Recycling the Button Box

[Spinster]

I'm familar with the period button attachment technique for certain types of high quality clothing in which the shank of a button was worked through the fabric, and secured on the other side by means of a narrow twill tape run through all the button shanks and tacked down. My understanding is that this method could be used for heavy clothing, primarily outerwear or dress uniforms, and was primarily used for very heavy or ornamental buttons.

That why this button box I'm cleaning has me puzzled. Like most button boxes, it has a lot of buttons that have been cut or pulled off a garment, leaveing a wad of thread that must cut and picked out of the holes before reuse.

I've got a large number of white china, two hole buttons--of the sort that say 'underware' to me--and they have the remains of a narrow twill tape in them--many with a knot on the back and a fragment of white cloth where they've been snatched off a worn out garment.

Now, of course I haven't a clue as to whether these are period buttons--they could be valid way up in the 20th century, until folks quit using china buttons in ordinary clothing.

Still, has anyone seen this sort of twill tape attachment method on underwear or any other lighter weight period clothing?

[Carolann Schmitt]

Re: Recycling the Button Box

Mrs. Lawson -

Yes and yes.

The first method you mentioned - securing the shanks of all the buttons with a continuous piece of twill tape - can be found on the outergarments you mentioned as well as fine silk dresses, some men's vests, and several other garments. Sometimes the opening for the shank is created by spreading the threads with an awl. On finely-woven fabrics like silk, a threadwork eyelet is created for the shank to pass through. In addition to twill tape, I've also found the shanks secured with a piece of common string and a leather thong. Both of these were used on very elegant silk dresses.

This method of attachment was used for shank buttons of any weight on all weights of fabric - not just heavy buttons and heavy fabrics. One reason for its use is the ability to remove the button before the garment is cleaned or laundered. The practice continues today with a small button pin (looks like a miniature bobby pin) replacing the twill tape. A second reason is to keep the button in an upright position. A shank button needs the extra layer of fabric around a buttonhole if it is to remain upright; otherwise it just hangs down. If the garment is made with lightweight fabric or a false-button front, inserting the shank through the fabric helps keep it upright so you see the front of the button and not the side or back.

Those large china buttons were primarily used on undergarments. Instead of sewing the button to the garment, a short piece of twill tape was sewn to the fabric. The ends of the twill tape were passed through the two holes on the button and tied in a knot. This was as sturdier method of attaching the button and allowed it to be removed for laundering. The examples you have show how sturdy the attachment was; the twill tape was cut or pulled away from the fabric before the button left go. I've never found this method of attaching buttons on anything but undergarments, and it is always used with 2-hole buttons with large eyes.

Regards,