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Sewing Buttons

Sewing Buttons

The right button finishes a make. This collection brings together sewing buttons for dressmaking, knitting, bag making and craft: wooden and coconut buttons, self-cover buttons you can wrap in your own fabric, toggles, jeans buttons, and fisheye and novelty designs, in a range of sizes. Sold in small packs. Not sure on size? The guide at the bottom of the page helps you match a button to your project.

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Buttons do more than fasten. The right one can lift a handmade shirt, add character to a cardigan or finish a bag or craft project neatly. This collection leans towards natural materials and useful basics rather than sheer volume, so you'll find wooden and coconut buttons, plain and effect plastics, toggles, jeans buttons and blanks you can cover yourself.

The range covers a spread of materials and styles. Wooden and coconut buttons bring a natural, tactile finish that suits knitwear, linen and casual makes. Self-cover buttons let you wrap a blank in your own fabric for an exact match, handy when nothing off the shelf works. Toggles are the classic duffle-coat fastening, jeans buttons are hammered-in metal for denim and workwear, and fisheye and novelty buttons cover shirts, children's clothes and craft. Sizes are given in millimetres on each product.

Choosing the right button

A couple of things make the choice easier. Size: buttons are measured across the diameter in millimetres (you may also see the older ligne measure, where 40 lignes is roughly 25mm). As a rough guide, shirt buttons are around 10 to 11mm and coat or jacket buttons around 20mm. Shank or sew-through: sew-through buttons have two or four holes and sit flush, which suits shirts and lighter fabrics, while shank buttons have a loop on the back that lets thicker fabric sit underneath when fastened, better for coats and jackets. How many: allow roughly seven to nine for a shirt, five to seven for a cardigan and four to six for a coat, plus a spare in case one is lost.

A tip on self-cover buttons

Self-cover buttons are worth knowing about if you can't find the exact shade you need. You wrap a small blank in an offcut of your project fabric, which gives you a button that matches perfectly, ideal for a hidden placket, a belt, or a run of buttons down a dress. Pair them with a scrap of your Croft Mill fabric and you've a coordinated finish with no compromise on colour.

How are button sizes measured?

Buttons are measured across the diameter, and our range is sized in millimetres. You may also come across the older ligne measure on some patterns, where 40 lignes equals about 25mm (one inch). As a rough guide, shirt buttons are around 10 to 11mm and coat or jacket buttons around 20mm.

What's the difference between shank and sew-through buttons?

Sew-through buttons have two or four holes and are stitched flat to the fabric, so they sit flush; they suit shirts, blouses and lighter fabrics. Shank buttons have a small loop on the back, which raises the button slightly and leaves room for thicker fabric to sit underneath when fastened, so they're better for coats and jackets.

What are self-cover buttons?

They're plain blanks you cover with your own fabric, usually an offcut of your project cloth, to make a button that matches exactly. They're handy when you can't find the right colour off the shelf and want a fully coordinated finish.

How many buttons do I need?

As a rough guide, allow around seven to nine for a shirt, five to seven for a cardigan and four to six for a coat, then add a spare in case one goes missing. Your pattern will usually give an exact number.

Can I machine wash wooden and coconut buttons?

Natural buttons like wood and coconut prefer gentler care and are best not left through hot, heavy washes, while plastic and metal buttons are more robust. Check the individual product page, and for delicate or natural buttons, hand washing or a cool, gentle cycle is safest.

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