THE WINNING GARMENT After a long week of patternmaking and sewing, we had the photoshoot. Although I am not a complete novice, having organized a few photo shoots while attending university, I did, however, feel like one. We had a small window of opportunity to take the photos, but everyone involved worked hard to ensure […]
ONE BUTTON, THREE METERS OF FABRIC, AND A FEW LATE NIGHTS LATER
INITIAL EXCITEMENT I was thrilled watching everyone vote for their favourite designs for this, the Duelling Designs inaugural design challenge. I checked back numerous times a day eager to see which of the two designs I would be making. Design 1 won the challenge. I was not entirely certain I was going to like the finished garment […]
THE BUTTON IN HISTORY
BUTTONS CAN TALK This post is not intended to be a complete historical timeline of buttons and their use throughout history but rather snippets of what I thought were interesting historical button facts. Both when and how buttons were used, what materials they were made of and what was depicted on them can tell us […]
GREED, DEATH, AND SMUGGLING: THE DARK SIDE OF THE BUTTON
GREED, EXCESS AND VANITY Buttons were a decorative way of displaying wealth thereby widening the social divide between the rich and the poor. This display of vanity was even more noticeable with royalty. Louis XIV spent 60,000 on jewelled buttons. That would have been quite a drain on the country’s coffers. King Edward VII was […]
MY FAVOURITE RANDOM BUTTON FACTS
HOW CAN THE HISTORY OF BUTTONS BE SO DARN INTERESTING? Pearly Kings and Queens are people from the east end of London who dress in black garments decorated with patterns made with 100s of small mother of pearl buttons. Where did this tradition come from? The legend is that a Japanese cargo ship carrying buttons ran […]
CHOOSING BUTTONS
Buttons are the sort of notion when chosen correctly can disappear into the garment, allowing style and fabric to take centre stage. If the designer wishes, buttons can emphasise the design line of the garment, or add an interesting focal point, elevating the piece to a whole new level. Conversely, adding a button that does […]
BUTTON BASICS
To support this month’s button challenge, I have been researching buttons. I had no idea how interesting they could be, or how much button information is out there. While I am sewing this month’s design winner, I thought I would keep you informed and entertained with a few posts on buttons; starting with this general […]
AUGUST DESIGN CHALLENGE: VOTE NOW
VOTING CLOSED – Design 1 won the first design challenge! To vote for your favourite design follow these steps: Hover your mouse over the photo of the design illustration you like the best. Social media sharing buttons will appear over the photo. Choose the social media icon you wish to share the design on, eg. […]
TINY TIN OF BUTTONS
I have always loved buttons. My grandmother had a tin full of buttons that I used to play with every time I visited her. I would forgo the toys and would closely examine the buttons like the little treasures they were. We ended up with this magical tin of buttons early in my teenage years. […]
AUGUST CHALLENGE: BUTTONS
It only seems fitting that the first blog challenge should be about buttons. It was, after all, the humble button that sparked the initial idea for the blog. Walking around the garment district in New York City looking for fabrics I stumbled into a store filled with nothing but buttons. Floor to ceiling buttons. […]
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