Vintage Sewing Buttons

The world has some things that increase their value through time. The more they’ve become antique, the more they are appreciated and cherished.  One of them is the vintage sewing buttons. In this article, I will show you how to find those classic looking buttons for your jackets, shirts and costumes.
Vintage sewing buttons come in all sizes, designs and colors.  These hand-made tiny treasures are made from shells, metals, glass, plastics, woods or pearls. There’s no shortage of vintage buttons as long as you know where to find them.

VINTAGE Antique Victorian Buttons New Glass Metal Rhinestone Gorgeous Collection    US $41.99

5 VINTAGE BAKELITE BUTTONS LOT 9B    US $.99

3 LBS Antique Vintage Button Lot Unique Old Buttons Buckles Charms Crafts    US $10.49

BUTTONS Amazing Lot of Antique Vintage New Mix Pretty Glass Rhinestone Metal    US $10.49

BUTTONS 190 Vintage Antique Deco c1920 40 Interesting Sewing Craft Job Lot 179g    US $1.57

The fastest way to get the buttons that you need is through the Internet. First, you need to find online stores by searching for ‘vintage buttons.’ I’ve seen many websites that are selling vintage sewing buttons such as eBay, Mildred’s Antiques and Ruby Lane. You can browse through their online catalogs to see what’s available. Each seller could carry thousands of designs, so the variety is not a problem.

While searching, it’s important that you use the right search terms to find what you are looking for. If you’re just looking for vintage sewing buttons in general, use the term ‘sewing buttons’ and you’ll lock thousands of results. If you are particularly looking for a very specific type of vintage button, you can narrow down your search term as ‘vintage military buttons 1930,’ for instance.

Vintage sewing buttons are not only limited to online stores but also to some local antique stores. There are antique owners who sell their own collections or operating as a consignment, which means any person could just bring their own collections to display and sell in the store. This could significantly tote up the current inventory of the store and increase your chances of finding what you need.

Whenever possible, try calling the vintage store first before going there to check if they have the buttons that you need. Many antique store owners are collectors themselves so it’s almost as if you’re competing with them.

Lastly, don’t forget to visit the thrift stores. Most of the goods you can find in thrift stores are donated and could include rare to find vintage sewing buttons.  Usually, they just lay the buttons on a large bowl or tin, and you can go ahead and pick what you need. Often times, the buttons are packaged on cards or jars full of buttons for single price.