[James Gutierrez]

Buttons​

Before Pinterest and craft stores, there was the family sewing stash. A tin full of buttons, a rainbow of cotton reels, and enough knitting needles to start your own shop. And oh, the fabric scraps—each one with a story.

Did your family have one of these treasure boxes? Let us know here!

Image source: Australia Remember When / Facebook

 

[Cass3215]

That sounds like my hoard. How did you know?

 

[sylfield]

Haha, yes, old biscuit tin full of buttons.

 

[starrysnan]

My Mum had a tin like this and always managed to find a button she needed. Buttons were quite expensive in the olden days so it saved money too!

 

[grarob@internode]

My Mum had a couple of large coffee jars full of buttons which I have got and transferred them into a clear sturdy plastic canister. I put felt pads on the bottom and use it as a door stop. Reminds me of her all the time. When our Son was very young she made a button rag about 10” square out of two pieces of cotton sewn together. It had all sorts of buttons from these jars sewn on it. He loved it, spent ages looking at all the different colours & shapes. I don’t know what happened to it, but I recreated one for my Granddaughter, buttons were all from my Mum’s collection. She still loves playing with it, learning colours, shapes and different animals, and is now nearly 4 years old. I sewed them on with a really strong linen thread & she only has it when we’re with her in case she breaks them off as they could be a choke risk.

 

[gamiry]

I've still got a tin and bottle of buttons. It's a rare day I can't find what I'm looking for

 

[janj]

I still have mine

 

[LJ Cool]

Me too ! I've still got Mum's biscuit tin full of buttons. My grandaughter loves to take them out and look at them.

 

[ShezzieD]

My Nanna was a seamstress in post-war Australia. She owned an original Singer treadle sewing machine which I was always fascinated with as a child. She had all sorts of delights kept in varied containers. She always let me play with her enormous collection of odd buttons, which I called "buppons" back then! Never once did I swallow any, as she was always by my side playing with me. She passed in 1996, but I still feel her by my side now, and those warm memories of my childhood with her keep my heart full of love

 

[PattiB]

My mum had a button collection & so do I, of course. I often wonder why as I rarely sew these days & haven’t knitted or crocheted anything needing buttons for ages.