Notebook masters: how to sew buttons

A button is a small, but necessary detail of the wardrobe. Despite the appearance of hooks, lightning, velcro she persistently retains an honorable place in the list of leaders of decorative elements of clothing. Strangely enough, she has her own life, her own story, about which few people think and guess.

Why do we need buttons? It would seem that the answer is obvious. For the convenience of wearing clothes. But if you make an excursion into history, you can learn amazing and interesting facts.

In ancient times people wore clothes made of animal skins. About any buttons then there could be no question. But it was rather inconvenient to walk like this. The improvised robe was constantly flung open and tipped off his shoulders. Then our ancestors began to cut holes in skins and fastened them with animal bones or wooden sticks. They did not even think about how to sew on buttons. But the inexorable time flew, new fabrics appeared, and the fasteners also changed. In the Middle Ages instead of bones and sticks, pebbles with drilled holes were used, on which loops were thrown. It was these stones that served as the prototype of modern buttons. But the buttons themselves appeared much later. Initially they performed the function of not fastening, but decoration. Sometimes a button cost more than the whole suit.

It was then that the tradition of attaching this decoration to clothing arose. Tips on how to sew buttons are passed from mouth to mouth. This was taught to the scullers and maids, this was talked about by merchants and noblemen. The buttons were different in shape. However, their main types have reached even now: on a foot, with two and four holes.

So far there are still ways of fixing this little detail. There are certain rules for how to sew buttons:

1. You must always start sewing on the wrong side.
2. It is enough to make 5-7 stitches, so that the button tightly clings to the clothes.
3. If the fabric is too thick, do not strongly attract the button, let it slightly off the surface. This will prevent damage to the product if the button suddenly tears off.
4. For outerwear and knitted things it is better to use two buttons. One, decorative, will be located on the front side, and the second - auxiliary - on the purl. This will make the seam more durable and help to avoid tissue rupture.

And did anyone wonder why on men's and women's clothing buttons from different sides? There are three hypotheses in this regard. The first says that women used to be dressed by maidens before, so it was convenient for them to fasten hooks, if they were on the left side. There is a second assumption: the mother most often holds the head of the child at the left breast, closer to the heart. The right hollow clothes make it easier for him to cover him from the cold, so they made sure that she would open herself on this side.

According to the third version, men take the weapon in the right hand. In order to repel the attack at any time, this hand should not freeze. Here he warms her in his bosom. Therefore, the left side of clothing is plowed.

But all these hypotheses are purely conditional. Men's skirts have fasteners on the left side. Also, the Orthodox priests have buttons on their cassocks on the left.

And there is an interesting sign: how to sew on buttons to become happy. So, fixing a button that has four holes, keep in mind:

• Cross-shaped stitches will make you beautiful and healthy;
• Two horizontal parallels will develop intuition;
• The square will give harmony to the outside world.

It would seem that a small, ordinary-looking button ... But how many interesting things are connected with it!