Buttons

[Luke MacGillie]

I sew and do shop at Joann's for some things. However, the quality of buttons there is not going to be of the quality that are used in the manufacture of fine highland clothing. Just beware of the Joann's buttons.

I will beg to differ, The integral shanks of the Joann's buttons I think will survive the dry cleaning process much better than the braised on rather too long shanks of the diamond shaped buttons.

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Here is the jacket and waistcoat with the new buttons.

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[Joe Tradly]

Thank you all, so much. Very helpful replies, indeed.

I particularly like the round knot buttons Luke posted. And the black diamond buttons in Steve's post.

Best,
JB

[Allan Thomson]

Re the square botton question, but I'm just thinking often as regards jackets (but not waistcoats) square buttons tend to be used on jackets that aren't meant to be buttoned (ie prince charlies) whereas ones meant to be buttoned generally seem to have round...

Of course someone will point out the exceptions and obviously this does not carry across to waistcoats...

And yes the Montrose doublet does contradict this...

[Iowish]

I will beg to differ, The integral shanks of the Joann's buttons I think will survive the dry cleaning process much better than the braised on rather too long shanks of the diamond shaped buttons.

49766544_10157084627428319_3998956925894000640_n.jpg

Here is the jacket and waistcoat with the new buttons.

49647114_10157084416513319_3608762265198657536_n.jpg

I'm glad you are happy with your buttons. Some of Joann's merchandise is the same as what you find at other places. Some of it is not. What you would find at a Joann's is generally better than what you would find at a Walmart. I agree about the difference in shanks.

[Steve Ashton]

The longer shank of the military inspired buttons on the Argyle and Prince Charlie are supposed to be so that the button shank is pushed through an eyelet and fastened on the back with a cotter pin or split ring.

This way the buttons can be removed for polishing or when the jacket is sent out to the cleaners. The Presses most cleaners used to use would bend or break the buttons and leave a divot in the fabric behind the button.

Many of the sleeve buttons on today's jackets are fastened with cotter pins or split rings. The problem is that there are no sewn eyelets and the cotter pin is hidden inside the liner. The buttons are not easily removed. You have to open the sleeve liner.

I even had one make of jacket where the split ring was between the gauntlet fabric and the sleeve fabric. To change these buttons would require opening the stitching of the gauntlet.

Here is the split ring arrangement on a standard Argyle/Prince Charlie.



I had one customer who when he found out that my kilts had pockets commented that he did not need them as the tashes of his Regulation doublet had pockets inside the tashes.
I then pointed out that while those could be used as pockets, the intended purpose of the little piece of liner was to allow easy access to the split rings of the buttons.

[Luke MacGillie]

Yes, sewing individual buttons down is something that Ive never really gotten used to. Historically shanked buttons were placed on garments by using an awl to open up a hole in the fabric, the shank was placed in that hole, then a cord would run down thru all the shanks. The only way you could lose a button was if the shank broke. Not today, in the name of progress we have to have individually sewn buttons LOL

And yes Steve I did have to open up the linings of the pockets and the cuffs to be able to replace my buttons.

[Orvis]

I agree with Steve about using eyelets in place of sewn-on buttons to secure the longer shanks of buttons on Scottish clothing. When I was in the USMC, I quickly found that the buttons sewn onto my dress and service coats, and my overcoats, would be damaged at the cleaners from the action of the presses. Service and overcoat buttons were (and remain) plastic and were subject to breaking the button as well as crushing the shank, and metal dress buttons could be crushed (button as well as shank). I had all my service and dress coats/jackets modified by having eyelets (a small expense) installed so I could remove buttons when the garments were sent to the cleaners. When I was in a military reenactment group, I also had my regimental coat and waistcoat eyeletted so buttons could be removed for polishing without soiling the fabric around the buttonhole. Bottom line: I think installing eyelets on Argyles and Prince Charlie jackets is a good idea without much expense (most cleaners will do it as an alteration), and more protective of one's hard-to-find buttons.