Buttons are universal types of fasteners that even a child can handle. In addition to being used in the clothing and haberdashery industries, they are used to decorate clothing and interiors, and as a consumable material for “hand-made” crafts and children’s toys.
Who invented buttons
Interesting! On women's and men's clothing, fasteners are located on different sides. Women's on the left, men's on the right. This is explained by the fact that before, men, in most cases, dressed themselves, while girls with outfits were helped by maids, for whom the location of the ribbons and hooks on the right side was inconvenient.
Story
It is impossible to say exactly who came up with the idea of connecting pieces of clothing to each other using small objects by threading them through loops or holes in the fabric. Some sources attribute primacy to the Greeks, others to the Egyptians, and others to the Asians and Turks.All of them, up to a certain point, tied together parts of their outfits with pins or metal buckles, until someone came up with the idea of using buttons for these purposes.
Among the most ancient, objects discovered in the Indus River valley are considered to be vaguely reminiscent of modern models, used more for decoration than for fastening clothes. They were made from shells, the shapes were geometrically correct, and there was a hole in the middle that allowed the button to be tied to clothing.
During the early Middle Ages, such devices were practically forgotten and were not used as fasteners. The tight cut invented in the 13th century helped restore their popularity. It was impossible to achieve the effect without them. If you look at the works of artists of those times, you can see that most outfits were decorated with long rows of small buttons, the number of which could reach up to a hundred.
Interesting! House coats of arms and other distinctive designs and inscriptions were applied to the products that decorated the outfits of the nobility, emphasizing the special status of their owners.
The first buttons, what they were
The very first examples of clothing fasteners were made from stone or animal bones. Later, ancient people learned to cut buttons from wood and cover them with leather or fabric. In France, they learned to make fasteners for clothes from ceramics, mother-of-pearl, porcelain and glass. The Chinese made buttons from papier-mâché, which the Europeans who lived at the beginning of the 19th century really liked.
The Germans began casting buttons from various metals and alloys, including copper and tin.Products made of precious metals, inlaid with diamonds and other stones, decorated the clothes of influential people and served a largely decorative function.
In addition to the materials used for manufacturing, the shape and size also changed. Pear-shaped, square, almond-shaped or grooved, reaching the size of a small egg and not exceeding the parameters of a pea - they all found their place on the dresses and caftans of people of past centuries.
Interesting! In addition to their functional and decorative uses, buttons played the role of amulets, endowed with great strength and power. In different cultures they were used in rituals and ceremonies, they were spoken for good luck and happiness, they were used to lure suitors and send damage.
Button in the modern world
Today, finding at least one button on your clothes is not difficult for anyone. They are used as decoration even in places where, it would seem, one could do without them. Plastic is most often used as manufacturing materials, since it is the most unpretentious and convenient for constant interaction with fabrics and other materials.
There are several types of buttons:
- With through holes. Most often there are 2 or 4 of them. Some clothing manufacturers can produce lines with 3 or even 5 holes, which subsequently become their calling card and distinctive feature.
- With an ear. Such products are sewn to the fabric by threading a thread into a protrusion with a hole protruding on the back side.
- Denim. Such models are not sewn to the fabric, but are attached to it using a spike or rivet. It is quite difficult to attach such a button to trousers or a shirt yourself; most often this is done in a tailor shop.
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