I started out with a single metal tin of buttons. When I find them in thrift shops, in bags or jars, I would buy them. I have been working on the cleaning and sorting that routinely needs to be done, using nail clippers to cut threads, sorting and finding ones that have been used so many times that sometimes two holes are now one, sorting and separating. I group them by color in individual jars on shelves in my sewing/craft room. By far I have "tons" of white buttons and have been working on these. I separate them by number of holes if they are flat buttons, or shank, some have patterns on them. Some are mother of pearl, many plastic. Eventually they will also be sorted by size. I don't have enough area to do all the divisions at once, and it's something to do when you wake up middle of the night and can't go back to sleep, lol! The ones that are fabric-covered go into a bag of like items. Mom used to thread a needle and string like buttons in numbers for shirts, blouses, dresses, etc.
I have a huge tilted canister of buttons still on cards. Many different jars and bags of them. I have a friend who has trouble seeing but she loves buttons, so from time to time I will give her some.
During this latest sort, I had to make a snack baggie of what are obviously different small religious medals. I'm sure at least one of them is for the saint of lost things.
If I find beaded or sequined clothing articles that are damaged, I will take the beads and/or sequins off for other projects.
Sometimes I will find interesting old sewing baskets and will buy them. There are almost always some buttons, pins, needles, sometimes sewing machine needles, trims, threads, even scissors! It's easy to do this, and some young person starting out always needs a few basic supplies, so inexpensive to give.
At the other end of the spectrum, I have gone into antique shops only to find blue Mason jars filled with obviously very contemporary buttons. <heavy sigh>
Thanks for this thread!
