Posted
on November 16, 2014
Thousands
of years ago, people were already making buttons out of seashells or bone.
These ancient buttons had been carved into geometric shapes and had
been pierced one or more times so that they could be sewn onto
clothing with thread.
But
these ancient buttons were used as decoration on clothing – not as
fasteners.
The
oldest button ever discovered is about 5,000 years old!
The
earliest known buttons that worked as fasteners were found on
clothing seen in tombs from the 800s.
Buttons
are used as ornament and as fasteners, and they appear on many items
of clothing, on accessories such as purses and shoes, and even on
furniture or pillows. The National Button Society actually has
members all over the world – thousands of people who enjoy
collecting buttons. Many crafters integrate buttons in their fabric
collages or other handicrafts.
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| Vegetable ivory buttons |
These
days, most buttons are made of plastic. But buttons have been made of
almost every sort of materials, including shell, bone, plastic, metal, fabric, wood, glass,
ceramics, and horn. I was surprised to see that some buttons are made
from vegetable ivory – something that looks quite a bit like
elephant ivory but that is made from the hard white endosperm of
certain palm tree seeds. Take a peek at some of the variety at the Button Country Gallery.
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| Frog button closures |
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| Button made of horn and silver inlay |
Celebrate the day by starting a button collection (look in sewing kits and ask your grandma if she has a stash of buttons languishing in her house), sorting or counting buttons, making button art or doing button crafts, or repairing clothing by sewing on buttons. 
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Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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