Add a cheerful pop of Depression-era charm to your sewing or crafting projects with this set of four vintage red plastic buttons. Each two-hole sew-through button features a beautiful, swirling geometric rim with radiating lines for intriguing texture and dimension—classic novelty style in a rich, glossy deep red.
Measure approximately 11 mm and rounded up to 18L, 18 lignes, 11.4 mm, or 1/2".
Salvaged from a 1930s feed sack housedress, these durable early thermoplastic buttons (urea-formaldehyde or similar mid-century resin) capture the resourceful, playful spirit of the Great Depression era, when women repurposed printed feed sacks into bright garments.
By the Depression era, the United States had a booming plastics industry for affordable consumer goods, including colorful molded buttons for everyday clothing like homemade housedresses. Companies developed and produced urea-formaldehyde (introduced ~1929) and similar resins domestically (e.g., Plaskon by Toledo Scale Company in Ohio for urea-based materials).
These machine made novelty floral/swirl buttons in vibrant reds were common in American five-and-dime stores and ready-to-wear or home-sewn garments during this time. Feedsack dresses were a distinctly American rural/Depression phenomenon, so buttons on them were mostly U.S.-made.
Perfect for blouses, housedresses, aprons, children's pieces, or adding authentic retro flair to modern projects. Great for vintage reproductions, upcycling, or collecting colorful 1930s notions.
