How do you replace a lost button on holiday?
Move a backing button from behind a coat button. Buy the cheapest child's or adult's garment from a nearby shop. Check buttons are the right size for the button hole.
If your new bought button matches the garment but won't match the button hole size, add the button just for decoration. Sew on a press stud and sew up the buttonhole.
Alternatively, sew up the button hole and make a loop on the opposite piece of fabric to catch the button from a tiny piece of ribbon, or even a plaited thread.
Cover the missing button or buttonhole with either:
a) A conference name badge.
b) A corsage from a flower from your room flower display or one in the restaurant. (Ask first - you may find that they are very helpful.)
c) Make decorative braid from the plaited handle of a free tote bag from your shopping.
d) Use a badge from any event giving away advertising badges.
Borrow a button from another garment which you are not wearing which is in your suitcase. Save the thread from the original garment, attaching it with a safety pin. Later in the holiday, or when you get home, return the button to the garment it came from and sew it back on with the original thread. If you have not enough matching thread, sew it on with similar colour threat to make surety button is secure, then add the couple of inches of matching thread on top.
Sewing Kit From Supermarkets
I like to take a travel sewing kit. Many four and five star hotels have sewing kits. Sometimes in a hotel you can ring housekeeping for a sewing kit. It may be supplied only to the suites or club floor, but sent to other rooms on request. The biggest five star hotels have a repairs department for staff uniforms so they could supply a needle as a gift or loan or even sew on a button if you know who to ask or have enough goodwill.
Recycling sewing kits
The cheaper sewing kits are in card cases. The ones you buy from supermarkets or are given in top hotels or top grade rooms will probably have a durable case which can be re-used or re-filled.
If you have a few buttons of the same size and colour, you can save an empty sewing kit box for storing buttons. (Or an emptied matchbook cover with an address label and picture of needles and cotton, for travelling, kept in the top right net pocket in the lid of your suitcase.)
Buttons lost while travelling
If you are lucky when you lose a button whilst travelling you will find a spare button sewn in.
In the old days any good garment had spare buttons sewn on. Nowadays when a spare button is supplied it's often in a small plastic bag you have to cut off. That has the advantage that you get a collection of spare buttons.
When you go on a shopping trip you might pass a charity shop. In the USA they have second hand shops called thrift stores, not necessarily raising money for charity.
In the old days when I was a regular shopper (sometimes twice a day for weeks!) at my local charity shop, if a garment had a missing button they would reduce the price. However, noways shop staff tend to grab the garment away and say, 'We can't sell that!" So I keep quiet. I go home and look for a spare button.
One year I took a trip to Singapore in the tropics and had only summer clothes. We travelled on to New Zealand (I was trailing partner probably, whilst others were on a conference and we extended the trip to have a holiday skiing). I needed ski clothes but new ones are so expensive, by the time you have listed 1 jacket, 2 trousers, 3 gloves, 4 hat, 5 warm night clothes. The local second hand store was full of clothes, many of which had missing buttons, non-functioning zips, stains, fading, tears, or other imperfections - sometimes more than one fault.I found a garment with a missing button. But nowhere to buy buttons, no department store, and I was in a hurry to meet up with the family. I thought it was almost worthwhile buying one garment which fitted with a missing button, another in a horrid colour or the wrong size and
Buttons at home
A big button box. What a good idea. I have several glass ex marmalade and jam and chutney jars with different colours of buttons making a clutter. I also have buttons in colour collections in those multi divider boxes you can buy in DIY stores.
And some boxes covered in teeny buttons. You can make your own - but I wouldn't waste a good button in decoration - I'd cover an old box with broken buttons - hurray - thank you so much for inspiring this thought - now I have a use for broken buttons.
Marmalade Jars Those tiny marmalade jars you get if you order breakfast in the room can be washed out and filled with spare buttons and cotton.
I have photographed the marmalade jar next to a glass of water to get a sense of size and scale.
Finally, teeny sewing kits can be placed in recycled or home made Christmas crackers.
Ask the valet of the five star hotel to fix the button - let them work out what to do.
Ask the friends you are meeting at their hotel to phone housekeeping from their hotel bedroom and ask for a button or sewing kit, or even for the club floor to organise the garment's repair.
Angela Lansbury, author of How To Get Out Of The Mess You Are In, and several other books.
See lulu.com and Amazon.
Move a backing button from behind a coat button. Buy the cheapest child's or adult's garment from a nearby shop. Check buttons are the right size for the button hole.
If your new bought button matches the garment but won't match the button hole size, add the button just for decoration. Sew on a press stud and sew up the buttonhole.
Alternatively, sew up the button hole and make a loop on the opposite piece of fabric to catch the button from a tiny piece of ribbon, or even a plaited thread.
Cover the missing button or buttonhole with either:
a) A conference name badge.
b) A corsage from a flower from your room flower display or one in the restaurant. (Ask first - you may find that they are very helpful.)
c) Make decorative braid from the plaited handle of a free tote bag from your shopping.
d) Use a badge from any event giving away advertising badges.
Borrow a button from another garment which you are not wearing which is in your suitcase. Save the thread from the original garment, attaching it with a safety pin. Later in the holiday, or when you get home, return the button to the garment it came from and sew it back on with the original thread. If you have not enough matching thread, sew it on with similar colour threat to make surety button is secure, then add the couple of inches of matching thread on top.
Sewing Kit From Supermarkets
I like to take a travel sewing kit. Many four and five star hotels have sewing kits. Sometimes in a hotel you can ring housekeeping for a sewing kit. It may be supplied only to the suites or club floor, but sent to other rooms on request. The biggest five star hotels have a repairs department for staff uniforms so they could supply a needle as a gift or loan or even sew on a button if you know who to ask or have enough goodwill.
Recycling sewing kits
The cheaper sewing kits are in card cases. The ones you buy from supermarkets or are given in top hotels or top grade rooms will probably have a durable case which can be re-used or re-filled.
If you have a few buttons of the same size and colour, you can save an empty sewing kit box for storing buttons. (Or an emptied matchbook cover with an address label and picture of needles and cotton, for travelling, kept in the top right net pocket in the lid of your suitcase.)
Buttons lost while travelling
If you are lucky when you lose a button whilst travelling you will find a spare button sewn in.
In the old days any good garment had spare buttons sewn on. Nowadays when a spare button is supplied it's often in a small plastic bag you have to cut off. That has the advantage that you get a collection of spare buttons.
When you go on a shopping trip you might pass a charity shop. In the USA they have second hand shops called thrift stores, not necessarily raising money for charity.
In the old days when I was a regular shopper (sometimes twice a day for weeks!) at my local charity shop, if a garment had a missing button they would reduce the price. However, noways shop staff tend to grab the garment away and say, 'We can't sell that!" So I keep quiet. I go home and look for a spare button.
One year I took a trip to Singapore in the tropics and had only summer clothes. We travelled on to New Zealand (I was trailing partner probably, whilst others were on a conference and we extended the trip to have a holiday skiing). I needed ski clothes but new ones are so expensive, by the time you have listed 1 jacket, 2 trousers, 3 gloves, 4 hat, 5 warm night clothes. The local second hand store was full of clothes, many of which had missing buttons, non-functioning zips, stains, fading, tears, or other imperfections - sometimes more than one fault.I found a garment with a missing button. But nowhere to buy buttons, no department store, and I was in a hurry to meet up with the family. I thought it was almost worthwhile buying one garment which fitted with a missing button, another in a horrid colour or the wrong size and
Buttons at home
A big button box. What a good idea. I have several glass ex marmalade and jam and chutney jars with different colours of buttons making a clutter. I also have buttons in colour collections in those multi divider boxes you can buy in DIY stores.
And some boxes covered in teeny buttons. You can make your own - but I wouldn't waste a good button in decoration - I'd cover an old box with broken buttons - hurray - thank you so much for inspiring this thought - now I have a use for broken buttons.
Marmalade Jars Those tiny marmalade jars you get if you order breakfast in the room can be washed out and filled with spare buttons and cotton.
I have photographed the marmalade jar next to a glass of water to get a sense of size and scale.
Finally, teeny sewing kits can be placed in recycled or home made Christmas crackers.
Ask the valet of the five star hotel to fix the button - let them work out what to do.
Ask the friends you are meeting at their hotel to phone housekeeping from their hotel bedroom and ask for a button or sewing kit, or even for the club floor to organise the garment's repair.
Angela Lansbury, author of How To Get Out Of The Mess You Are In, and several other books.
See lulu.com and Amazon.
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