I’m very fussy about buttons. I always take ages choosing the right ones to add to a garment I’ve made. Sometimes when I’m buying something to wear, the buttons can sway me if I’m undecided. A favourite cardigan of mine – a cheap chain store one that I wear a lot, started to lose its buttons. They were quite innocuous fabric covered ones, but I’d lost a couple and the fabric on the front had come off some of the others.
My attempt to buy some replacements at a haberdashery didn’t go well. There was nothing that grabbed me at all. I could have gone with plain white pearly ones but didn’t;t fancy that. Black might have worked but I couldn’t find any small enough. Finding the right shade of green – a sort of chartreuse – wasn’t helping. I tipped out the contents of my button jar for inspiration and found a card of little mother of pearl buttons, just the right size and enough for the whole cardigan. I’d already decided against white. Then I had a brainwave – I coloured in the buttons with a light green Sharpie.
This gave just enough colour but was translucent enough to show the blue/pink/green iridescence of the mother of pearl. I sewed them on and now have buttons that match the cardigan. I’m not sure how long the colour will last but I can always grab that green Sharpie and touch up the colour. My favourite old cardigan not has a new lease of life!
Stitches by the Sea 
My friend once brought back a big tub of assorted fancy buttons from holiday in Devon; I was ridiculously excited . I often choose a mix of button colours to go with my multi coloured cardigans. Once my Grandson said ‘ I like Grandma’s jacket, well I like the buttons…’
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What’s not to love about buttons! Love your idea of mixing button colours.
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oh your sooo clever. I love buttons too. I have an old button box bursting at the seams and my clever Brother in Law(whose an artist) made me a box frame, filled with buttons from his Grannie button box. I’ve never tried the Sharpie trick but will definitely bear it in mind for future projects.
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Thanks Vera! What a lovely way to display Grannie’s buttons. I have the contents of my Grandmothers button tin in my jar – there’s some lovely old ones in there.
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Hello Jackie- showing my ignorance here- what’s a Sharpie?
Even I have a button box!!!
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It’s a well known brand of indelible marker pen. They come in all colours. Everyone needs a button box/ tin/ jar!
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Buttons are important and I’ve seen lovely pieces with buttons that must have been an after thought (or no thought) by the maker. The new buttons in this post are lovely!
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Thank you. You are right! Never underestimate the importance of the button!
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finding the right buttons is always an ordeal ^^ I’m knitting a cardie at the moment and have already begun looking for buttons, but really need to wait until I knit the button band, to decide how big I can go.
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It really is crucial isn’t it?
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