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Where did Dorset buttons originate?
A Dorset button is a style of craft-made button originating in the English county of Dorset. Their manufacture was at a peak between 1622 and 1850, after which they were overtaken by machine-made buttons from factories in the developing industries of Birmingham and other growing cities.
What was used before buttons?
The precursor to the button fastener was the fibula, a brooch or pin used to hold two pieces of clothing on the shoulder or chest. The button began to replace the fibula at least by the early Middle Ages, if not sooner. Buttons functioned as primary fastenings for men’s dress earlier than for women’s.
Susan Bates 1″ Plastic Bone Rings for making Dorset Buttons
Early History The forerunner of the button fastener was the fibula, a brooch or pin used to hold two pieces of clothing on the shoulder or chest. At the latest in the early Middle Ages, if not earlier, the button began to replace the fibula. Related Articles Identification of Rare and Valuable Antique Buttons
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Steiff bears: Values behind the fascinating collectibles Buttons used to be the main fastener for men’s clothing than for women’s clothing. This may be due to the fact that from the late Middle Ages through the 20th century, women had to sit tight and smooth. Laces and hooks are better suited to provide the strong support and smooth appearance required for close-fitting garments. One of the earliest surviving garments to show the use of buttons as fasteners is the pourpoint of Charles of Blois (c.1319-1364). This new piece of outerwear has been tailored on the body and sleeves, using buttons to close the front and sleeves from the elbow. At this point, however, men’s undergarments (breeches and later trousers) were still attached to their outer garments or to an inner belt by dots (laces made of ribbon or cord decorated with metal tips). These metal-tipped spikes were often attached to both male and female clothing as purely decorative pieces. There are records of buttons in documents pertaining to nobility in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. For example, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (1396-1497) ordered Venetian glass buttons decorated with pearls, and Francis I of France (1494-1547) is said to have ordered from a Parisian a set of black enamel buttons mounted on gold were goldsmiths. These were obviously special buttons of the same quality as contemporary jewellery. Buttons of any material were generally round and of ornate metal or covered with needlework of silk or metal thread on a wooden core. The spherical toggle button is probably the type of button that replaced the fibula as a fastener for cloaks, cloaks, and other outerwear. A sixteenth-century example exists at Nuremberg, hallmarked silver attached to a thin rod by a flexible chain link.
The 18th Century The 18th century is considered by collectors to be the golden age of buttons, as both the variety of styles and the physical size of buttons increased dramatically. Men’s coats required buttons at the front opening, sleeves, pockets, and back vents. Waistcoats and trousers were also fastened with buttons. The button increases in size and the shape becomes generally flatter as the century progresses, culminating in the flat disc 3.5 cm (1.38 in) in diameter. The value of a men’s ensemble’s embellishments in this period, consisting of metallic thread embroidery and jeweled buttons, could account for as much as 80 percent of the suit’s cost. Thus, luxurious buttons became an increasingly important part of status expression in upscale men’s clothing. Denis Diderot’s Encyclopédie (ca. 1746) extols the creativity of button-makers, although for moralists costly buttons became a sign of fashion excess. The new fad of paste jewels (imitation gemstones) appeared in the 1730s and were used to make some of the most prized buttons of the 19th century. Georges Frédéric Strass, a Paris jeweler, perfected techniques to create these glass jewels. As the button evolved from a sphere to a flat disk, another notable change in decoration technique was the use of the button as a palette for painting. Representational images became immensely popular in the second half of the 18th century and are related to the miniature portraits worn as pendants or pins during this period. Portraits and subjects such as rococo genre scenes, historical events, tourist views and monuments were created. An exceptional set of French portrait miniature buttons was made circa 1790 and contained portraits of figures from the time of the French Revolution; Each portrait was set in silver and had a diamond border with the sitter’s name engraved on the back. Notable artists were involved in the production of portrait buttons; Jean-Baptiste Isabey (1767-1855), a miniaturist and student of Jacques-Louis David, reports that he painted decorative buttons early in his career. In the second half of the 18th century, button making in Europe fell into two categories: French button making remained an artisanal tradition associated with other high quality decorative arts, while the English button industry developed mass production techniques. Perhaps the most influential of the new English technologies was the development of cut steel buttons and accessories by the Birmingham steelmaker Matthew Bolton (1728-1809) in the 1760s. Bolton’s buttons, cut or faceted steel, were one of the most prevalent styles of the last three decades of the 18th century. The polished and faceted surface was created to imitate that of faceted gemstones or glass and the effect was quite successful. Ceramic maker Josiah Wedgwood began making buttons from his popular jasper in 1773, in a collaboration with Matthew Bolton, who created ground steel settings for the ceramic buttons. Jasper pottery, with its neoclassical motifs derived from cameos, had become the hallmark of the Wedg-Wood factory, and the knobs came in five colors and a variety of shapes. Another innovation in the ceramics industry, transfer printing created a new type of ceramic button decorated with designs derived from copperplate engravings. By the late 18th century, mother-of-pearl buttons began to rival steel buttons in popularity. The sensibilities of the 18th century Enlightenment were manifested in several unique styles of buttons. Lifelike insects and animals became the subject of button sets, as did buttons made from semi-precious materials such as agate, where the natural patterns of the stones were the only decoration. The highlight of this natural history trend are probably the so-called habitat buttons, which contain real specimens of insects, plants or minerals under glass domes.
19th and 20th Centuries The standardization of military uniforms in 18th-century Europe led to the manufacture of specialty buttons, which still make up a large part of the button industry today. The number of buttons required for a soldier’s coat can be as many as twenty to thirty. Each country, region, and specialization within the armed forces required their own individual designs. Uniform buttons were adopted into civilian life as modern businesses such as airlines and local law enforcement required special buttons for their uniforms. From the early 19th century men’s clothing became much simpler and less ostentatious. Portraits by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) show men’s fashion in the first half of the 19th century with plain gold metal or fabric buttons of the same color as the garment they are sewn on. Women’s corsetry and outerwear became the point of sale for the display of decorative buttons in the mid-19th century. Women’s buttons followed jewelry trends: colored enamel, porcelain, pearls, silver and jewels were used. Jet and black glass, introduced during Queen Victoria’s mourning of Prince Albert, remained popular through the end of the century. The 19th century button industry continued along the two lines that had been established in the 18th century; Industrial progress continued concurrently with artisan techniques, which generally followed 19th-century historical revival styles of decorative arts. In 1812 Aaron Benedict started a metal button manufacturing factory in Waterbury, Connecticut to supply metal buttons for the military. Up until this point, many metal buttons were still coming from England, but the War of 1812 brought trade between the United States and Great Britain to a standstill. As of 2003, Benedict’s company, which became known as Waterbury Buttons, had been in business for 191 years. It is the oldest and largest manufacturer of stamped metal buttons in the United States. Statistics from 1996 show they produced 100 million buttons – about half for fashion retailers and the rest for military and commercial customers. Metal remains the main type of mass-produced buttons because the material lends itself to mass-production techniques. The French company Albert Parent et Cie, founded in 1825, exemplifies the brilliance of French manufacturers who combined mass production techniques with handcrafted details to create luxury 18th century style buttons. The company left behind an archive of pattern books containing over 80,000 examples of buttons in every technique available at the time. While more buttons were mass-produced in the 19th century, this did not mean fewer materials were used in the manufacture of buttons. Natural materials such as horn and shells, used for centuries, have been rediscovered as mass-produced items. New materials like celluloid, the first plastic, were used to imitate other materials as early as the 1870s. Representative picture buttons, first introduced in the late 18th century, reached their peak between 1870 and 1914. 19th-century scenes were generally mass-produced stamped metal designs depicting every imaginable subject, but contemporary marvels like the Eiffel Tower were particularly popular. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, more and more men and women wore suits with linen or cotton shirts underneath, the new uniform for the emerging working class. Both suit jackets and shirts required buttons for closures and created the need for a large number of inexpensive buttons. Thus, the four-hole button was introduced in both men’s and women’s fashion. However, fine jewelry quality buttons were still being produced by some of the most prominent retailers of the time such as Cartier, Liberty’s of London and Georg Jensen. The buttons faced competition from the new zipper, which was patented in 1903 but did not find general use until the 1930s. The zipper was initially considered a novelty and played a prominent role as a decoration in the designs of the top designers. Bakelite was invented in 1907 and by the 1930s had replaced almost all other plastics for accessories. Durable and versatile, bakelite was the material for some of the most extravagant knobs of the twentieth century, but other plastics eventually supplanted it. Three-dimensional accessories like fruit shapes emerged in the 1930s and 1940s when small accessories like buttons were particularly popular. Allied with Surrealist artists in the 1930s, designer Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973) excelled in her use of exceptional custom-made buttons. Plastics replaced most cheap glass and pearl buttons in the 1960s. This, coupled with the fact that natural materials such as ivory and tortoise shell are now banned in the US and other countries, has led to the dominance of plastic buttons made to imitate these materials. Mother of pearl is still used, but in much smaller quantities than before. American-made pearl buttons can cost anywhere from twenty-five cents to three dollars apiece, since some of the work still has to be done by hand and the finest shells are imported from the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The use of stretch fabrics and increasingly informal clothing has led to a decline in demand for button closures. They have become a symbol of nostalgia and anachronistic tradition, as evidenced by the retro button-down jeans introduced by denim manufacturers in the 1990s and the continued use of rows of tiny buttons at the back of wedding dresses. Buttons have become extremely collectible. The National Button Society exists for collectors and publishes a quarterly bulletin and hosts an annual meeting and show. There are similar societies in the UK and Australia and elsewhere in the world. Military buttons are a specialty among collectors, as the challenge of identifying the insignia of armed forces segments increases interest in these items. See also fasteners; Zipper.
How old are buttons?
Ian McNeil (1990) holds that “the button was originally used more as an ornament than as a fastening, the earliest known being found at Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley. It is made of a curved shell and about 5000 years old.”
Susan Bates 1″ Plastic Bone Rings for making Dorset Buttons
Brass buttons from a Danish World War I artillery lieutenant’s uniform
A button is a fastener that connects two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or through a buttonhole.
In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic, but can also be made of metal, wood, or shell. Buttons can also be used on containers such as wallets and bags. Buttons may be sewn onto garments and similar items for decorative purposes only. In applied arts and crafts, a button can be an example of folk art, studio craft, or even a miniature work of art. In archaeology, a button can be a significant artifact.
Koumpounophobia is the fear of buttons, anecdotally associated with reports of smelly and dirty buttons.[1][2]
history [edit]
Spanish button from ca. 1650-1675 (ca. 12 mm).
Buttons and button-like objects, used as ornaments or sigils rather than fasteners, were found in the Indus Valley Civilization during their Kot Diji phase (c. 2800–2600 BC)[3] at the Tomb of the Eagles, Scotland ( 2200- 1800 BC)[4][5][6] and at Bronze Age sites in China (c. 2000–1500 BC) and Ancient Rome.
Shell buttons were used in the Indus Valley Civilization up to 2000 BC. Used for ornamental purposes.[7] Some buttons were carved into geometric shapes and pierced with holes so they could be attached to clothing with thread.[7] Ian McNeil (1990) states that “The button was originally used as an ornament rather than a fastener, the earliest known being found at Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley. It is made from a curved shell and is about 5000 years old.” [8th]
Egypt’s Eighteenth Dynasty left elaborate wig covers made by sewing buttons of precious metals onto strips of backing material.
Leatherwork from the Roman Empire includes some of the earliest buttonholes, with the legionary loculus (school bag) being closed by the insertion of a metal buckle or button into a leather slot. A similar mechanism would later appear in early medieval shoes.[9] By the 5th century AD at the latest, buttons appeared as a means of fastening cuffs in the Byzantine Empire and fastening the necks of Egyptian tunics.[10]
As a container[edit]
At least since the 17th century, when box-like metal buttons were made specifically for this purpose,[11] buttons have been among the items in which drug smugglers attempted to hide and transport illegal substances. At least one modern smuggler has attempted this method.[12]
Also taking advantage of the storage capabilities of metal buttons, British and US military medallion buttons containing miniature working compasses were made during the World Wars.[13]
Materials and Crafting[edit]
Button Factory Henri Jamorski,
Paris, France, 1919 Button Embossing Machine, Henri Jamorski Button Factory, Paris, France, 1919
Because buttons have been made from almost every possible material, both natural and synthetic, and combinations of both, the history of the material composition of buttons reflects the timeline of materials technology.
Buttons can be individually crafted by artisans, artisans, or artists from raw materials or found objects (such as fossils), or a combination of both. Alternatively, they may be the product of a low-tech cottage industry or mass-produced in high-tech factories. Artist-made buttons are art objects known to button collectors as “atelier buttons” (or simply “ateliers”, from atelier crafts).[14]
In 1918, the US government conducted a comprehensive survey of the international button market, listing buttons made of vegetable ivory, metal, glass, galalith, silk, linen, cotton-covered crochet, lead, snaps, enamel, rubber, staghorn, wood, horn, Bone, leather, paper, pressed cardboard, mother-of-pearl, celluloid, porcelain, pulp, pewter, zinc, xylonite, stone, fabric-covered wood forms and papier-mâché. Vegetable ivory was considered the most popular for suits and shirts, and papier-mâché was by far the most common type of shoe button.[15]
Nowadays hard plastic, shell, metals and wood are the most common materials used in button making; the others are more likely to be used in fine or antique clothing, or found in collections.
Over 60% of the world’s button supply comes from Qiaotou, Yongjia County, China.[16][17]
Decoration and coating techniques[edit]
Historically, button fashion has also reflected trends in applied aesthetics and applied fine arts, with button makers using techniques from jewelry making, pottery, sculpting, painting, printmaking, metalworking, weaving, and others. The following are just some of the construction and decoration techniques used in the manufacture of buttons:
Types of attachments[edit]
Three plastic sew-through buttons (left) and a fabric-covered shank button (right)
shirt rivets
Plastic rivets for bedding
Shank buttons have a hollow protrusion on the back through which thread is sewn to secure the button. [25] Button shanks may be made from a separate piece of the same or different fabric as the button itself and attached to the back of the button, or carved or molded directly onto the back of the button, in the latter case the button is referred to by collectors as ” property”.
Buttons have a hollow protrusion on the back through which thread is sewn to secure the button. Button shanks may be made from a separate piece of the same or different fabric as the button itself and attached to the back of the button, or carved or molded directly onto the back of the button, the latter of which the button is known to collectors as a “property”. Flat or sew-through buttons have holes through which thread is sewn to secure the button. [26] Flat buttons can be machine attached rather than hand and can be used with heavy fabrics by working a thread shank to increase the height of the button above the fabric.
Buttons have holes through which thread is sewn to secure the button. Flat buttons can be attached with a sewing machine rather than by hand, and can be used on heavy fabrics by working a thread shank to increase the button’s height above the fabric. Snap fasteners (also push-through buttons or just snap fasteners) consist of an actual button, which is connected to a second, button-like element by a narrow metal or plastic bar. Pushed through two opposing holes in what is meant to be held together, the actual button and its counterpart push it together and keep it connected. Popular examples of such buttons are shirt buttons and cufflinks.
Buttons (also push-through buttons or just rivets) consist of an actual button, which is connected to a second, button-like element by a narrow metal or plastic bar. Pushed through two opposing holes in what is meant to be held together, the actual button and its counterpart push it together and keep it connected. Popular examples of such buttons are shirt buttons and cufflinks. Snaps (also snaps or snaps) are round discs of metal (usually brass) that are pressed through fabric. They are commonly found on clothing, particularly denim items such as pants and jackets. They are more securely attached to the material. Because they rely on a metal rivet securely attached to the fabric, snaps are difficult to remove without compromising the integrity of the fabric. They consist of two pairs: the male mating pair and the female mating pair. Each pair has a front (or top) and back (or bottom) side (the fabric goes in the middle).
Cloth buttons [ edit ]
Covered buttons are fabric-covered shapes with a separate back piece that secures the fabric over the button.
are fabric-covered shapes with a separate back part that fixes the fabric over the knob. Mandarin buttons or frogs are buttons made from artistically knotted cords. Mandarin buttons are a key element in mandarin clothing (qi pao and cheongsam in Chinese) where they are fastened with loops. Pairs of mandarin buttons worn as cufflinks are known as silk knots.
or frogs are buttons made of artistically knotted cords. Mandarin buttons are a key element in Mandarin clothing (and in Chinese) where they are fastened with loops. Pairs of mandarin buttons worn as cufflinks are called . Tooled or fabric buttons are made by embroidering or crocheting solid stitches (usually with linen thread) over a button or ring called a shape. Dorset buttons, handmade from the 17th century to 1750, and skull buttons are of this type.
Button sizes [ edit ]
The size of the button depends on its use. Shirt buttons are generally small and spaced closely together, while coat buttons are larger and spaced farther apart. Buttons are commonly measured in lines (also called lines and abbreviated L), with 40 lines equaling 1 inch.[27] For example, some standard sizes of buttons are 16 lines (10.16 mm, standard men’s shirt button) and 32 lines (20.32 mm, typical button on a suit jacket).
In museums and galleries[ edit ]
Buttons by Peter Carl Fabergé at the Cleveland Museum of Art
Some museums and art galleries have culturally, historically, politically, and/or artistically significant buttons in their collections. The Victoria and Albert Museum has many buttons,[28] particularly in its jewelry collection, as does the Smithsonian Institution.[29][30][31][32]
Hammond Turner & Sons, a button manufacturing company in Birmingham, hosts an online museum with a picture gallery and historical articles on buttons,[33] including an 1852 article by Charles Dickens on button making.[34] In the United States, large button collections are on public display at the Waterbury Button Museum in Waterbury, Connecticut,[35] the Keep Homestead Museum in Monson, Massachusetts,[36] which also houses an extensive button archive,[37] and in Gurnee , Illinois in the Button Room .[38]
Gallery [ edit ]
In politics[edit]
The primarily American tradition of politically significant dress buttons appears to have begun with the first inauguration of George Washington in 1789. Known to collectors as “Washington Inaugurals,”[39] they were made of copper, brass, or Sheffield plate in large sizes for coats and smaller sizes for trousers.[40] Produced in twenty-two patterns and stamped by hand, they are now extremely valuable cultural artifacts.
Between about 1840 and 1916, clothes buttons were used in American political campaigns and still exist in collections today. Initially, these buttons were predominantly brass (although horn and rubber buttons with stamped or molded designs also exist) and had eyelets. Around 1860 the badge or pin-back style of construction appeared, replacing eyelets with long pins, probably for use on lapels and ties.[41]
A common practice that survived until recently on campaign buttons and badges was to include George Washington’s image with that of the candidate in question.
Some of the most famous campaign buttons are those for Abraham Lincoln. Commemorative buttons commemorating Lincoln’s inauguration and other life events, including his birth and death, have also been made and are also considered very collectible.
References[edit]
What do you use Dorset buttons for?
Well, if you squizz about online for a bit, you’ll find all kinds of uses for Dorset buttons. I’ve seen them made into jewelry, into refrigerator magnets, into hair accessories, used for accents on crazy quilts, used in upholstering and pillow-making.
Susan Bates 1″ Plastic Bone Rings for making Dorset Buttons
i love her story
I love her charm.
I love their versatility.
I love Dorset buttons!
And I love what creative people are doing with Dorset buttons these days.
So when Anita sent in photos of her latest adventures in Dorset – button placket (I don’t really think ‘button placket’ is a word but it should be) I just knew I had to share them with you!
And just in case they inspire you to try some buttoning yourself, I’ve also included some links below to good tutorials related to Dorset buttons.
Dorset knobs are essentially covered rings. The rings can be wood, metal, or plastic, and are covered with thread using buttonhole stitches (pearl cotton works great, but other floss, string, or yard goods will do).
From there they are further decorated, usually starting with a criss-cross spoke foundation around the button, which is fastened together with a ribbed cobweb stitch.
However, once you start the decorative part of the button, you can let your imagination run wild! Beads, French knots, tiny detail stitches – everything is possible!
There are also other buttons under Anita’s Dorset buttons including singleton buttons and some buttons.
I love blue, yellow and white together too, so the color scheme here totally charms me!
You may be wondering what you would do if you treated yourself to a round of Dorset buttons.
It would be fun, sure! There’s plenty of room for creativity, definitely! But what would I do with all those buttons in the long run?!?!
Well if you poke around a bit online you will find all sorts of uses for Dorset buttons. I’ve seen them made into jewelry, fridge magnets, hair accessories, accents on crazy quilts, upholstery and pillow making. I’ve seen them used as blind handles and for decorations on curtain ties. I have seen them adorning tassels and other uses related to trimmings. I’ve seen them as accents on small gift packages (gift tags with Dorset buttons!), as decorations on birthday cards, and as key rings and scissor tags. Christmas ornaments? Absolutely!
And…I’ve seen them used as… Keys!
Imagine!
If you knit or crochet – or maybe have a friend who knits or crochet – they are a great way to add a decorative, unique and personal touch to sweaters, shrugs, scarves, mittens and the like!
Did I mention I just love Dorset buttons?
A great collection Anita – so much fun to look at! It reminds me of an “I Spy” book. I could keep searching and searching and searching and still discovering new details.
Dorset Button Making Tutorials
If you’d like to try your hand at Dorset button making (and others) (I like “buttons” better), here are a few online tutorials I’ve put together for you:
How to make Dorset Buttons on CraftStylish
Henry’s Buttons – with tutorials, history and a gallery
Singleton Buttons Tutorial on Sugarloops
Ribbed Coated Button Tutorial – similar to the Dorset button button
These should get you started on your own mind-bending adventures!
How to Make a Dorset Crosswheel Button
See some more details on the topic plastic rings for making dorset buttons here:
Dorset buttons, Button crafts, Button creations – Pinterest
Making Dorset buttons is addictive!!! … with a few simple materials – thread or yarn, a metal or plastic ring, and a needle – Dorset buttons can be plain, …
Source: www.pinterest.com
Date Published: 4/2/2021
View: 8616
Dorset button
type of button
Blandford Cartwheel button.
A Dorset button is a type of handmade button that originated in the English county of Dorset. Their manufacture was at its peak between 1622 and 1850, after which they were overtaken by machine-made buttons from factories in the developing industries of Birmingham and other growing cities.
Types [ edit ]
Dorset buttons are characteristically made by repeatedly tying yarn over a disc or ring former. There are four main forms and within them a large number of individual styles.
wheels [edit]
Pair of cross wheel buttons
‘Wheels’ are the most distinctive form of Dorset buttons and are worked on a ring. They are also known as Dorset Cartwheels, Crosswheels, Basket Weaves and Yarrells.[2]
Wheels are made by variations on the same processes of casting, slicking, laying, and rounding:[3]
Casting blanket stitch is knit around a ring former and encloses it with a ring-shaped yarn sleeve.[4] Slicking The starting stitches were worked from the outside of the ring. They originally protruded from the ring and are now rotated on the ring to be all on the inside.[4] This leaves the outer edge smooth, making for a more functional button, and also creates a slightly protruding border of stitching on the inside. Cross threads are sewn radially across the button, side to side of the cast stitches.[4] Stitches are either caught by the casting stitches, now on the inside after smoothing, or they are simply wrapped over the outside of the ring.[4] These passages can form either a radial star or, if they run on the sides of the center, a hollow star. The number of strands varies depending on the pattern. Strands are usually arranged symmetrically around the ring, but they can be skipped or gathered into bundles to create patterns. “Birds Eye” buttons have no routing or curve but use multiple passes of thickened casting to create a simple “donut” button. Originally, before wire rings were introduced, these were formed in one pass over a rolled piece of fabric.[5] Rounding Rounding weaves a spiral of yarn over the crossed strands, starting in the middle. This step specifies most of the pattern variations for a wheel button. ‘Blandford Cartwheels’ can stop after just a few laps.[3] ‘Crosswheels’ have very little roundness and their cross strands are noticeable. “Basket Weave” uses an extensive curve that is visible on the top and hides the cross strands.
High Tops and Dorset Knobs[ edit ]
“High Tops” and “Dorset Knobs” are patterns that are taller or nearly as tall as they are wide.[2] They were the first manufactured Dorset buttons, made before the advent of the metal ring former based on a ram’s horn. They are covered with fabric and then embroidered for decoration.[6] Techniques for making them were lost but rediscovered in the 1970s. The Dorset Knob also gave its name to a locally made hard biscuit.
Bird Eyes and Mites[ edit ]
These were made using a small piece of triangular fabric and rolled and formed into a donut shape with a hole in the middle. This shape was then covered with blanket stitches
Singletons[edit]
‘Singletons’ are made on a ring former similar to wheels, but this is padded with a disc of woven fabric which is then embroidered.[2] Their name derives from the Singleton family, who made a specialty of this style in the 17th century.[7][8]
history [edit]
Switches and simple knobs have always been manufactured across England to suit local needs. Buttons were traded between cities by itinerant peddlers. but beyond that there was no organized trade or centers of production. Around 1600 men’s upper body clothing began the transition from doublet to coat.[9] Buttons grew larger, more conspicuous, and became a specialty item made by button makers rather than tailors.
The first Dorset buttons used products from local sheep farms: ram’s horn as the base and locally produced fabric over it. Those were the high-top buttons. The doublet or peascod was fastened by a single central row of small, closely spaced buttons. These were made high to avoid the small buttons slipping out of the stiff fabric. As the button line of fashion moved outwards and the garment became more flexible, a wider and lower button was needed, the Dorset Knob.
Linen yarns and fabrics were used for high quality and commercial work, although some early buttons used cheaper woolen yarns from local herds for local use. Most buttons were made in their natural color but could be dyed to match the clothing.[6] Using multiple yarn colors is a predominantly modern trend. Dorset buttons were well known and widely traded, but it was a long time before their production was organized into a recognizable industry.
The Case family[ edit ]
In 1622 Abraham Case moved to Shaftesbury and founded the first commercial button manufacturing enterprise.[6] Originally from Gloucestershire, he had been a soldier in Europe during the Thirty Years’ War but returned and married a girl from Wardour before settling in Shaftesbury.[5] After seeing the direction of European fashion, he believed that “buttony” would become a thriving industry.
His first buttons were made in a small workshop. Later, buttons for the growing trade were made by homeworkers on a piecework basis. Some farm laborers worked on the land during the day and button-making in the evenings or in the winter. However, most were full-time button makers.[10] This homework became the norm and an important source of income for many families and for those too old to work in the fields.
Buttons were rated for quality. The finest export qualities were mounted on pink cards. Domestic quality was placed on dark blue cards and the lowest quality on yellow cards.[11] A good button maker could make about six dozen (72) buttons a day and earn up to three shillings.[11] Buttons retailing for between eight pence and three shillings a dozen.[10] This compares to wages of maybe 9d per day as a farmhand. It also had the benefit of being a home occupation, more appealing than being outside in all weathers, and also reduced spending on shoes and wearing and washing clothes.
By the late 17th century Buttony had grown into an important industry controlled by the Case family. A great many peddlers and hawkers were registered in Shaftesbury, far more than in any other local town.[5] An Act of Parliament was passed in 1699 which, in addition to its export restrictions on woolen goods, prohibited the manufacture of buttons “of cloth, serge, drugget or other fabrics”.[12] The law was intended to remain in force for two hundred years, but in practice it appears to have had little lasting impact on trade.[5]
Abraham’s sons Abraham Jr. and Elias continued the business, Elias opened a second depot in Bere Regis.[11] By 1720 there were agencies at Milborne St Andrew, Sherborne, Poole, Langton Matravers and Tarrant Keyneston.[13]
New button shapes were developed around this time. Wire was imported from the Midlands by cart, then twisted into rings and soldered.[11] These ring formers replaced the previous horn discs and began with the distinctive Dorset styles of wheel knobs. Ring-making was done by children who worked as “twisters” who formed the rings; ‘Dippers’ they soldered shut; and ‘stringers’, which they tied into string to distribute to the button makers.[11]
After a fire in 1731 destroyed the Bere Depot, Elias Case, Abraham’s son, hired a Yorkshire businessman, John Clayton, as manager, who reorganized the firm. In 1743 Clayton opened a sales office in London, followed by a new large depot at Lytchett Minster in 1744. Abraham’s grandson Peter Case opened an export office in Liverpool.[6] Case family money established the well-known Cases Street and Clayton Square in Liverpool.[13] Peter Case also developed a new stainless alloy to make the wire rings.[13]
Smaller collection points around the county have been set up at Milborne Stileham,[3] Sixpenny Handley, Piddletrenthide, Langton and Wool[11]. At one time “Buttony” employed 4,000 people with a turnover of £14,000.[6]
Reject [ edit ]
The handcrafted Dorset button was slowly being replaced by machine-made buttons. Benjamin Saunders invented the first fabric-and-thread buttoning machine in 1825. The Saunders machine was followed by others, including one made by John Aston in the early 1840s.
Among the many industrial machines on display at the Great Exhibition was Mr. John Ashton’s button press, first patented in 1841.[5] This would allow buttons to be made from thin sheet metal much more quickly and cheaply than by hand. These new buttons had the benefit of intelligent modernity. Birmingham soon became an important center for this type of costume jewelery and small press work. The centralized factories, steam power and access to venture capital could not be rivaled by the small businesses of rural Dorset.
Although Dorset’s agricultural economy remained profitable, the collapse of button making led to many personal difficulties. Many joined the mass emigration to Australia, Canada or the USA. Some became destitute and entered the workhouse.[10]
The last surviving descendant of Abraham Case died in Milborne St Andrew in 1908.[13] In the Edwardian period, Florence’s renewed interest in traditional crafts prompted Lady Lee’s Dowager to attempt to revitalize the industry, but this was thwarted by the outbreak of the Great War. It was also tried by the newly founded women’s institute after the war, but without success.[6][10]
In 2017, the Heritage Crafts Association included button making in its list of endangered traditional crafts.[14]
In popular culture[edit]
Dorset buttons have given their name to the ladies’ Morris side of Dorset Buttons. The team was formed in Wareham, Dorset in 1978. Although originally from Dorset, they dance in the North West tradition and wear wooden-soled clogs. Their colors are red and green with straw hats covered with Dorset buttons.
References[edit]
Dorset Button Rings
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Susan Bates 1″ Plastic Bone Rings for making Dorset Buttons
Molded from strong, wear-resistant and dry-cleanable plastic, Bone Rings are opaque white circular rings suitable for craft projects.
Bone rings are an excellent basis for making buttons on knitted or crocheted garments, jewellery, cafe curtains or rings on pot holders.
Perfect for creating Sue Spargo style Dorset buttons!
The uses for this handy accessory are endless!
size 1″
15 pieces per pack
Watch Ariane Zurcher demonstrate her method of making Dorset buttons. Ariane has a wonderful YouTube channel called On the Other Hand where she teaches different types of embroidery.
Visit – she is lovely!
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