Saving Money on Buttons

Tips for saving money on buttons from the ThriftyFun community. Post your ideas.

Remove Buttons From Thrift Store Finds

To save money when I need to replace buttons, I go to our Goodwill bargain room and search for a garment with the same size and type button as the ones I need instead of buying them at a regular store which can be expensive. Most items in the bargain room are only 50 cents. I also look for items with pretty, cute or unique buttons, no matter what the garment itself looks like. These can be used to make a suit or dress or top you already own look fresh and new just by changing the buttons. By Diane

By ThriftyFun

Save Buttons Before Discarding Clothing

This post brings back memories of my mother who would never retire a piece of clothing to the "rag bag" without first removing the buttons. She always had an endless supply of buttons. I can remember as a child, it was such fun for me to "sew" together the matching buttons from a garment after it had seen its better days.

By Ruthie

Be On The Lookout For Buttons Everywhere

Like my mother before me, I have a button box and a button jar. I put stray buttons in it and take buttons off clothing I trash. One could almost buy a thrift shop piece for the buttons! I saw a jacket with fabulous ones and I kick myself that I left it behind, as those buttons on it cost something like $10 each!

By Pamphyila

While You Are At The Thrift Store...

Have you priced patterns recently? Unless on sale, they can cost over $10.00 plus. When in the thrift stores, look for an item: dress, blouse, skirt that appeals to you and use that as your pattern for a new garment.

By Sewingmamma

Modify Or Make Your Own Buttons

Two ideas:

You can dye plastic buttons, as long as they're white or quite light in color. Use a small glass container. Start with food coloring, mixing colors to get just the right hue. Add some vinegar and warm water (just as you would for Easter eggs) and put your buttons in. Leave the buttons in until the right shade is achieved - this will likely take several hours or longer. Let them dry and sew them on. The color may wash out slightly in the washing machine, but you can recolor if that is much of a problem. I came up with this when I couldn't find the proper color of buttons for a dress, despite checking numerous fabric stores!

You can make buttons from polymer clay. They can also be painted, if desired. These are wonderful for crocheted or knitted items and "crafty looking" clothes, purses, etc. It's easiest when you need fairly large buttons and just a few of them!

By Liz