Button 

A small flat button
A small flat button
Metal, plastic, and leather shank buttons.
Metal, plastic, and leather shank buttons.

In clothing and fashion design, a button is a small plastic or metal disc- or knob-shaped, typically round, object usually attached to an article of clothing in order to secure an opening, or for ornamentation. Functional buttons work by slipping the button through a fabric or thread loop, or by sliding the button through a reinforced slit called a buttonhole.

Buttons may be manufactured from an extremely wide range of materials, including natural materials such as antler, bone, horn, ivory, shell, vegetable ivory, and wood; or synthetics such as celluloid, glass, metal, bakelite and plastic.

Hard plastic is by far the most common material for newly manufactured buttons; the other materials tend to occur only in premium apparel.



Contents

History

Buttons and button-like objects used as ornaments rather than fasteners have been discovered in the ancient Indus Valley during its Kot Dijy phase (circa 2800-2600 BC) and Bronze Age sites in China (circa 2000-1500 BC), and are attested in Ancient Rome.

Functional buttons with buttonholes for fastening or closing clothing appeared first in Germany in the 13th century.[1] They soon became widespread with the rise of snug-fitting garments in 13th- and 14th-century Europe.

Types of buttons

Three sew-through buttons (left) and one shank covered button (right).
Three sew-through buttons (left) and one shank covered button (right).

Button sizes

The size of the button depends on its use. Shirt buttons are generally small, and spaced close together, whereas coat buttons are larger and spaced further apart. Buttons are commonly measured in lignes (also called lines and abbreviated L), with 40 lignes equal to 1 inch. For example, some standard sizes of buttons are 16 lignes (10.16 mm, standard button of men's shirts) and 32 lignes (20.32 mm, typical button on suit jackets).

Buttonholes

Machine-stitched keyhole buttonhole with bar
Machine-stitched keyhole buttonhole with bar
Main article: buttonhole

Functional buttons (as opposed to decorative buttons) are normally paired with a buttonhole. Alternately, a decorative loop of cloth or rope may replace the buttonhole. Buttonholes may be either made by hand sewing or automated by a sewing machine.

Buttonholes often have a bar at either end. The bar is a perpendicular stitch that reinforces the ends of a buttonhole.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Buttons (sewing)

References

Notes

  1. ^ Lynn White: "The Act of Invention: Causes, Contexts, Continuities and Consequences", Technology and Culture, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Autumn, 1962), pp. 486-500 (497f. & 500)

Cited works

  1. Carl Kohler, A History of Costume, Dover 1963 reprint, ISBN 0-486-21030-8
  2. Bryan Bunch, The History of Science and Technology, Houghton Mifflin Books, 2004 ISBN 0-618-22123-9

External links