Hello! I’m a wee bit later than usual in posting today, as I’ve spent most of this morning busily finishing off a few projects. I’ve bound off, woven in the ends, soaked, and blocked something that I’ll (hopefully) be able to show you later in the week. And I have also been picking out some buttons which I’m hoping will provide the perfect finish for the straps of a second-hand pinafore dress that I found a few months ago on eBay.
Would you like to see inside the button box?
I think this large box may once have contained some Betty’s Christmas treats. It is now so heavily laden with buttons and fastenings that I have to ask Tom to move it around for me.
Inside there are a lot of buttons. I love handmade buttons of all kinds . . .
. . . ceramic
or glass – the set above was made by legendary British button-maker, Lionel Nichols
while this card features glass buttons of the vintage Czech type that are still fairly easy to pick up on eBay.
There are cards of buttons, some of which have already been partially used up on different projects
. . . and some whose vintage packaging I love almost as much as the buttons themselves.
When I look at some of my button sets, they seem to demand that I make something just for them.
And while many buttons carry happy memories, some prompt recollections of a kind I’d really rather forget: the square buttons above, for example, are the offending objects that bled all over the first iteration of my Carbeth Cardigan and which, for some reason, I’ve never quite managed to discard!
Like many of you, I imagine, there are several old buttons of the ‘precious’ kind in my collection, which I love to look at and handle, which originated in my mum and grandma’s button boxes. There are a few of these above, including a button whose appearance always makes me think of kippers, and one which, as I child, I referred to as the “jam sandwich.” I bought the ‘go’ buttons on a research trip to Philadelphia (I think their ‘stop’ counterparts are somewhere about) and the blue and pink button with the ladybird-like appearance was actually made by me. Some of my first forays into crafty entrepreneurship as a teenager involved making brooches, earrings, and buttons from fimo clay which I sold on to my classmates.
Some of my favourite buttons have been given to me as gifts, such as these examples from thoughtful friends, Anne and Elizabeth.
while these vintage buttons, stitched to a piece of pink card with a handwritten note, have been knocking about my collection for a decade.
The buttons were sent to me in 2010 by Jenny and Vanessa – two women I’d never met, but who like many others, were kind enough to send me a card and a wee something to wish me well after I ended up in hospital following my stroke.
I’ve decided to use these buttons to finish off the straps of my pinafore. Something nice to be reminded of when I wear it! And if you are still out there, Jenny and Vanessa, thanks so much.
KDD & Co 
You have some beautiful buttons there (and the box is just exquisite). You layered carved caseins are wonderful.
I totally advocate designing around buttons. I have a set of Italian Deco Celluloid that are pure Bauhaus. I could have sold then 20 times over but I have some wonderful Vintage green wool that matches them perfectly. I love imagining silhouettes that would suit their bold, architectural funkiness.
I recently scored a set of 15 cherry-red bakelite cups, each with a central faceted steel that sets them off so beautifully I am speechless.
Again I could have sold them nay times over but they will be perfect for a cardigan I have yet to design,
Buttons are such therapeutic things. I cam to them professionally in grief. They proved to be, like the breadcrumbs that Hansel and Gretel, scattered, tiny guide-posts back to some kind of light… back from the dark to a land of shadows… even if never back to full light.
I spend hours matching buttons to knitwear.
I encourage knitters to send me swatches at the beginning of their projects. It is not always possible to get “sets” of vintage buttons. I might have 7 buttons that are perfect rather than the 8 called for (or it might be a question of size). If the knitter knows this in advance, they can adapt the design to suit the buttons.
I know, from my own experience, that having the buttons at the beginning of the knit, means by-passing a lot of frustration and “temporary second-best” options.
I love the cherry buttons you use on your dungarees. (I did comment there but it didn’t register).
I see so many people using buttons to find their way through depression, grief and obsession.
They are very special things….
Thank you
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wow! I look forward to your green Bahaus button cardigan!
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Thank you.
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I’m also loving the Shaker box as much as the buttons! My area of New York State had a large Shaker population, and my husband and I love to visit Hancock Shaker Village, just across the border in Massachusetts. (Fun fact I learned there: the Shakers were the first to sell seeds in paper packets. They are a fascinating group, and the crafts they produced both beautiful and useful, which I find very inspiring.)
My mother gave me her button box a few years ago, which she inherited from her mother. Most of the buttons are very utilitarian, removed from old clothing that had no doubt been repurposed until they were rags. It’s so soothing to run my fingers through all the buttons.
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Kate, thank you for sharing your button collection with us…. and i love everyone’s memories… and i LOVE the fish button… This post reminded me of button shops that i have loved and are now long gone… The first was in Sausalito, California, where i lived, just over the Golden Gate Bridge. Mr Weiner’s Buttons & Braids, in a funky building that was over the water. In the 1970’s, I was sewing Vogue Knitting Designer Patterns, all the Paris designers. The customer was not allowed to handle the buttons. They were just gorgeous. Mr Weiner was born in Germany or Austria. In the 80’s, i was still sewing up a storm, and traveling frequently to New York City. Tender Buttons had the most incredible shop. Alas, both are now gone. Kate, thanks for triggering these memories of special places.
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What is it about buttons?! As a Dorset girl born, bred and still living, I keep threatening to do some Dorset buttons but I have so many other things going. I did do a few to send to a friend in Australia once but don’t have any myself.
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You have such a wonderful collection of buttons. I have two separate…well actually three separate containers of buttons…the baby sweater ones, mostly metal but quite unique ones and one containing the most cherished buttons which were my Granny’s…I only use them on very special projects and I think I’ve only once been able to give a sweater away using her buttons, they are that dear to me. I always wonder what the garment looked like that they were cut off of…there is one big one and I do remember the black coat it was from…so many years of seeing my Granny coming through the door to visit for the weekend wearing that coat….such happy memories and all from one button.
:)
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Thanks for this tour of your button box. Yours are little gems!
I love looking through mine as it brings back so many memories. I can still visualise my mum wearing some of the clothes that they were attached to.
A while ago now, I bought a box of Art Deco buttons. Whilst I love their designs, they don’t hold the memories. It’s almost like looking through a photograph album, when I open my box.
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I love button boxes! Thanks for sharing your’s.
When my Grandma gave up hand crafts she gave me her button box. Now, whenever I’ve made something for my cousins and their babies I’ve put on buttons that belonged to Grandma. She’s still alive, in fact she’s 94 soon, but it still makes us feel connected and makes me smile to know I’ve kept on the handmade tradition.
Many of her buttons were still on cards, so I was able to piece together the history of H.A. Kidd button cards with her’s going from the 50’s (when they moved to Canada) to the 90’s when I started sewing. There were also shirt buttons clipped from Grandpa’s old shirts and Boy Scout buttons from my dad’s old uniforms.
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<3 Bog Oak! <3
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Thank you, Kate, for the delightful frolic through your button box! Such fun and lightness to brighten our day! Can we now see the pinafore?! Cheers!
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I have a few button tins of my own but I also inherited my mother’s button tin and every time I see the big orange mother of pearlish buttons in it I think of her in her hideous 1960s candlewick dressing gown, all the rage at the time no doubt. I love your box.
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I’m in my late 70’s and have been collecting buttons my whole life. My son in law, being an only child, asked me after his mother passed away, if I was interested in his grandmother’s collection of buttons. I jumped at it. Before giving them to me, he threw them all into a wastebasket and it was like about 75% full. I was flabbergasted and so now I really have buttons and I love it. I enjoyed looking at yours too.!
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I was so pleased to read your post on buttons today. My favorite is the fish. I’m a member of the National Button Society which is dedicated to the collection, preservation and study of clothing buttons. Most everyone seems to carry fond memories of a family button box!
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Like you I have rather a large collection of buttons of all shapes and sizes and vintages. I have some beautiful antique crochet buttons and a wonderful carved Mother of Pearl one.Hand made stag horn ones from a friend up in Sutherland (don’t think he’s making them now). I also have some fantastic hand made resin buttons from another friend up north – If you don’t already know of her, you might like to look up McAnoraks website/Facebook page. She makes some very original buttons.
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Thanks for the link – those resin buttons look amazing!
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You’re welcome. Thought they might appeal!
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The buttons and box are lovely. I can’t speculate what might originally have been in the box, but here in the States, it is a type of box associated with Shaker life and culture. I have one, made by my dad who is an amateur wood worker and took a class from someone who specializes in making these. I have a small box he made in this style and also a tray. They are lovely, simple, elegant– hallmarks of Shaker style. My mom’s “button box,” which I’m sure is still knocking around with her sewing supplies, is an old glass peanut butter jar, probably circa 1970s.
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I had no idea – thankyou – it is certainly a very beautifully made box
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that sort of shaker box was often one of a set of nesting boxes. there are some good images at https://www.wooden-box-maker.com/Shaker-boxes.html or google ‘nesting shaker boxes’
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Yes, i agree that your button box is very very much the traditional Shaker box. They were a religious sect in New England, near where i grew up…. They believed in celibacy, so it was hard to keep the community going without offspring!!!
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Your button box is a beautiful, handmade Shaker box – very lovely. I have a collection of them which I use for various things, including buttons.
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I was not aware of this connection – thankyou. It’s a beautifully made box – a very satisfying object in itself.
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Thank you Kate for all your posts at this time. I really enjoy reading them . Angela
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What an amazing collection. my favorite’s that bog oak set. Wow.
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Well they all made me smile……yes, need special clothes for them.
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that is a wonderful collection- there was a ribbon, trims & buttons shop in Montreal( not sure if it’s still around) & I used to drive the hour just to buy beautiful buttons- they can inspire or be just the perfect touch..
thank you for sharing your collection:)
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Splendid button collection!
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What a wonderful collection of beautiful buttons. Your button box is so smart. Like another commenter , mine is an ancient Quality Street tin which belonged to my grandmother. I have such fond memories of going through this box with my mum especially when she showed me the buttons which she had removed from the jacket of her “going away” suit. She was married not long after the end of World War 2 so buttons were amongst many other scarce and precious things. How many special stories can be found in the family “button box” ? Thanks for sharing yours with us Kate
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Hi Kate, this is an inspirational post. I love your buttons. I too have a collection – which expanded exponentially last year when I came across a button sale in a church in Edinburgh (in aid of Marie Curie). See https://www.stagw.org.uk/event/on-the-button-2019/. I think they do it every year although there is no date yet for 2020. I can thoroughly recommend it if you can find an excuse to be in Edinburgh. They had an amazing collection of buttons, some carefully sorted and matched and some fun lucky dip packets.
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oh my! Amazing! I must keep my eyes peeled for the next sale!
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Lovely collection! My favorites are the chartreuse with red fish. Are they resin? I have several cards of resin buttons but prefer to look at them instead of use them!!
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Thank you. Kate, for this post. It brought back lovely memories of when I was small and could spend hours playing in my mother’s huge cookie tin of buttons. There were thousands of them, from the 30s through the 70s. As I got older, she’d let me use them to revamp thrift store finds.
Sadly, that tin was lost during a move, All I have from that treasure trove is one crazy hot pink angora cardigan I embellished with tiny Art Deco rhinestone buttons. I think I’ll wear it today, as I work from home.
Thank you, again, for reminding me of that tin of buttons.
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Tell us more about making your button wedding bouquet 💐
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I love buttons, and have an enormous box like yours, but yours is classier, mine is an old Quality Street tin! When I was a child, i would sit on the floor by my mother’s sewing machine as she worked, sorting her button box endlessly into colours, shapes and sizes. Only to start again the next day. We didn’t need complicated or expensive toys to keep us quiet in those days. I too have inherited my mother’s and my grandmother’s collections. I too definitely feel sometimes that they are crying out for something to be made especially for them. In fact, now would be a good time to get them out and have a look!
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This made me smile as I discovered an old friend of mine actually has a button phobia (who knew!) and said “to this day I can’t put my hand in a button box”!
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I know a couple of folk who suffer from this terribly, Julia – it is a relatively common phobia – and worried before posting!
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A friend recently jokingly commented on Facebook that he was sorting his shiny screws from his non shiny screws. I replied that I had that day sorted my wooden clothes pegs into different types and favourites and I wasn’t joking. This prompted several others to comment that they were all sorting their button boxes and enjoying doing so with associated memories! My husband Les is a stroke survivor and we have used working in a hazel coppice and making wooden products(including pegs) to help regain strength and skills. Although the first task he tried and conquered on coming home was stitching two pieces of leather together. Thankyou.
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I imagine making hazel pegs must be a wonderfully satisfying way of developing strength and dexterity – each step forward embodied in each peg!
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I’m jealous ! Beautiful buttons are an inspiration to knit!!DOGWWOD LANE dresses used to have an assortment of lovely ceramic buttons.— each button different. Wish I had saved!!!
Kate , I’m enjoying your book . I never considered myself as a creative person. I just read patterns well. You have give food for thought!
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Your box looks like a beautiful Shaker box to me. …
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This rings so true to me. I have various elderly relatives’ button collections now mixed in with my own and yet I still cannot resist buying buttons. Just need clothes to attach them to! I also remember spending many happy hours as a child playing with my mother’s button tin – maybe this is the source of my continued fascination?
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What a lovely button box. I have a button tin which holds many old small white shirt buttons but also a whole host of other buttons taken from old garments right back to some tiny pearl buttons taken off a dress I wore as a baby almost 70 years ago. I love rummaging through it and enjoying all the old memories. There is a huge orange button that came off my mother’s coat and some metal buttons from my father’s blazer for instance. Even my littlest grandchildren love the stories that the tin contains.
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Oh lovely! I’ve just been going through my button box, which still contains many of my Granny’s. I have been sewing hairbands for myself and other NHS staff since I am sorely in need of a haircut but have no clippers and don’t trust my husband! A button sewn to each side behind the ears acts as a hook for the elastic of surgical masks so our wee lugs don’t get sore. I’ve also made scrubs from old curtains which proves you should never throw anything out.
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thinking of you and your colleagues, Kate, and hope you are all doing ok
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I love your collection! What about coating the guiltI love your collection! What about coating the guilty buttons in some sort of clear varnish to prevent further bleeding?y buttons in some sort of clear varnish to prevent further bleeding?
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that’s a good idea – thanks, Tereza, they are rather nice guilty buttons
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What a glorious treasure trove of beautiful buttons. I fear the majority of mine are since spares from bought clothes. Mind you I’ve just inherited my mum’s button jar so I’ll have to have a rummage and see what’s there.
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