The "Devil's Snare"

Can you believe that at one point in history buttons became so popular that the Church denounced them as the "devil's snare?" That's just crazy! 

Thankfully, we live in a time where buttons are celebrated, like today on National Button Day.  

National Button Day, founded in 1938, celebrates button collecting as a hobby. Now I do have quite the collection of buttons but it never started out as a hobby nor was there any intention that it would become a "collection." It just sort of happened. It is kind of like my fabric stash. It just happened.  

I come from a generation where items to be discarded were first looked over for those precious gems that could be reused and recycled. Zippers and buttons would be removed for future sewing or mending projects. It just made sense to save something than throw it out and later regret that wasteful action. And most of my buttons in my collection are just such gems.  

These buttons were saved from a blazer my Mom had made in the 1950s.  

Various vintage buttons I gathered over the years.  

I love these black and white buttons, some are recent and some are from the nineteen sixties.  

I found these coffee cup buttons at Courage My Love back in the nineteen eighties. At the time I thought they would be cute on a cardigan style sweater.  

I found this large rooster button in Gimli, Manitoba. I had to have it since it spoke to my Portuguese heritage. One day I hope to make something that I can proudly display this gem.  

Rugged and manly looking buttons have even found its way into my button stash!  

And fun whimsical buttons too!  

I'm saving these animal print buttons for Jungle January. 

How about you, do you have a button collection?  

Happy National Button Day!