Buttons and Badges

For other uses of the word button, see Button (disambiguation).

A small flat button

Metal, plastic and leather shank buttons.

A button is small disc- or knob-shaped object attached to cloth or an article of clothing in order to secure an opening, or for ornamentation. Functional buttons work by slipping the buttons through a fabric or thread loop, or by sliding the button through a slit called a buttonhole.

Buttons may be manufactured from an extremely broad variety of materials, including horn, shell, bone and antler, ivory, metal, plastic, celluloid, glass, thread, and wood.

Buttons and button-like objects used as ornaments rather than fasteners have been discovered in Bronze Age sites in China and are attested in Ancient Rome. Functional buttons for clothing became widespread with the rise of snug-fitting clothing in 13th and 14th century Europe.

Types of buttons

• Shank buttons have a small ring or a bar with a hole called the shank protruding from the back of the button, through which thread is sewn to attach the button.
• Covered buttons are fabric-covered forms with a separate back piece that secures the fabric over the knob.
• Flat or sew-through buttons have two or four holes punched through the button through which the thread is sewn to attach the button. 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.
• Worked or cloth buttons are created by embroidering or crocheting tight stitches (usually with linen thread) over a knob or ring called a form.

Button sizes

Buttons are measured in lignes or lines, with 40 lignes equal to 1 inch.

Types of buttonholes

Machine-stitched keyhole buttonhole with bar

• A worked buttonhole has raw (cut) edges finished with hand sewing, usually in a buttonhole stitch.
• A machine-made buttonhole is usually sewn with two parallel rows of machine sewing in a narrow zig-zag stitch, with the ends finished in a broader zig-zag stitch.
• A bound buttonhole's raw edges are encased in a piece of fabric or trim.
• A keyhole buttonhole is a worked or machine-made buttonhole with a round hole at the end of the slit to accommodate the button's shank without distorting the fabric; keyhole buttonholes are most often found on tailored coats and jackets.
• A bar is a row of perpendicular hand or machine stitching to reinforce the ends of a buttonhole.

See also

• Frog
• Snap fastener
• Zipper

Additional images

Buttoned doublet, later 16th century.

References

Carl Kohler, A History of Costume, Dover 1963 reprint, ISBN 0486210308

Bryan Bunch, The History of Science and Technology, Houghton Mifflin Books, 2004 ISBN 0618221239

Michael Loewe and Edward L Shaughnessy, eds., The Cambridge History of Ancient China, 1999, ISBN 052147030

External links

Worked button making in Dorset

History of Buttons

Types of Buttons

A badge is a device, patch, or accoutrement which is presented or displayed to annote some feat of service, a special accomplishment, as a symbol of authority (ex: police), or as a simple means of identification. They are also used in advertising and publicity.

Badges have become highly collectable: in the UK, for example, the Badge Collectors' Circle has been going since 1980 [1]. Even today, pin button badges are extremely popular [2].

In the military, badges are often used to denote qualifications received through military training. Similarly, scouting organizations use them to show group membership and rank.

One of the best-known badges is the typically star-shaped U.S. sheriff's badge, made famous in Westerns.

The BBC children's program Blue Peter also awards its own "Blue Peter badge" to members of the public who appear on the show.

Case badges are also thick (about 3mm deep), 3cm x 3cm lucite stickers that are often packaged with various computer parts, such as processors and video cards. Modern computer cases are frequently embellished with an indentation on the case's front panel to facilitate the affixing of a case badge. Popular case badges usually come with AMD processors, NVIDIA or ATI video cards, and sometimes with Creative sound cards. Custom case badges, along the lines of "Beige Sucks!" and "Evil Inside" are popular as well, retailing for around $2.00 USD at computer hardware retailers. [3]

See also:

• Military badges of the United States
• Heraldic badge
• Insignia
• Case modding
• Button

"Badge" is also the name of a song by Cream.

A badge is also a distinguishing logo on trucks and automobiles. See badge engineering.

Look up Badge in Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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Bibliography

Setchfield, Frank (1986). Official Badge Collector's Guide: From the 1890's to the 1980's. London: Longman. ISBN 0582893062