college student she still continues to collect buttons preserving the nostalgia.

  • My collection of buttons includes my grandmother, my Aunts and my Mom’s Buttons. Looking at some of the old bone and other buttons is fun. Never have enough buttons. I keep some in a glass lamp along with old thread spools and sewing equipment.

  • Long ago, I noticed five buttons all tied together in my Mom’s sewing cabinet. They were shank buttons, a dusty teal color and were sort of a pleated design ~ very pretty! I asked her about them an learned that they were from her wedding “suit”. I thought that they were VERY special, and she gave them to me to keep! I treasure them to this day! Mom was married to Dad for just under 50 years. They had 12 children. She lived to be 101+. ❤️ Her advice to me when I was a teen was to “take sewing class as a freshman, then I would know how to make clothes for all my high school events and dances!”

  • As a young girl, I remember playing with buttons in my Grandmother’s tin of buttons. I collect buttons today and have them in glass jars for display!!

  • I inherited tons of buttons from my Mom who handmade beautiful button holes. She would be impressed at how easy it is to make buttonholes with my 790 Bernina. Josie Davis

  • I have both my mother’s and grandmother’s button jars and what a huge variety of buttons. However, many of them are those that were removed from clothes that no longer being worn and some are even off of “long johns”!

  • Buttons are my fav! I’ve been collecting for about 30+ years. I peruse yard/estate sales & thrift stores for these little treasures. Friends give me their cast off clothing so I can have the buttons! I love examining the intricacies of the antique/vintage ones & have 100s cleaned & separated by color ready to use.

  • We recently bought a huge box that had buttons, beads and other decorative items in it. While sorting the buttons out to type and color, our cat’s focus zeroed in on a button with rhinestones. She sat stock-still for quite a long time, eyes fixed on that button. Suddenly, she sprang forward, grabbed the button, leapt off the table and skittered away with her prize. Several days later I located it, undamaged, but nicely hidden away like the treasure she thought it to be!

  • The picture of the button box is SO familiar: I have several. My mother’s, my grandmother’s and mine. How will I ever use all those buttons? I won’t but it’s wonderful looking through them and finding just the right ones for my project. Now my granddaughter is learning to sew and she’s rifling through those button boxes for just the right buttons for her doll, dress, embellishment. Button boxes teach us how to count, sort, look for colors, sizes, shapes, things they’re made of ( mother of pearl, metal, plastic, bone, wood) – they’re a STEM class in themselves! Long live the Button Box!

  • I have been sewing on flat buttons by machine ever since I got my first zigzag sewing machine in 1973. I use the frosted type of gift wrap tape (one brand has green plaid packaging) to lift the button and move it into the exact position where I want to sew it, then I tape it down, position my button-sew-on-foot, stitch, then tear the tape away easily.

  • I remember growing up my mother had a button box that was a 2 lb, cookie tin. Occasionally to keep my younger sister and I busy and out of trouble we were allowed to sift through the box and look at all the cool buttons. My sister now has that button box and we still sift through it and remember times gone by.

  • I used to enjoy playing with the buttons in my mother’s collection a loooong time ago. Now my 5 year old granddaughter enjoys playing with the same collection as well as the many that I have added.

  • I remember sitting and playing with my Mother’s button box when I was a child. She had the most beautiful assortment of buttons!!! I’m sure they were various types such as mother of pearl, metal and several others that would be collectibles now. How I wish I had that beautiful collection!!

  • I taught myself to make buttonholes on the Singer 401A that my Mom bought in 1958. I was pretty good but the buttonholes I make now with my Bernina 630 are perfect and all the same size. Love it!

  • I often use buttons to enhance the quilting on throws and other small quilts. A well-placed button can make simple stitch-in-the-ditch or outline quilting “pop,” and perhaps visually smooth a lumpy intersection. They’re great for dressing up wall hangings and table toppers, too.(Naturally, such embellished quilts aren’t for children or curious pets.)

  • I inherited my Great Grandmothers’ Button box. A large wooden cheese box! Inside among the myriad of buttons were, 6 cut glass buttons and a few Bakelite belt buckles. I gave all the buttons to my sisters as well as the buckles and kept the cut glass ones for myself. I still have her button box, 30 yrs alter, and now store all my crochet hooks in it. It sits on a high shelf in a place of honor in my quilting room. She is the one who inspired me to make quilts. Bev Miller

  • I LOVE buttons! My sister has most of our Mother’s stash, but I also have quite a few. Your photos and demos are great. I’m so glad I tuned in.

  • I was so thrilled when I first got a machine that made buttonholes. Buttons are what complete a creation. I have replaced buttons on newly purchased items because that particular button did nothing for the garment or it needed a button to give it some class.

  • My 96 year old mother gifted me her grandmother’s Wheeler and Wilson sewing machine. It’s in pretty good shape (we estimate it as being about 130 years old) and I intend to have it cleaned and oiled and fitted with a new belt. As I carefully examined the contents of the four drawers, I found some very old, small mother-of-pearl buttons. There are seven and I imagine that my great-grandmother lost one from a dress or blouse and replaced them with something else. I will always cherish them and hope to find just the right garment of my own to use them on.

  • I collect buttons, but I only use one special – the perfect button – at a time. I use spare parts from quilts that I’ve made to make new fabric and then make purses.
    each purse is different, and not finished until the “perfect” button is attached.
    what an amazing invention!
    every button has the exact place it needs to be-

  • I love buttons of all types! I have been collecting buttons for years and all my friends and family know never to toss away a garment without first saving the buttons for me. They also come to me if they are looking for a special button.

  • My first attempt to sew on a button involved buttons that had a shiny side and dull side. I sewed on 7 buttons. The middle button somehow got turned upside down and it wasn’t till I wore the shirt to church that I found out my error.

  • Several years ago I made a small quilted wall hanging. I found the pattern in a book titled “Bit’s & Pieces – 18 Small Quilts from Fat Quarters & Scraps”. The little quilt in the book called “Box of Chocolates” calls for using 20 buttons to embellish the piece. I used buttons from my mother’s button collection, which I inherited after her passing, my collection and one of my daughter’s collections. Therefore the piece features the buttons from 3 generations of sewers in my family. It’s just a small little quilt that I did early in my quilting days, but it is one of my favorites because of where the buttons came from.

  • Sewing buttons onto my hand-sewn doll dresses was a great learning experience as a nine-year-old, but finding out I could make my own buttons from “Shrinky-Dink” plastic opened a whole new world for me. I could copy the pattern on the fabric onto the buttons, cut them out and then shrink them in my oven. I loved making my own flat buttons for my children’s clothing for years.

  • I have many buttons saved from both my mother and grandmother. Some are loose and some are in old jars. I have used them in the past when making my daughter’s First Communion dress, quilts, and have a few necklaces made from those buttons. They bring back many nice memories of my mother and grandmother and the love we all shared with sewing.

  • My daughter always loved to collect little things. I often found a little box in her room of tiny little plastic animals or the the hats of her brother’s Playmobile people. One time on a family vacation in Paris, early in our day of touring she found a shiny gold button and picked it up. But, as we were walking past a parking garage she dropped the prized gold button and it rolled into a grate. We could see it, but couldn’t get our fingers in between the grate to reach it. She kept finding little buttons throughout the day – but still mourned the gold one. We decided we would try to find a stick (not easy in the city!) and buy a pack of gum. On our way back to our car late in the afternoon we stopped by the grate where it had rolled in. She chewed gum, stuck it on the stick, and we tried and tried to put the stick through the grate to get the button. My husband stood and watched us for awhile, and then, he reached down and picked up the grate with his hand, and daughter was able to reach in and get the button! The power of a Dad!!! She is an adult now – but she still has that button, memories of a family trip to Paris, and how we all worked together to make a plan to help her rescue it!

  • My grandmother and my mother both survived the depression by saving everything salvageable. This meant tossing the buttons saved from worn out clothes into a large jar. As a small child, I got to dump, sort, and play with all of those buttons. I am a sewer and I have my grandmother’s, my mother’s, and my jar of buttons. The old buttons are now collectibles and I find it hard to use them..

  • I love old buttons! My best friend gave me buttons from her husband’s great grandmother. I have made some into earring by removing the shank and gluing posts to the back of them. I have purchased unusual buttons and received some from family members. I even have a book about different types of buttons!

  • Saw a iTunes U post the other day making buttons from shrinks dink material. I am looking for ideas to embellish my doll clothes project with the proper scale and this idea was worth remembering.

  • I have a button collection and it has some really old buttons. Having my Bernina buttonhole foot has taken a lot of the fear out of making things with buttonholes.

  • Sewing buttons used to be a chore for me UNTIL I bought my first Bernina and the #18 foot……it’s such fun now sewing on buttons. Seriously FUN!!! In fact, I have been known to search through my closet looking for lose buttons so I can resew them with my #18 foot. LOVE BERNINA!!!!!!

  • I inherited an old mason jar of buttons from my grandmother. (my mother’s mother) They sat in a box for years and then I learned tow sew. I have been slowly using them for special projects. A few times a year I make a small handbag for my mother and myself. On the last bags, I made fabric flowers and the center of each flower was a button from grandma jar. Now we can take something of hers when we travel.

  • I was given my grandmother’s button collection years ago. It is in an antique tin. I have added to it over the years and have enjoyed rummaging through them with my children. A fun way for them to learn their colors and matching skills.

  • Just like your story, my grandmother had a box of buttons (actually an old tin). I loved sorting through them….placing them into color coordinated piles and counting them. She was such a teacher without me even realizing I was learning as a little child.

  • I inherited my mother and grandmother’s button tin. It can provide hours of fun identifying old buttons and remembering the garment from which they originated. I still recall favorite outfits when I see the button now lying in the tin. Funny how you remember clothing from childhood even though it was 65 years ago!

  • I have a large collection of buttons, many of which were my mother’s, who taught me to sew. I store my buttons by color in old mason jars, both large and small. Some of my favorites are the glass buttons. I have clear ones as well as colored ones. Vintage buttons are the best by far.
    I love to stack buttons on projects. They add such a great touch to a garment. I’ve made an array of fabric flowers and added buttons to the center of some of them for a striking embellishment.
    Buttons have a special place in my sewing world and there is a myriad of uses for these beautiful gems. Use them on bags, hats, Christmas stockings or ornaments and especially on garments. Don’t forget to mix sizes and colors…it all works!

  • My favorite button memory was getting to play with my Great-grandmother’s button collection, which she kept in a mason jar. When she passed away, my grandmother gave them to me. Today, I still go in and look at them and remember that special lady, who taught us to be strong and proud of ourselves.

  • I have a large collection of buttons. One winter I decided to sort them by color. After I had quart and half gallon jars full of beautiful, colorful buttons my husband says “you do realize that when you die, someone will buy those and dump them all together again!” We had a good laugh over that. It was a fun project that kept me busy for many snowy nights in front of the TV.

  • I inherited my Mom’s button collection that she kept in a yellow Tupperware container that I still have to this day. At a flea market in the 70s, I bought a bag of gorgeous mother-of-pearl buttons in varying sizes and shapes for 75 cents…imagine that. My collection is so varied, can always find a button to replace a missing one or to finish a project. Is it any wonder so many of us like to display our collections as decoration, tiny colorful gems that are also utilitarian.

  • I love teaching the technique of sewing on buttons by machine. Love the amazed looks on the faces of the students when they complete the first sewn-on button! Priceless!

  • As a young girl learning how to sew, I was always fascinated by my Grandma’s button box. Well, it wasn’t really a box but a metal tin that held cookies at some point! I used to play with them and pretend they were poker chips or some times coins in my pretend cash register. As I grew older, I sort of forgot about that tin filled with leftovers. Grandma passed away in 1982 and I hadn’t given that tin of buttons another thought. After my Mother passed away pretty unexpectedly in 2013, I had to go through her amazing collection of sewing and needlework in her sewing room. I was amazed and pleased when Grandma’s old tin of buttons appeared in the bottom of a drawer, along with another whole tin filled by my Mom. I lost Mom 7 years ago, today, as a matter of fact…thank you for bringing up a very fond memory of two incredible women in my life.

  • My button tin belonged to my mom and my gram (her mom) before her. In addition to buttons there are some cool little things in there that they collected and loved – a blown glass dragon, some old thimbles, and some tiny religious statues. Looking for buttons always makes me think of mom and gram who taught me to sew and it always brings a smile.

  • I love buttons! My mother kept a box of old buttons, and one of my earliest memories is of stringing them on thread to make necklaces. Mother would give me thread with a large needle, and I would spend hours making treasures. That button box came to me when my mother passed, and I have given it to our daughter for her children to enjoy.

    One of the reasons I recently upgraded by sewing machine from the 830 Record to the 570 QE was the ability to sew beautiful buttonholes, all exactly the same. I recently purchased the button foot, and now I enjoy sewing on buttons, not just stringing them into necklaces!

  • As a child I used to play with my grandmother’s button collection. Sometimes I would sort them by color using a muffin pan and other times I would use them to form a picture.

  • When I was 8 or 9 years old, my sister and I made button necklaces for our mother from the tin of buttons my mother had. Thanks for a chance to win!

  • I knew I was in trouble when I found myself removing some particularly sweet buttons from an item of clothing I was about to discard…I have sets of similarly “saved” buttons from my grandmas and MIL!

  • I loved stringing buttons as a child. I’d always look for my favorite buttons in the button jar. I liked the pretty, shiny ones. As an adult, I am a quilter and occasionally use buttons on my quilts. My button collection has grown. I inherited my husbands grandmothers buttons. When a sewing store went out of business I bought many boxes of buttons of all sorts. Looking at my buttons is just as nice as petting my fabric collection. They both bring joy.

  • I really like buttons and could spend hours sorting, cleaning and admiring them. What fun that fun to go to garage sales and fine these treasures. I really lucked out 20 years ago while traveling and attended a large flea market, found some real unique buttons, ask what was their best price. The gal said $2.00 each so I bought them. When we got home I checked them out on the internet, WOW!! they were worth so much more. What fun.

  • I have so many buttons. Beautiful ones from my Grandmother and when my mother -in-law pass away she hard button from her mother and the ones she had. She kept all buttons off clothes before she would get rid of them. S I have so real beautiful old ones. On some of my quilts I add them to corners or designs of embroidery . I have so many to use. I enjoy going through them and just looking at and separating them in colors and designs. & old timey ones.
    Kim

  • Soon after 9/11 I was flying home after my Dad’s funeral and my Mom had given me a tin of my Grandmother’s buttons. I didn’t have room in my luggage for the tin so took it in my carry on bag. My sister dropped me off at the airport but I had her stay in case I didn’t make it through security and had to relinquish the tin. I wasn’t about to turn it over to security. As my bag was going through the X-ray they pulled it out because of something “round” and of course it was the tin of buttons. I held my breath. When they saw it was a tin, they didn’t even open it and waved me through. Whew!!

  • My dad bought a whole display of buttons from a small variety store when I was in high school. Of course my sister and I were so embarrased. But now we are totally hooked on buttons. We are always on the look out. For my birthday my sister made me a cake with the layers being different size containers of buttons. I made her an applique wall hanging with a lady saying give me all your buttons and nobody gets hurt! We love our buttons!!!

  • When I was in high school, I learned pattern drafting and construction. Our fist project was a shirt dress. I was glad that the teacher told us to use buttons and button holes for closure. I could never sew a zipper correctly, even if I practiced so many times. We made other projects after the shirt dress. I did a skirt with a front row of buttons for closure. I did a blouse with buttons and I did another dress with buttons at the shoulder. My teacher was aware of my obsession with buttons… To this day, I still do not know why she did not insist on me using zippers as closures. Looking back, I develop a love for working on buttons because it gives me a chance to slow down a bit and sew buttons by hand and thanks to my Bernina(s), I can easily do the button holes as well.

  • I have lots of buttonhole failure stories, as I am sure so many of us do. My favorite button story, though, came from teaching my daughter how to sew. A couple of years ago, she decided she wanted to make a skirt to show in the fair. The skirt had enough difficulty to keep her interested without overwhelming her growing skills (she was 12 at the time). She aced the big box pleats and the invisible zipper. I even managed to get her through the buttonhole on the waistband the first try, but it was the button that nearly defeated her. I handed her the single button she chose and a threaded needle. “Wait, you mean I have to sew it on by hand?” As a side note, she got 1st place on the skirt. Two years later is still wearing it and the button is still securely in place. 😀

  • I used to look only for patterns that didn’t have buttonholes–but I love sewing them with my Bernina 880! Always a joy to get beautiful buttonholes.

  • I had no idea until I met my (now) daughter in law that was such a thing as a button society much less a national button society. I’ve learned quite a bit about buttons from her and see buttons in a whole new light! It’s too bad that the younger generations aren’t aware of these groups!

  • The first time I sewed on a button, I found the button I liked and sewed it to the blouse I was making. I had sewed three buttons before I decided to try the buttons and the button hole to see how they would look. Unfortunately the button was to large for the button hole and the three buttons would not fit the buttonhole. I had to remove the first three buttons and start again. I now check all buttons in the button holes before sewing them on the project.

  • I have many fond memories of going thru my Grandmothers button tin. It was like a treasurer chest. It was past down to my my Mother and than to my older sister who now shares some of the buttons with me and my sisters. I also feel special when I can include some of those buttons in my projects.

  • I love buttons and only recently learned of the state and national Button associations that hold annual button conventions! I went to the WI button event a couple of years ago and was astounded at the competitions, judging, and beautiful buttons. I bought bakelite buttons from from 1930s for a sweater I made and they always get compliments. Check out these clubs in your own state!

  • My daughters, now in their 30’s, used to play button store with my buttons. Lat week I was searching for two buttons left from a dress I made for myself to wear in high school (1968). Presently, I have two dozen assorted containers for my buttons. I searched through them all and found one of their Open and Closed signs left behind! I then asked my daughters if they recalled the ones I was looking for. Yes, they did. Then one of the girls found what I was looking for among some buttons she got from me 3 years ago to use on an upcoming project of hers. Relieved that I wasn’t completely searching in vain, I found two buttons to use instead.

  • My mom inherited her grandmother’s button box when I was a girl. It was so much fun to go through this big box and find matching buttons. Of course we like the shiny ones best and the ones with rhinestones in them. One year the ladies club was making bracelets by sewing decorative buttons to matching elastic. There went all the “pretty” buttons!!

  • I have been a button collector for 70 years and have a great collection. Remember when we always cut the buttons off everything before we threw it away! Those were great buttons because they were usually shells not plastic. So I had lots of buttons for sorting activities when I taught first grade.

  • My grandmother had a huge jar of buttons that she and her mother had collected over the years. I remember running my hand through all the buttons in the jar. I still have some of those buttons in my sewing room.

  • I have a huge button collection that is sorted and filed in little containers in 5 drawers. I no longer hand sew flat buttons but attach by sewing machine.

  • One of the reasons I bought my 440 was the “automatic” buttonhole attachment and the foot for sewing on buttons. At the time I made a lot of shirts for myself. And yes, I seem to always receive the button can/box when an elderly relative passes which I love to receive.

  • I love buttons!! The colors and shapes and textures! They can “make” a garment! My favorite are pearl and shell buttons typically used on heirloom garments.

    I taught my son how to sew on a button when he was 10. Now, at 19, it is a skill of which he is most proud!

  • One of the ladies in my quilting group brought in some old buttons last year, for people to take. My daughter got to take home what was left. Now she is hooked on buttons and has a nice collection for a 5yo.

  • Buttons are the first thing that I ever sewed. My mother made a lot of my clothes and since I was the youngest child we would be at home together for the better part of the day while my siblings were in school. My mother would give me a scrap of cloth and her button box and I would sew buttons on for hours. I’m sure it made her happy since I was entertained and she could do her work! To this day I still have an affinity for buttons as I cannot sew on a button without remembering my mother. Such good memories!

  • As a Girl Scout leader I taught our troop a couple different times to make button bracelets. They loved looking and picking out all the colors they loved! It’s even better to see those girls now all grown up still making a button bracelet for a gift or showing one of their friends how to make them. I’m hoping they will teach their children this also.

  • My mom never threw out buttons unless they were broken. She had a cracker tin that was full of buttons from the time I can remember. On rainy days back in the 60’s, we’d get out the button tin and each of us girls (4 of us!) would string buttons together to make necklaces. 🙂 I’m the only one of the four of us that still sews regularly, so I now have the button tin, plus one of my own that I started, since mom’s was full. Ah, the memories…. wvoaks at comcast dot net.

  • I have always collected botones. Especially ones with some blink. I use them to decorated wired bra’s that I can wear with a blazer or shawl.

  • I have always saved buttons off of everything that will no longer be used. It is amazing how often I am able to find a button there for the current project. I do not have any antique buttons or buttons passed down from a mother or grandmother as I am the only one in my family that sews. I will always sew as it is both my passion and relaxation.

  • I have a set of buttons that were handed down to me from my husband’s grandmother It looks like she cut off every button from every garment that was turned into rags. Because of course you never threw anything away that could be useful to someone, someday!

  • It’s kinda neat to search through my grandmother’s and my mom’s button boxes. whenever I find a little time I like to search for buttons of the same kind and stitch them together. it makes it easier to find a set when I need buttons.

  • I remember playing with my Mom’s and Grandma’s sewing box of buttons. It was so much fun on a rainy day to play with the buttons. My grandchildren are now getting to experience it when they visit us. It’s a soothing fun thing to do and thinking about who had the buttons and where they came from.

  • I have my great grandmother’s button collection. She used to cut paper plates into pretty shapes and sew the buttons to them to make wall decorations. I have 5 of these plates.

  • Several years ago, I put together a flannel shirt. When it came time for buttons, I was dismayed to find that my sewing machine was NOT up to the task. Too thick! I now have an 880 Plus Anniversary Edition. Not only was the thick flannel absolutely NO problem for the beast, I had so much fun using the Automatic Buttonhole foot and then sewing my buttons one with the button foot. It was all so easy. Honestly, that machine has made sewing enjoyable again.

  • I inherited my paternal grandmothers button boxes – yes plural! She had tied all the like buttons together so very little digging was required to find multiples of the same button. While looking through the pile one day I discovered the buttons that had been on my grandfathers Chicago Police uniform. I made a shadow box for my dad as a gift and put together a shirt, tie and jacket with the buttons and other pieces of his police memorabilia, including a picture of my grandfather in his uniform. To this day, I think it is the most creative thing I have ever done, all inspired by a few buttons.

  • My button memory is sitting with my mother’s button jars and picking out different colors to make button spinners with. She let me pick the button and thread color that suited me that day and I would keep spinning those buttons over and over.

  • I love buttons and as with others have some from my grandmother and mother. When I was 10, I made a jumper with buttons up the back. Since there were not enough matching buttons in grandma’s tin, we used buttons of different colors to match the fabric. That is the beauty of creating. I loved that crazy jumper.

  • I keep my buttons in various glass lidded Ball jars. They make a spectacular display! I have them sorted by color and have been causually collecting them since I was a teenager.

  • I would avoid making garments that had buttonholes because my old machine only had straight and zigzag stiches. My only requirement was that my new machine had an automatic buttonhole foot! The main reason I bought my 1630 in 1996 was because it had the buttonhole foot.

  • I remember playing a game called button button who has the button. It seems we had one button and passed around and someone has the button with their hands closed and you had to guess who had the button. I collect buttons of all kinds. I made a shadow box to go in my guest room and I used fabric with different buttons colors on the back panel of the box and then put about two or three layers of old buttons in there and the pile is kind of slanted and and it looks great. I even have a necklace and ear rings made out of different pearl colored buttons and I always get compliments when I wear the jewelry at my quilting guild.

  • Button memories: My great Grandmother had milk cans full of buttons of all sorts. She and Grandpa were old and fussy, I thought then, and didn’t like kids making noise in the house. We were allowed to sift through the buttons in those cans, stringing, sorting and enjoying them. The only rule was that we had to pick them all up before we left. Oh, and be quiet! I don’t know what happened to all those buttons, but I never got any. Mom always had a bowl of buttons taken off garments that we were allowed to look at. Some were from garments we remembered. Others we had to ask about and learned more about the family in the process. She still has them though doesn’t even look at them anymore. And now I have a few stray saved buttons from things that might still be around looking for that lost button. I don’t display them and until I finish unpacking, don’t know where they are. Funny that I never thought of them as being collected through all those years. Utilitarian treasures is what they are.

  • With these days of no preschool to teach, I will sewing more and more to get my brain active and creative juices flowing. I will try all these methods! I have continued adding to my mom’s button collection. I enjoy looking through and remembering some of the garments that extra button first belonged and other buttons because they are pretty or just amazed at the material used to make a button. Nothing like getting “lost” in the button box! Garments might make into the trash but buttons never do.

  • I have an old tin that my Mom saved buttons in. The tin and some of those buttons are now over 70 years old. When I was a child I liked to play with those buttons, it was like a toy for me. Now I open that tin and there are not just very old buttons to look at in there but memories that come flooding out of childhood days playing with those buttons and watching my Mom sew. I miss my Mom and those beautiful days so very much. I am blessed to have those old buttons and wonderful memories in that old button tin!

  • I have a button jar in my sewing room and just love seeing all the different shapes and the colors all the time! I love using the button foot too!

  • My mom is about to be 100, having had a life that included growing up next door to “Scarface” Al Capone in Chicago and her memory including gangsters putting hush money on her Mother’s kitchen table. She remembers the vapor from the authorities dumping the stills rising above the fence. Once she and her family moved to Seattle, things settled down and she sewed buttons on her younger siblings clothing, darned socks and fed the chickens. She met and married my Dad, and put him through college working as a “Rosie the Riveter” at Boeing company. She sewed clothing for my brothers and I and taught me how to sew, make a button hole. I remember the pretty antique buttons in jars on the sewing table…..I have my own collection of beautiful buttons, some old, some new…..thanks for the opportunity to relive such a great story.

  • I love buttons! I am the happy owner of my mother’s button box and my grandmother’s button box. my favorite is one that looks like a piece of spaghetti knotted up. There is something peaceful and calming about sewing on a button.

  • 17 years ago I had an article posted in Country Woman magazine about buttons. I had a lady from Idaho who now is 97 years old and she sent me buttons from her mothers wedding dress back in the late 1800’s along with several others that were antiques and a lady from Pennsylvania who worked for the Giorgio’s Armani factory for 40+ years and she sent me buttons from the 1950’s and earlier My friend Irene from Idaho is like a grama to me & I see and speak with her often. I love them both….who could have thought that an article about buttons could bring us together for a life long friendship.

  • I guess you can say I have been collecting buttons and reusing them all of my life almost! My mother had always collected them using an old coffee can for storage. I followed suit and used a coffee can (inherited from her when she got a newer, bigger one!!). I would save buttons off old shirts we had, kids clothes and on and on. I am now smarter and use several cute little jars in order to separate colors so they are ‘easier’ to find. When my kids were little, they loved to ‘play’ with them or we’d use them as pieces of a game board!! Today’s buttons are so fun. I buy the cute theme buttons and use on bags and decorator items. Stock up on SALE days!!

  • When I was a teenager, my Grandmother gave me a set of “paperweight” buttons. They looked just like little paperweights with mixed colored glass frit in a clear dome. The buttons had been passed down in my family for generations and belonged to her Grandmother in the late 1800’s. She was upset that the shanks had broken off over the years and was worried they would never be used again. I had just started experimenting with bead embroidery and she encouraged me to figure out a use for them. I ended up taking a chance and glued the flat pieces to Ultrasuede and beaded around them making a pair of earrings. It was my first successful project with the technique. I still wear those earrings every couple of months. Beading for over 30 years now, I have had a jewelry business and taught many classes featuring beads and buttons. I am so grateful for my introduction to these pieces of history and my wonderful Grandmother who took a chance on a budding fiber artist.

  • Who knew buttons could evoke emotions and in response even tears. We always had a button box. When I was a child you did not throw out anything useful. If a sweater expired you kept the buttons. They would find a new home on something else. Now they remind me of Mom and childhood. Our kids and grands probably don’t understand.
    That’s also probably a good thing.

  • My grandmother was the one who taught me how to sew and she started me off by putting buttons back on clothing. Now I can put them on in a snap.

  • As a small child I remember stringing buttons. While my mother was sewing she gave me the button box to to keep me and my brothers entertained. To this day I look for button in antique shops. I have bronze buttons from France.

  • I’ve sewn since I was 10. My mother made sure I could sew all my buttons but never let me do the buttonholes even though she had a great attachment. I never knew why. Like many of the commenters above, my mother always cut off the buttons from a worn out shirt she was discarding and I do the same when garments are too worn to donate. I love the little ones with brand names and the ones in pretty colors. I now have my grandmother’s button can. It’s half-filled with the buttons she rescued or that were extras. So precious to me!

  • I find sorting buttons so satisfying. I have an old plastic hardware drawer, with the dividers. I set it up by colors, so I can open it up and find what I want quickly.

  • I have several family tins full of multi-generational buttons. So fun and pretty. I now store them in aqua Ball jars and showcase them in my sewing room!

  • Oh what Button-y fun!
    I recently found a giant, round, plastic jar, and the screw-on lid is a big, plastic button, that came with about 25 various buttons in it at Wal-Mart. It was on sale for like $5, so I had to have it. I figured I might fill it up about a quarter of the way with my various buttons, and have a cute AND useful decoration for my sewing room. Wow–was I off!!! First I went thru a small basket I’ve had since I got my first real job. It’s where I’ve put the extra buttons that came with all of the new clothes I’ve bought in the past 25-30 years. All of them were in the little bags or on the tags that they came on. That was so fun looking back thru them all…the cloth-covered ones, the silly ones, the big glitzy ones that came on party dresses and the more conservative ones from work clothes. Next I dug out my old sewing box, which has mostly notions and tools passed down to me from my grandma and/or the things I just don’t use. I honestly had no idea what I’d find in there…but what a treasure trove! It was a little bittersweet wondering where they all came from, what they were bought for, etc. Now, that giant button jar is completely full of memories from the past, and I’ll have to find another one to store my buttons in! LOL

  • My friend who loves Christmas wasn’t able to have a tree one year so I made her a tree quilt for her to hang up on her wall. I reached into my button collection and attached buttons all over the tree so that she could still hang ornaments. More often I add buttons to the collection than I actually use them but was so happy to use so many at once on a special project.

  • My button box has buttons from my grandmother, my mother and my own collection. My mother used to cut button bands off men’s white shirts to make gowns for cancer patients. We used the buttons from the bands she cut off which were great for children’s clothings. I still have lots of them.

  • I love buttons. I have all of my extra and special ones in a jar for viewing. I have some of my Grandmother’s buttons in another jar and use them for special projects. But, I believe my best button memory is when I was making a quilt for my husband with all of his Boy Scout patches and neckerchiefs.(You would be amazed at what he accomplished as a Scout and an adult leader.) While this was in progress we were cleaning our church scout hut and found lots of out dated scout shirts. I removed the buttons and used these vintage buttons to tuft the quilt and it is now a wall hanging that has been displayed at many scouting events.

  • I discovered sewing when I explored the attic at my grandmother’s house. She had wonderful, colorful, buttons and fabric. She showed me how to make doll clothes by hand sewing. I still have some of her quilts and a few buttons and pieces of fabric. She was born in 1896 so many of the items are very old. Whenever I see an old button collection it reminds me of my grandmother who shared her love of sewing with me.

  • When I was about 10, the plastic eyes on my teddy bear came off so I gave him button eyes — my first sewing project! I’m now 70, and Teddy with those button eyes is my favorite possession.

    I enjoy replacing the buttons on RTW with better ones from my collection.

  • I made quilted wall hangings with vintage buttons from my mom’s button box for all 7 of my siblings.
    I also saw a cool bracelet made from buttons.

  • I love my colorful button collection and store them in glass jars in my sewing room. In addition to their traditional function I also use them for decorating my quilts, clothing and accessories.

  • I started a project making towels that hang on your oven or fridge. You may remember your mom or even yourself having a crocheted top on the towel. I see fabric on the top of the towels and do my own buttons and buttonholes. I started doing my button hole and buttons by hand, but soon realized there had to be an easier way. I didn’t have my bernina 475 then, but learned to do it on my old singer machine. After getting my bernina I used my “special” button hole foot 3A. Amazing!! So easy and very accurate for my buttons to fit through. I dont have the button foot,but am looking forward to getting one.

  • Near where I live along the Mississippi River Museums have displays of clam shells with holes in them. These holes were what buttons were made from way back when. How resourceful!!!

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