14th Century Cloth and Thread
Buttons
Taught by Temair ingen Muiredaich at Pennsic 47 on 1 AUG 2018
Button-like objects of bone and metal have been found in
archaeological deposits of the Late Bronze Age (1250BC - 1000BC; sometimes
referred to as the Mycenaean Palatial Civilization Collapse) and onwards. There is no conclusive evidence of Iron Age
use of metal buttons in Britain, and scholars appear unsure if they were used
by the Romans. However, metal buttons became
common in medieval times, where they could be plain or patterned, or with
expensive gemstone decoration for the upper classes. Other common buttons were created with knobs
of cloth or when threads were wrapped around a wooden core. By the 14th Century, buttons were
worn as ornaments and fastenings from the elbow to the wrist and from the
neckline to the waist. The wearing of
gold, silver and ivory buttons was an indication of wealth and rank. If your persona cannot afford luxurious
buttons, your persona is “forbidden by law”, or your mundane pocket book can’t
handle the cost right now, we will learn to perfectly acceptable buttons to decorate
your garb with. These work for time
periods other than just the 14th century too!
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Cloth Buttons (Self Stuffing
Buttons):
à
Materials:
o Thread. It can be cotton, wool, silk,
whatever you desire. It should match
your fabric type and color, but you can choose a contrasting color to make it
“pop”. Nothing says you can’t use silk
on wool, etc. Just think of ease of care
for the garment and know if the thread or the fabric will shrink at a different
rate.
o Cloth. Whatever you made your garb from is fine. Linen, wool, cotton and most blends all work
well. Silk can get iffy because of the
number of stabs, but you can make it work.
Thinner fabric will make a smaller button, thicker fabric will make a
larger button. Though we are making
self-stuffing buttons, nothing says you can’t add a little extras stuffing to
make the buttons bigger.
o A needle large with an eye large
enough to thread and long/strong enough to go through a few layers. Sharper tips are better depending on the
fabric, just be careful not to cut the thread as you sew through the layers.
o Scissors.
à
Steps:
from Les Arts Decoratifs of the the doublet by Stitch-n-Time
Taken May 1981 by Marie Schoefer.
Doublet discovered in Pandolfo III
Malatesta’s (1370-1427) sarcophagus situated in St. Francis Church in Fano
(PU).
à Other:
If you search on 14th century cloth buttons, you will see a
variety of ways to make these buttons.
You can start with a coin in the center to get a more rounded
shape. You can use a square of cloth to
get smoother top. Feel free to search
and experiment for other versions to match your taste!
Thread Buttons:
à
Materials:
o Thread. It can be cotton, wool, silk,
whatever you desire. The metallic
threads are nice, but are not easy to work with at first. Also be careful how “hairy” your wool thread
is as it needs to be able to drawn past itself a number of times. Different thicknesses will result in a
different look. The thread type, how
many strands you use (for stranded threads) and the size of the bead determine
how your final product will look.
o Round wooden bead with a “large”
hole. I bought mine at AC Moore, I’ve
seen them at JoAnns also. The larger the
bead, the larger the button. Also
realize as you get smaller, so does the hole in the center and you may need to
adjust the number of warp or framework passes you do. We are using 12mm wooden buttons, but I’ve
given you some others to experiment with.
Feel free to try different sizes with different types of thread to get
the look you desire.
o A needle large with an eye large
enough to thread, but small enough to do the weft stitches. Blunt tips are better so you are not cutting
the thread as you wind around the weft threads.
o Scissors.
à
Instructions:
o Secure and loop the thread through and around the bead 8
times, to make a framework. You can either leave the thread end trailing to use
to make the shank or not, I do not. I
tie it off and hide the knot inside and make a shank with the running end of
the thread.
o Loop the thread back and under your first structural
thread, and then bring it forward to the next one to repeat until the bead is
covered.
o Finish the thread off with a French knot, by wrapping the
thread around the needle twice and then pulling it through to the other side (I
have then pulled both trailing threads back through again as the threads are
more tightly packed on the first side of the button that got covered, therefore
I wanted this to be the front).
o Loop and secure the trailing threads to create a shank.
o Buttonhole stitch around the looped shank and secure.
Doublet
in a museum in London. “Satin wrapped
threads around the bead and embroidered over
the top.”
Example from the Museum of London, a doublet from the Isham Collection. This is silk and metallic thread wrapped buttons.
Notes:
All pictures found on utilizing a search engine. The pictures above with the exception of the
6 thread wrapped buttons are not my pictures and I make no claim to them. If the original owner is known and wants them
removed from the handout, please contact me and it will be done immediately.
Contact Info:
Temair ingen Muiredaich can be contacted on Facebook via the name to the
left or via e-mail at temairmuiredaich@gmail.com
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