Both of my grandmothers and my mother used to keep a jar full of buttons. I loved their button jars, chock full of miscellaneous sizes and colours of buttons. Of course in those days spare buttons were much more useful, you never knew when you might need one. These days it is more common or acceptable to run out and buy a new piece of clothing from which the buttons are missing. Or at least a new package of buttons. Does the younger generation know how to sew on a button?
This recollection of button jars bubbled to the surface of my memory recently when my two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter was “helping” me sort through my sewing drawers.
She loves pulling out each tiny drawer to inspect the contents and is especially fascinated with the buttons. And she loved the fact that most of the drawers contained at least one button. An hour later we had all the buttons, from each drawer, scattered on the floor…
Then came the chore of putting all the buttons into two (they would not all fit into just one) drawers and putting them away. That step took a while, she did not want to relinquish those buttons!
A few hours later she asked to go play with the buttons again. I think we’ve discovered her new favourite toy! Button jars are not obsolete, at least not in this house.
We have 2 one from each of out mothers. The kids love to sort them and play with them from time to time.