Button Pins

So far I've posted photos of my under dresses held together at the neckline with my new trefoil brooch.  But I've read that Viking women probably used 1" round brooches to hold their necklines together (link).  Since I wanted to use my trefoil brooch elsewhere, I decided to make myself a couple of little round brooches:

This was once one of a pair I made to hold my sleeves on when I was wearing 14th century stuff.  I don't know where the other one has gone, but this one has been commandeered by my Viking wardrobe for now.

These pins are all made from 1" buttons.  I clipped the loops on the back off with my wire cutters and then used a metal nail file to file the cut ends as smooth and flat as I could get them so that they wouldn't snag on my clothing.  Then I attached a 1" pinback to the backs of the buttons with superglue. The pinbacks are a little too large;  they stick out one side of the button, but that's okay.

Here's a silver one I made last night.  These only take about 10 minutes to make, so I made two.  I only glued buttons to my fingers three times, and I glued my finger to a spiral notebook just once.  I'm getting better at adhesives!

Here's one I made out of a button that looks like an old Roman coin.  Would the Vikings have used old coins as jewelry pieces?  I have no idea - I suspect they probably would have traded them for the metal value, if they'd come across them.  I just thought it looked neat.







There:  two new, and one old, little round 1" brooches to hold the necklines of my smocks together. 10 minutes of work each for a little extra bling and function.  Sweet.