Uses for old buttons

16011996

oooh, button hat. my kids think i have gone mad. ;D

Ally

Ok, here is my tip for spare buttons.

If you have any plain duvet covers/sheets/pillow cases sew on the buttons to tart them up. I used to do this to plain cushions covers too .... back in my sewing days ::) All my curtains that are actually being used were all hand made by MOI ;D I added buttons in the hem to weigh them down, so they hang better.

HTH all the button collectors here

Janeryan

Just been reading passed on copy of Gardeners World from August 2003 and they have a money saving tip-use your old buttons as mulch on top of your houseplant pots to (and here i quote)"give added interest and prevent moisture loss"

16011996

ooh, more ideas, i'm running out of buttons again though. >:(

catznine

I'm taking mine into the school where I work as we are doing a collage activity- dressing large, cut out in card, gingerbread men - stick on buttons, use up oddments of wool for hair, fabric scraps for clothing, sequins for eyes etc., A good way of using up all those odds and ends and keeping children happy as well!

Queenie

Bumpety Bump for our newer members ... :shhh: I'd actually forgotten Glads tip and some of the others :silenced:

Prudent

When I was a young child I loved my mother's button tin. I used to sit and play with the buttons for hours.

I find them good to use in school with the children for counting. they much prefer the variety of buttons to commercial plastic counters.

Queenie

Me too Prudent, I'd even sneak the odd button to add to my beads tin - anyone else while away sunny hours "Swapping Beads" when they were little?

My kids have always enjoyed colour sorting buttons and counting/grouping

kaznelson

I love buttons ..........infact I think i have a bit of a fetish for them!!!

Jazz up your cushions with them

Glue them to brown parcel labels for cheap gift tags

Glue them around old tins/jars to make decorative vases

tallulah_beaulah

Think I saw this idea on Martha Stewart's website:

sew a button or two onto a napkin / hanky etc. then embroider onto it to make it into a picture eg. a red button then embroider a stalk and leaf to make it into a cherry.

A set of a few napkins like this would be a nice handmade gift. Or combine this idea with the storytelling idea from earlier post, and make a hanky or something using buttons from your kids baby clothes, then give it to them as a gift (maybe when they've got a bad cold - or need cheering up).

It's a bit labour intensive and won't use up many buttons, but hey... could be nice.