1-hole buttons and non-washable buttonns

[miss_sue]

My main interest is sewing, but in looking for very small (1/4 " or less), I have had to buy large tins and jars of buttons ... yeh, lucky me. Some have been really dirty and so I (only once) dumped a bunch in a bowl of soapy water and let them soak for awhile - one or two seem to have 'dis-assembled' into little squares that I assume was (past tense) a button ... so what was it ?? Also, I have many with just one hole - are these buttons or ???? Would appreciate any info on these. Will probably be listing many in the near future because I don't have the room to keep them all - but will, of course, keep my favorites. Thanks again.

[svengali]

Celluloid can fall apart into crystalized pieces but it's unlikely your washing caused that. Certain glues used in assembling celluloid buttons long ago often caused ruin of the button many years later. Storage for long periods with other materials can also cause celluloids to crystallize and fall apart. Here are some images of celluloid buttons which are well on their way to ruin:



The one-hole items are probably beads although some buttons had a metal wire through the center,looped in the back for a shank, those are called "pin-shank" buttons, if the pin shank came out, a disk with one hole in the center would be left. You can tell if the left over one-hole piece is button shaped or more like a bead. -Carol-