Colleen and her buttons (some of them)
Today’s post is about a review of something that as knitters, we become aware of at some point or another – BUTTONS! You may not realize this, but they’re not just for cardigans anymore. And they’re not all round with four holes in the middle either. Buttons have changed drastically and now come in as many materials as there are types of people using them. The shapes and uses have changed, and so has where they’re placed and what they actually do for a piece. In the old days, you used buttons to close a garment. Yes, we still do that today, but now they’re an accessory as well. With buttons ranging in size from a few millimeters to absolutely huge, you can find one to fit any need you may have. Lucky for me I have access to what must be the best button store anywhere – Button Buttons. It’s a store in the Gastown district of Vancouver and is run by a lady named Colleen. Chances are if she doesn’t have the button for you, you’re just not going to find it anywhere. I mean, when you walk in her shop, you’ll be instantly overwhelmed by the number and variety of buttons. It will take a few seconds for your eyes to focus and your brain to decide where to look first. When I go in (quite regularly), I usually start at the middle table and see what’s new there. Then I go back to the main door and start my search going clockwise around the store. I never go there if I don’t have at least 30 minutes to spare. Here is a picture of a portion of the store – that’s Colleen in the picture (I had to promise to take a distant shot for her to be in it).
A portion of the center table - my favorite spot in the store!
The really cool thing about this store is that they have buttons from around the world – literally – and colleen can usually tell you where she got a specific one. If you’re looking for something specific you just have to ask as she somehow knows where all of the buttons are in there! I should have taken a video to show you around the store (I may do that in the future) but it would still be impossible to show you all the buttons. Walking in here is great because it allows you to choose your button before your yarn. I actually find it easier this way because there’s so many unique buttons the ideas of what to do with them come gushing forth. It’s actually a great way to design something unique as you’ll probably get an idea you wouldn’t have had had you not seen the button. There are some very unique shawl pins that may make that next piece perfect. Amongst my favorite buttons there are ones made of sand that has been heated to glass like smoothness but are multi-colored. I have a large one like that that I’m planning a special project for. Her Celtic and Scandanavian buttons would be perfect on that aran cardigan or sweater or that Dale of Norway ski sweater you’re currently making. There are bones made of wood, bone, coral, metals, plastic, jade, ivory, just about anything you can think of. I also learned a really cool trick to use HUGE buttons on a garment where the button holes are very small. Simply sew the large buttons on the outside of the garment where you would normally sew them. Then sew the smaller buttons (the ones that are actually going to do the work) on the inside of the garment, attached to the large ones! That way you have large buttons as a fashion statement and small ones that fit the buttonhole doing the work!
If you’re ever lucky enough to be in Vancouver, make sure you take some time out from your yarn shopping to check out Button Buttons. It’s in Gastown and well worth the price of admission!
Hugzzz 😎