Cool Buttons!

I’ve been warned by many people to avoid buttons that are too dramatic. What could be worse than lovingly handspinning some yarn, designing a unique sweater, meticulously knitting that sweater, only to have someone say, “Cool buttons!”

But I happen to like cool buttons.

Tattoo is nearly done. I have only to knit the buttonhole band. But to do that, I must decide on the buttons so that I know how big to make the buttonholes and where to put them in the band.

I have a pretty nice button collection. In fact, I’m rather smugly proud of it. When I started this sweater, I just assumed that I’d be able to find some Tattoo-worthy buttons within my collection. But upon examination of my button stash, I found none that seemed just right.

So, last week I made a trip to one of the local yarn shops, Yarn Quest . They have a substantial button collection. And, as it happened, they had a sale on buttons that day. 25% off! Who could resist? I couldn’t. I bought four sets of buttons (spending my entire cash budget for the day!).

Still, I could not decide on the buttons for the Tattoo sweater. I asked several fiber friends for advice. That advice was mixed and it all left me ambivalent about my choices. As work on Tattoo has progress and it has become a more completed look, my personal preference about the buttons has changed. Last night, as I got so close to the end of the project, I think I finally decided on the right buttons. But instead of just telling you which buttons I decided upon, I’ll show you all my choices. Here’s a picture of all the buttons I seriously considered (on a background of the left front of the sweater):



My absolute favorites were these metal-and-enamel buttons. Problem is….I only have 2 of these buttons. But aren’t they cool? Very Art Nouveau!

And, I found the color of the petoskey stone buttons to be perfect, but I am quite put off by the gold toned rim:

I bought these square buttons a few years back at the Michigan Fiber Festival. I thought they were ugly but so unusual that I had to have them. Close, but no cigar:

I adore these buttons that I got at Yarn Quest. I think they look fine, but there are only 3 of them. I may put them on a hat made from the yarn left over from the Tattoo sweater. I can’t quite tell what’s on these buttons. Sorta fishy, sorta shellfishy, sorta mermaid…but not:

These buttons look like some animal horn material, but I’m pretty sure they’re plastic. They were very high in the running for placement on the sweater:

I liked these metal buttons, but no one else did. And, they are on the small side:

Here is an interesting metal button that has been in my stash for awhile; I think they originally belonged to my grandmother. These were the choice of many of my friends. And, I do like them. I wouldn’t complain…..


However, I finally decided on these fused glass buttons. They did not appeal to anyone else. When I first started Tattoo, these buttons were low on the list, but as I added more of the duplicate stitch embellishments, these buttons spoke to me. Oh, and these buttons were already in my stash…

What do you think? Have I made the right decision? Or, have I gone horribly wrong in my choice of buttons?