It must sound very strange to children now with all the things they have to entertain themselves with, but one of the things I loved doing when I was little was looking through my mum’s button tin. She was a needlewoman and made all our clothes, and when something wore out to the point it could not be sent to a jumble sale (no charity shops in those days) then she would take off anything useful such as the buttons, but also zips, fasteners, hooks and eyes, press studs, trim, ribbon, decoration… people would be amazed now! recycling was big, not just in our house, but in most people’s houses I guess!
In the button tin were old buttons, some made of bone or shell, some may even have been made from cheap ivory, metal, leather, wood, and early forms of plastic. There would be buttons from dresses which I would remember her wearing, or that she had made for me and my sister, shirt buttons from things she made for dad, coat buttons that she would have bought to replace lost buttons from coats we had bought, tiny buttons from knitted garments… all sorts, in every shape, colour and size.
I came across the button tin, and my husband had to smile as I sat going through it as I had as a child… I came across one button which had my sister’s initials scratched on it; on the reverse was scratched the word ‘plum’… I have no idea why!
I think my grandmas had button tins too, as I seem to vaguely remember looking through different buttons from clothes I didn’t know or remember… but I still loved the sorting and organizing… maybe that’s where my slight OCD comes from!
If anyone would like these buttons, they are welcome!
Lois Elsden 
Oh, I love buttons! Here’s an old post about a visit to an antique store…alleysbackstreets.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/the-button-jar
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I love buttons!! I have my own collection, which I think was kickstarted by my mum’s or someone’s collection… and yes, they are fascinating even as a grown-up!
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I thought the zipper was a good invention until velcro came along. Evidently an old man in Switzerland was taking his grandaughter picking wildflowers and she complained that burrs kept sticking to her dress. After close inspection of how this was along came velcro. It sure helps the old and the handicapped. Simple but it works.
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It is amazing stuff… when my kids were little it was really easy for them to put on shoes, gloves etc! The only problem was it was also very good at sticking to my daughter’s long curly hair!
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I have several jars and tins full of buttons given to me by my Mom. Each Christmas she gives me yet another jar of buttons to add to my collection. It’s very difficult for me to actually use any of them…. not sure why, but earlier this year I made a gift for my Mom of a wooden cut-out of her first initial and I covered it with buttons that she had given to me. It actually brought tears to her eyes because she thought it was so pretty and she knew how difficult it was for me to let any of the buttons go. 😉
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How lovely Kim… what a great idea for a present! I bet it looked lovely!
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