Your Basic Button Guide for Apparel
The below is a brief basic guide to buttons for apparel sourcing and development.
A button is defined as ‘a small disk or knob sewn on to a garment, either to fasten it by being pushed through a slit or loop made for the purpose or for decoration’.
Buttons are one of the most common trims used in apparel development.
Originally developed as ornaments for clothing (think 2500BC), buttons then evolved into fasteners by the 13th century.
Buttons come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials.
Button Shapes
The most common shape is round but buttons can also be in shapes such as square, oval and triangle.
A commonality of all these buttons is that they have holes for attachment to the garment (occasionally there may be a ring on the back for attachment). Buttons can be made with a number of holes. Two, 3, 4 and even 5 holes.
The well known 4 hole button originated for menswear and womenswear traditionally has 2 hole buttons. However, now it’s also down to a design preference.
Button holes are recessed from the button edge. This forms a “well” in the center of the button. This is can be a variety of shapes and a common one is a ‘fisheye’. This is a decorative and a functional element to the button as it slows down thread wear and facilitates automatic sewing on high-speed sewing equipment.
Button Size
Button size if often referred to as ‘Ligne‘ (Line).
There are a number of tools that can help you determine the ligne of a preferred button you’d like to source or identify the size of buttons you have found.
A size chart showing the millimeter (mm) diameters
A size chart showing the millimeter (mm) diameters
For higher accuracy and perhaps a more convenient method of measuring, you can use a tool of the trade known as a ‘Vernier Caliper’.
A Vernier Caliper
Button Materials
Buttons are made from a variety of materials including both natural and manmade. The most common materials are plastic, melamine, metal, horn, pearl, wood and corozzo.
Button colors can be customized to suit your project. Either dyed to match to your specified color, metallic, natural etc. Buttons can also be covered in fabric to complement your apparel design further.
Sometimes you may find really unusual buttons or perhaps that have been incorrectly design and manufactured. Can you tell us what may be wrong with this favorite of ours?
Here at Guided Makers, we offer trim sourcing with connections to reputable and quality suppliers both domestically and internationally. We can provide a wide range of options for your project.
Contact us for more information on how we can help you and your brand with our apparel development services.