I love buttons, all different types of buttons. I have a jar that is full of all kinds of sewing buttons. You can get buttons in different sizes and different colors. And made in a wide variety of materials and various shapes.
There are different button types you can get. Buttons are used most commonly to fasten clothes, and another use of buttons is for decoration.
In this post I’ll show you the main types of buttons. And did you know that you can use buttons to decorate or tie a quilt. Like if you have a garden quilt you could decorate it with butterfly buttons, or a bird house quilt with bird shaped buttons.
There are even button quilts, that’s quilts that the fabric is stitched in shapes of buttons. A button quilt with buttons, that would be a neat quilt.
And like in all sewing there are different ways you can sew on buttons. Here is my post on how to sew on buttons.
Save this post for later on Pinterest Here.
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Flat buttons
Flat buttons are the most common type of button. Flat buttons are two or four hole buttons. I always thought of these as dress shirt buttons, but they can be used on many types of clothing.
Flat buttons come in various colors and various sizes. And you can sew these buttons on by hand or with a sewing machine. These are also called sew-through buttons. Sew through buttons are buttons that are flat with holes.
A lot of the time they’re plastic buttons or even wooden buttons.
Novelty buttons
These are my favorite kinds of buttons. Because novelty buttons are those unique buttons in all kinds of different shapes. You can get them in the shapes of cupcakes, birds, butterflies, palm trees, flowers and more.
These may not have the most functional use. but these are to me the cutest kind of buttons you can get. I found some real cute novelty buttons Here.
Shank buttons
Shank buttons are buttons without holes on the top. They’re buttons that can be flat or rounded with a small loop or “shank” on the back of the button.
I found these button above Here.
The loops or shanks help so that there is extra space between button and outfit for the fabric. And shank buttons can only be sewn on by hand. You can also make a thread shank for non-shank buttons.
Shank buttons are great for thick fabric or heavier pieces of fabric.
Snap buttons
These are the buttons that are used on baby clothes. I like to use them on the 18 inch doll clothes I make. They can be made with plastic or metal.
Like the other buttons these come in a variety of sizes. And you can get sew-on snap buttons or metal prong snaps that are pressed on with special pliers.
Cloth buttons
Cloth or fabric buttons are shank buttons that the top of the button is covered with fabric. I like that you can get a covered buttons kit. So, you can cover the buttons with whatever fabric you want.
I’ve done that for a skirt before, and it’s not hard to make your own fabric buttons. To me these would be great for historical clothing, because I think that they have a vintage look.
Hook and eyes
I know you’re probably thinking that hook and eyes don’t look like regular buttons. But, they’re a very easy and secure way to close garments.
You’ll sew the hook on one piece of fabric and the eye on other piece. And the hook will fasten to the eye to secure the fabric.
They’re used a lot of the time on skirts or dresses right above the zipper. They’re sometimes used on doll clothes instead of snap buttons.
Jeans buttons
Jean buttons are made especially for jeans, because they are more durable than normal buttons. Most of the time they’re called stud buttons.
And they’re not sewn on, they’re pressed it place with a special tool. These modern buttons are heavy duty, so that makes them great for heavy denim fabric. And a lot of the time they have a brand logo pressed on the flat surface.
Metal buttons
These are a classy looking choice for any outfit. They can be any type of button that’s metal.
You can get flat metal buttons, shank metal buttons, and more. To me they’re kind of like jean buttons, but you can get different styles of metal buttons.
Decorative buttons
Decorative buttons are usually for decorative purposes. They can be any type of button used to decorate a shirt, bag, jean jacket, or any kind of craft projects.
I found these butterfly buttons Here.
They can also be used for lapel buttons. And because they’re decorative, they will sometimes have strange shapes. So, that makes them almost impossible to fit through buttonholes.
Leather buttons
I think that leather buttons would be a great as coat buttons. Or, any other outfit would look great with a leather button.
They can be made with either genuine leather or faux leather. So, they’re a very long wearing button.
Button material
Buttons can be made out of all kinds of different materials. There are glass buttons, polyester buttons, shell buttons, resin buttons, coconut buttons, abalone button, horn buttons, enamel buttons and more.
The most common types of buttons are probably the plastic and the wooden buttons. There’s various materials that buttons can be made from.
Natural materials and synthetic ones. And I think that buttons can be made from real pearls for mother of pearl buttons.
Buttons also come in a variety of colors, different looks and they are different button sizes.
And extra buttons is the best thing you can have in your sewing kit.
So, all in all buttons are a very important part of sewing clothes. And to me the best thing about them is that buttons are not that expensive. And with all the buttons on the market today, you’re sure to find the best button for your project.
