HRIM Schola Button Class

So, I thought I would teach how to make 2 types of 14th century buttons at this event.  Boy was I wrong.  I should've had at least an hour for each.  I felt frustrated and I'm sure the students did too.

Very Brief Overview

Buttons have been made of stone, pottery, gems, wood, shell, horn, ivory, metal, glass, cloth; pretty much anything and everything.  Buttons as we know them were not used with buttonholes until the 1200s.  From 2000BCE onwards, buttons were made from bone, horn, wood and shell and were used as decoration.  Clothing was fastened with belts and pin-type fasteners.  Around 1200AD, the buttonhole makes an appearance as fabrics became more delicate.  The word “Button” first appears in the French language as bouton, for bud or bouten to push.

1250AD the Button Makers Guild is formed.  The guild produced magnificent buttons, worn only by the wealthy.  In fact, there were actually laws passed which forbade the common person from owning ANY button other than thread or cloth covered ones (not that they could afford the fancy ones anyway).

1300s thru 1400s – the well to do folk continued to go completely crazy for buttons.  In some cases, the buttons covered most of the garment.  And each button had its own button hole!  Imagine how much work and time it could take to dress oneself!  It is then that a new profession arose; that of the professional dresser!

1500s A French king in this century ordered 13,400 gold buttons made for a special outfit for his meeting with an English king.  To his surprise the English king was equally heavy with buttons!  Also the Elizabethan era brought cloth covered buttons.

1600s We actually find diamond buttons on a suite designed for the First Duke of Buckingham.  IN addition, this century saw magnificent silk, ceramic and silver buttons.  In the 17^th century, French tailors began making thread buttons for military uniforms.  These were simple little balls of thread that worked perfectly and were economical.  The French button makers were outraged, convincing the government to actually pass laws forbidding these thread buttons to be used.  Homes were searched and fines levied on tailors that made and used these buttons.

1700s This era brought fabulously embroidered buttons.  Wooden molds were carved and the embroidered material was stretched and crisscross stitched in the back to secure it.  Towards the end of this cent buttons got bigger and bigger.  In addition, steel buttons began their use for men’s clothing.

So first I taught cloth buttons:

NOT MY PHOTO

It is a simple round cloth button where the fabric is it's own stuffing.  We started with this button and it made it hard to get to the second one.

NOT MY PHOTO

I learned to make this from Eilis years ago and are my go to.  Simple but time consuming.  Some students did stick around to attempt these.  I have better instructions for both, but it's too much to stick in this blog right now.

This post is really about learning from my mistake.  I should have taught someone first to see how long it took to pass the knowledge on.  That would've given me a better understanding of how long the class should be.  

I actually wound up with no photos from the class or of the buttons I made in the class.  Anoter lesson learned.