Buttons

Primarily discusses buttons for 16th and 17th century costume, but gives instructio ns for cloth buttons appropriat e for clothing of the later Middle Ages.

Provides step-by-step photos of the construction of fabric ball buttons.

I love making dozens and dozens of little buttons for 14th century clothing. The trick is to do the gathering in two passes, rather than trying to gather and stuff in the raw edges all at one time.

Fabric buttons are most often seen on late medieval garments like cotehardie s and caftans, and are an inexpensiv e and period alternativ e to metal buttons.

Once clothing became more fitted and could no longer be slipped over one's head, it became necessary to tightly close gowns and tunics. An overview of how and where to close clothing through the centuries, with practical advice of how to get it done. Includes, from extant examples and details from artwork: buttons (metal, bone, and cloth); eyelets; lacing rings; hook and eye; pins; and lacing patterns.

A series of articles on basic fabric buttons, buttonholes, and attaching buttons to the garment.

Types of buttons used on 16th century garments. Includes instructio ns for cloth buttons, felted buttons, and wrapped buttons.

Instructions for making a ball button and a flat button.

Bibliographic entries compiled to serve my research purposes on the subject of costume rhetoric in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer. Sections include: sumptuary laws; history of costume; accessories/accoutrements; miscellaneous (fur, embroidery, buttonholes, narrow wares, etc.); fabric, clothmaking, and prices; costumes depicted in two- and three-dimensional visual arts; costumes depicted on funeral brasses; costumes depicted in literature; and dictionaries for costume terms.

A practical guide to hand stitching and hand finishing your medieval style clothing. Even if you make most of your garb on a sewing machine, hand finishing can provide a lovely finishing touch of authentici ty in those places where a machine sewn seam would be the most visible.

The challenge, as with any effort in reproducin g a realistic historical outfit, is to incorporat e the subtle details that differenti ate a costume from clothing. In the case of 14th century buttons, this requires a critical look at their placement on different clothing layers, as well as their size and position relative to each other.

A collection of buttons from various other websites (translate d into English); mostly Russian and Turkish examples.

An initiative by members of the metal-detecting community to promote good practice within the hobby. It is an easy-to-use, friendly and supportive online facility for detectorists to record their finds and ensure that the information is preserved for future generations.