I love buttons. I have a lot of them. Lots and lots. Tins, containers. boxes and jars full of buttons. Hundreds and hundreds of them. The buttons are mostly vintage. Some are new. Some are still on their original cards. However the majority are loose and all mixed together. The problem is I am always digging through them, or tipping them out, looking for the perfect button for a project.
I have been thinking of ways to sort the buttons with no real answer. In an inspired moment I decided to tie the buttons together on a piece of string and tie them in a bow. A simple solution for sure, and I'm surely not the first to hit upon it. But this way when I tip them out I can see what I have immediately. I can add or subtract buttons easily. And then I can sort them into jars by colour. My sister then suggested using floral wire, which is a great solution, though I didn't have any on hand.
I began today by picking out my favourite little tin of vintage buttons and starting with them. Cohen sat on the bed with me while the baby slept. He sorted the buttons into little piles, while I threaded them on some thick cotton, then he popped them in the tin. It's a project that is going to take quite a few nap times to accomplish. But in the meantime all those funny little things that end up on the button jar will get sorted too - marbles, single cufflinks, nails, buckles - and the numerous plastic business shirt buttons and broken buttons can be weeded out of the collection while I'm at it.
How do you store or sort your buttons?
