March 11th, 2010 – by Sarai
Somewhere along the line, I became a button collector. Or maybe “hoarder” is a more appropriate term. I am partial to glass, and I particularly like to scoop up the types that go with almost anything I make: clear glass, glass pearls, black glass, or rhinestones. But I also love early plastics like Bakelite.
But I have a lot of lonely buttons that don’t belong to a set and I never know what to do with them! Well, here are some suggestions courtesy of the always-delightful Millie Motts.
This seems to be an ad for La Mode buttons. Some of these ideas are cute, and some are… wacky. Like covering a bolero in gold buttons? Not for me, but I’m sure someone can pull off that level of bling.
What do you do with extra buttons? Any ideas?
Comments
I LOVE patterns that have buttons that accent drape lines and highlight silhouettes. Great post!
May I direct you to my recent blog post that finishes with a photo of London Pearly Kings and Queen: http://didyoumakethat.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/where-do-you-do-it/. They sure know what to do with buttons!
Some of the ideas are just plain wacky! But, the illustrations are fantastic. As goofy as the button covered bolero seems, it could look pretty great. If you had a lot of older buttons in different colors, it could be fun and funky.
Oh they are fun! Love all these things you can do with buttons. I recently saw a tutorial over on Sew Mama Sew for how to make a very elegant corsage and I think you could add a button somewhere. Or what about a button bracelet. I remember the Adorn Magazine awhile back that had this darling issue on giving a cardigan a eclectic button makeover. I think I need more buttons now.
Fun ideas….to think that La Mode buttons are still being sold!
I really love that dress with the buttons running in arcs from the shoulder and waist, not sure how it would look in reality, but it’s very classic looking.
I put a great big button on every single bag I make. If you have some mismatches or just a few, a skirt is a great place for buttons. I prefer to use them as faux closures and use a zipper in the back so there’s no gapping :)
A great button source is asking any great aunt/gram/etc. Mine all have treasure troves of buttons from the 50s, 60s, 70s. I’m a little obsessed with buttons too.
Oooh. Some great ideas here! I do LOVE buttons!!
I would have never thought of most of those ideas! What a great find! Thanks for posting it.
Great! But what a lot of patience one would have to have to sew on all those buttons!
I nearly died when I saw these images at Millie Mott’s blog last week–finally a solution for my buttons! lol. I haven’t got a huge stash, but one that is big enough to require sorting and it’s own storage unit. Sadly, most are mismatched, but I tend to use them together anyway: mixing buttons of various designs (but similar hues and sizes) into one garment. It’s a bit whimsical, but helps me use some of those loner buttons!
♥ Casey
blog | elegantmusings.com
Such great images!!! Love it!