Message Boards

Wish I could post a picture, but we are still dealing with a cat-chomped camera cord. Picture a quart Ziploc bag stuffed with about as many white shell 4-hole buttons as it will hold, each button slightly smaller than a dime. The buttons appear unused, and quite possibly "vintage." Some have a bit of tan shell streaks through them. I about fell over when the booth owner quoted me the price.....$2 for the whole bag. I couldn't get my money out fast enough!

So now I have a couple hundred (?) white shell buttons to play with. Ideas?

Whatever I do with them, I'm glad I can use them instead of my mother's giant candy tin full of really old white shell buttons. I played with them as a child, they were always in that tin, and I could never bring myself to take them out to use them. They belong together, so I can still dig my hands into them & remember.

What a find. I immediately thought of Jane Burch Cochran's quilts. They are beautiful "story quilts" in a folk style. She uses vintage fabrics, clothes, buttons, gloves, etc... I have several art books with her pieces showcased in them. I have seen them hanging in shows and have seen them hanging as art in business's.
I would have posted one of her quilts here but not sure how to get the photo from her site here.

Go to www.janeburchcochran.com and see what she does with buttons. Lots of eye candy. I love the ones with buttons going all around the quilt as if it is a border.

Rondi

Great find, you could also use some to make wool penny rugs

well, shhot...i just spent 20 minutes of my life detailing all the things I've done/want to do with buttons and the picture was too big, so it wiped out my whole message. I'm too discouraged to rewire it now. Bummer.

trying this picture

For about 12 years I've made variations of these for presents and our Chr*stmas tree pre-house felines.

hope to make one of these for the Queen's 60th year reign...on purple dupioni silk...

That was a fantabulous find/purchase.

Here's a few dozen ideas.

http://pinterest.com/barbara0101/button-crafts/

And a few dozen more.

https://www.google.com/search?...QsAQ&biw=930&bih=593

I've always liked the monochromatic button wreath; just kind of elegant looking.

What a great find and some great ideas pictured here.

Thanks for the ideas so far! I forgot about Pintrest! (slaps forehead) Sorry about your lost post, Nancy. Love those little stockings!

My flea market buttons are all alike, an odd lot left from somewhere that made or used buttons. It's my mom's (& grandma's & probably great-grandma's) buttons that have variety, but they are like gems to me, so it's hard to put them on something I might make & give away. Yes, I'm a sentimental fool when it comes to some things. But the flea market buttons have no sentimental value, so off they go, as soon as I can figure out what to do with them!

It was a good day @ the flea market for a change. Along with the buttons, I also found a ton of broken & mis-matched costume jewelry (a lot of it vintage) that can go into sewing projects. Two full gallon-sized Ziplocs of that were $20. Once I sorted it, I found several silver chains, a lot of gold-plated chains, and even a long strand of real seed pearls & little purple beads that went straight into my jewelry box. Plus there's a loose stone that if it isn't a diamond, it's a darn good fake.

I told DH that I'm like a Magpie bird at the flea market -- if it's shiny, I'm attracted to it.

You crack me up! Wish I had time to go scour the flea market-not that I need anymore stuff!

Nancy I love your button projects!

I enjoyed looking at all the eye candy on that web site. Totally amazing what crafers can come up with. Although I don't make art quilts-I've often wondered what folks do wih them once their made. I see on her website that they state collections and some for sale.

I imagine each one takes quite a bit of time. What a very talented lady!!

Thanks for sharing her talents. I understand about the buttons-I have my Mom's. I've used a few on crazy quilting. I really like to sit and play with them. I can remember some of the clothing my Mom wore that they came from. Kind of comforting.

Pam

When I was a kid (over 50 years ago ), my mom used to save buttons, zippers and snaps from the clothes that we outgrew or wore out. As a result, she had a big Tupperware container filled with buttons of all sizes and colors. Whenever we were stuck inside, like on a rainy day, and we were driving Mom insane, she'd pull out that big tub of buttons and we would spend hours on the floor, making pictures out of the buttons. The worst part was having to pick them all up when we were done, but I sure did love Mom's button tub. And, of course, if we ever lost a button while we were out playing, there was sure to be one in the tub that we could use to replace it. I've used buttons to decorate aprons and tote bags, and I've made jewelry from them, too. I love buttons!

LindaJ52

So enjoyed looking through all the ideas. I'd forgotten about a bunch of old shoe buttons I've got stashed somewhere. Maybe I'll figure out something to do with them.
Mom had a box she saved, too, but we only were allowed in them if we sorted them/strung them so the matching ones were easy to find.

You could use them to "tie" a quilt with.

I'm a little less grumpy about losing that post...it was a list I wanted to keep!

Ok, here goes: I have them on pillows..pretty ones, chunky ones, snowmen. On several snowmen pillows, the buttons are the falling snow in the sky. I've made pins: hearts, angel wings, trees (from wood and felt).I have a wonderful frame I bought that's all covered in the plain white buttons (all the same), pictures with the buttons sewed on a graph. Bracelets, necklaces. Trims for collars, cuffs. Covering the front of a vest like the "Pearlies" in London that cover their clothing with buttons. My favorite picture is an embroidered old-fashioned lady with her skirt filled in with white pearl buttons. I made yo-yos before I knew ho to finish off the holes correctly, and stuck buttons in there. I was going to make a "layover" for a pillow, but after 300 of them I quit and put them in a glass jar on my desk. They're now a small wall quilt next to my flag with white buttons as the stars. I'm collecting vintage red buttons to make a button flag. I love the Pearlie picture of the 60th year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign…have purple Dupioni silk to make one of those. I’ve seen them on the edges of crochet doilies which are then put over jars to keep the bugs out at a picnic or wedding feast. Somewhere I hav an adorable embroidered button bag pattern to keep them in. They would make great bands for napkin rings. I love making the white felt stockings (my pattern and design) every year…sign them on the back…every year different. Pillowcase edgings, trim for aprons…

NOW I’m going to go look at Pinintrest and go nuts. Whew.

Wildcatmom,
You have a bunch of old shoe buttons and I have an old shoe button hook that belonged to my great-grandmother.
When I was in HS, I was in a Scottish drum corp, and our spats had buttons on them. That old shoe button hook sure came in handy for some 45 teen-age girls.
Right now, that hook, my grandmother's magnifying glass and her thimble and "roll-up tape measurer" are in a little pink silk box.

Pearlie Kings and Queens of London

http://www.thepearlies.com/

Years ago in a magazine, a winter scene on a Navy blue sweatshirt. The trees, snowman, and the row of buttons curved a little to outline the ground. Not describing it very well. Maybe someone will remember it. Might have been in Country Woman. It would take a while to sew on, but if I had made it, more than likely would have glued them on.

Good luck and have fun. You have quite a find.

quote:

Originally posted by JudyTX:
Right now, that hook, my grandmother's magnifying glass and her thimble and "roll-up tape measurer" are in a little pink silk box.

Would you like a few buttons to go with your treasures?

Starry, in case you haven't been given enough ideas, here's one I came across this morning. A button tree. While this one is in green, you could do a white one with a few green ones thrown in for leaves.

Lotsa, lotsa good ideas on this thread for a button person.

One of my plain Jane t-shirts.

This would work for any design. See the glue. AMHIK you need to put a bit of washable glue on the back of the buttons before picking up the project to sew said buttons on project...

Very nice. Chucklin' at the button and glue comment. lolllll

When you sew that many buttons on a wearable do you use interfacing behind it? I had to do that with a couple of yoyos. They kept pulling the shirt.

It was definitely a DUH moment.

No interfacing.

I almost purchased a t-shirt with shells sewn on it...had it in my hand. Then the light bulb went off in my wee mind. Grabbed a long-sleeve t-shirt and my button jars. This was fun.

Still just looking at the bag in my sewing room & admiring all the buttons. I saw a thumbnail picture somewhere online yesterday of an Easter egg completely covered with pink buttons. I don't know what they used for a base...Styrofoam or plastic or ???...but it sure was cute. There's another idea!

I had buttons all over the front of my sweatshirt once...no interfacing, didn't lug the shirt down. I positioned them with double sided tape so they wouldn't fall off when I sewed them.

Also I remember seeing a shirt with buttons as the cnter of embroidered flowers would be really cute on the back yoke of a shirt...

I just got through making a Queen size quilt out of all yellow fabrics. For the border I sewed prairie points onto 6 inch wide strips of some of the scraps of the yellow fabrics and then sewed that all around the quilt top. Years ago I was at a local quilt shop and they had a jar of yellow buttons that they wanted to get rid of. I got them really cheap. Can't remember what I paid for them but I'm thinking I didn't pay more than a couple of dollars for all of them. There must have been about 1,000 buttons in that jar, so I took some of those buttons and sewed one in each prairie point to anchor it down. Still have lots of those buttons left. I really like that quilt. The buttons really set off the quilt and I think they make it look really nice. I sewed all the buttons on the top before it was quilted so all the knots are on the inside of the quilt, sandwiched in with the batting and the back. The pattern wasn't anything special. I just wanted a yellow quilt so I just made 3 inch blocks and sewed them together for the top and then put the prairie point border around it. It's not an award winning quilt but it makes me happy and will keep me warm when I'm cold so that's all that matters. So whatever you decide to make with your buttons.....if it makes you happy......then it will be beautiful.

Patsy