Button

Middle Ages

It has been proposed that the European Crusaders brought the innovation of the button loop back from the Middle East, allowing for more fitted garments for men. About this time, the Vikings were also using buttons, which they had come across through their trading partners.^[10]: xix Prior to the introduction of the buttonhole, two pieces of fabric were butted together, rather than overlapped, and toggles, belts, or lacings were used.^{[11]: 9 [12]: 19} Buttonholes to fasten clothing first appeared in 13th-century Germany.^[13][14] The growing importance of buttons was marked by the establishment of button making guilds in the 13th century. Initially, King Louis IX of France included button makers in the established rosary makers guild, but later regulations categorized button makers in three categories: those who worked in horn, bone, and ivory, those who used metals, and makers who used precious metals and glass.^{[12]: 19–20}

Renaissance

The fitted fashions of the Renaissance required buttons to achieve their shape. For example, the tight-fitting jacket known as the doublet required rows of many buttons. An additional opportunity to use buttons came with the incorporatinon of detachable sleeves into garments. This practice had been in use in Florence since the 1200s. Sleeves could be switched out to be washed or to be replaced by fancier sleeves demanded by particular settings.^[12] Women's fashion at this time still used lacings, and thus buttons on their clothing were generally decorative.^[11]: 9

Buttons were also impacted by the elegant culture of the Renaissance courts. They were no longer seen as simply utilitarian objects, but rather as luxury items that could reflect wealth and status. These buttons, some of which were made of precious metal encrusted with jewels, were seen as jewelry.^[15]: 14 Because their owners might want to move these valuable buttons from one piece of clothing to another, they often were not sewn on with thread. Rather, their shanks were pushed through the fabric and were held in place with metal strips inserted through the shank.^[16]: 8 At the time, wood, bone, brass and pewter made it possible for less expensive buttons to be produced.^[16]: 8

17th century

Fabric-covered buttons and embroidered buttons became popular in Europe in the 17th century. These were often small, and served a decorative, rather than functional, purpose. The early 17th century short jerkin, wide breeches and cloak may have been adorned by dozens of buttons, and with so many, they needed to be lightweight.^[10]: xx The mid century French-originated knee-length coat, the justaucorps, had buttons from the neck to the knee, buttoned sleeve cuffs, and buttoned flaps on the pockets.^{[12]: 24–25 [17]}

French law, concerned with protecting the silk industry in Paris and Lyons, required buttons to be covered in silk. On the other hand, England did not allow fabric buttons in the late 1600s and early 1700s.^[16]: 9 Tailors could make fabric-covered buttons with leftover fabric, which threatened the guild of button makers.^{[citation needed]}

As containers

Since at least the 17th century, when box-like metal buttons were constructed especially for the purpose,^[18] buttons have been one of the items in which drug smugglers have attempted to hide and transport illegal substances. At least one modern smuggler has tried to use this method.^[19]

Also making use of the storage possibilities of metal buttons, during the World Wars, British and US military locket buttons were made, containing miniature working compasses.^[20]

Decoration and coating techniques

Historically, fashions in buttons have also reflected trends in applied aesthetics and the applied visual arts, with buttonmakers using techniques from jewellery making, ceramics, sculpture, painting, printmaking, metalworking, weaving and others. The following are just a few of the construction and decoration techniques that have been used in button-making:

Styles of attachment

• Flat or sew-through buttons have holes through which thread is sewn to attach the button.^[32] Flat buttons may be attached by sewing machine rather than by hand and may be used with heavy fabrics by working a thread shank to extend the height of the button above the fabric.
• Magnetic buttons, as the name implies, are buttons that attach to each other by being magnetic.^[33] The buttons can be attached either by sewing or snapping them into the fabric.
• Shank buttons have a hollow protrusion on the back through which thread is sewn to attach the button.^[34] Button shanks may be made from a separate piece of the same or a different substance as the button itself, and added to the back of the button, or be carved or moulded directly onto the back of the button, in which latter case the button is referred to by collectors as having a 'self-shank'.
• Snap fasteners (also pressure buttons or press studs) are metal (usually brass) round discs pinched through the fabric. They are often found on clothing, in particular on denim pieces such as pants and jackets. They are more securely fastened to the material. As they rely on a metal rivet attached securely to the fabric, pressure buttons are difficult to remove without compromising the fabric's integrity. They are made of two couples: the male stud couple and the female stud couple. Each couple has one front (or top) and rear (or bottom) side (the fabric goes in the middle).
• Stud buttons (also push-through buttons or just studs) are composed from an actual button, connected to a second, button-like element by a narrow metal or plastic bar. Pushed through two opposing holes within what is meant to be kept together, the actual button and its counterpart press it together, keeping it joined. Popular examples of such buttons are shirt studs and cufflinks.
• Toggles are stick-like, with a cord attached at the center. They are passed endways through a hole and then rotated sideways.

• 
  Three plastic sew-through buttons (left) and one shank, fabric-covered button (right)
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  An assortment of shank buttons
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  Plastic studs for bedclothes
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  Shirt studs
• 
  Illustration from 1908 Chambers's Twentieth Century. Toggle, n. (naut.) a short bar of wood, tapering from the middle towards each end, placed in an eye at the end of a rope, to keep the end from passing through a loop or knot.

Fabric buttons

• Covered buttons are fabric-covered forms with a separate back piece that secures the fabric over the knob.
• Mandarin buttons or frogs are knobs made of intricately knotted strings. Mandarin buttons are a key element in Mandarin dress (Qi Pao and cheongsam in Chinese), where they are closed with loops. Pairs of mandarin buttons worn as cuff links are called silk knots.
• Worked or cloth buttons are created by embroidering or crocheting tight stitches (usually with linen thread) over a knob or ring called a form. Dorset buttons, handmade from the 17th century to 1750, and Death head buttons are of this type.

Button sizes

The size of the button depends on its use. Shirt buttons are generally small, and spaced close together, whereas coat buttons are larger and spaced further apart. Buttons are commonly measured in lignes (also called lines and abbreviated L), with 40 lines equal to 1 inch.^[35] For example, some standard sizes of buttons are 16 lignes (10.16 mm, standard buttons of men's shirts) and 32 lignes (20.32 mm, typical button on suit jackets).^[36]