Hello all
Hubby and family going thru MIL things and he brought home some of her sewing/quilting things. I found in a shoe box some hand pieced squares no two alike was thinking that I would try to put them into a quilt but I stumbled across an article where they had put small landscape quilts in frames and I think that I may try that. But to get onto the buttons. She had a gallon jar,quart jar and a popcorn tin completely full of buttons I have never seen so many. Any ideas for using all these? Oh and I have quite a few myself but nothing like her collection.

You can use them to embellish about anything. I've seen them stitched around the collars and cuffs of denim shirts and I thought that looked really cute. Or, you could leave them in big glass jars in your sewing room as a decorator touch.

Sounds like you got a heck of a score on the buttons!! I would try to use them as decorations on a quilt or in the sewing room for that matter. I dont know why but I have quite a few vintage buttons that I keep in a jar and as I find them I add to it. To me its neat looking at all the different colors and types in there.

But you want to know something funny though.......out of all of these vintage machines I own I do not have the first Buttonholler. :roll: :lol:

Billy

I just got done putting buttons on a bedrunner, for flower centers.

I've seen them used on crazy quilt squares. This woman has a terrific blog about doing crazy quilt squares and she uses a ton of buttons in this quilt. She shows how to do 40 some odd blocks. Plenty of ideas.

http://www.pintangle.com/journal/201...x-crazy-q.html

They can be used in the center of pincushions and pillows, top and bottom, to pull the center part in.

Great ideas you are the best

I had a big jar of buttons. The box with that jar in it was in the kitchen when I was unpacking kitchen stuff and I sent it downstairs with other sewing room stuff and it disappeared!! It has to be here somewhere but I've already unpacked all the sewing room stuff now!!

You can also string together the buttons that are the same size flats with matching holes and make into lil people, dolls, clowns, etc and use a ball type bead for a head. The string you would use is buttonhole twist not thread. If you use thread they will come apart too easily. They are like the ones that are put together with facric yoyos. You just use the buttons instead of the yoyos. Clear as mud?

Or you can embellish totes with them.

If you are interested in selling any of them I would be interested in buying some. Just a thought. :-)

DeeDee

if you do any of the secret pal swaps on here, you could give some buttons in them.. i would like some in a swap.!!!!!

My autistic daughter loves buttons. She sorts them and arranges them and can spend lots of time just looking at them in various ways. She finds it calming.

I love buttons, always have. I have tons of them, i use them for embellishing my quilts and pillows, clothes, cards.
Some of the older ones i keep to look at.

I just let my 3 yr old grandson glue buttons around a picture frame for his mamma.

My son has autism and when his school went to Rogers, Ark to the Daisy BB Gun Factory they have a huge wooden barrel of BB's that you can fill you own container and buy them. They encourage the kids (and adults) to run their hands deep into the barrel and play in it. Believe it or not it is very therapeutic and feels wonderful! I made something real similar for them to have at their school and it is filled with beads.

But it has a soothing effect to it and the if some of the kids get a little agitated they go to the "barrel" and play in it for a few minutes then they are happy again.

Billy

Think about making a mosiac type wall hanging , letting the colors , shapes and types be the "tiles". it could be stunning and a great remeberance.