To my bright and shiny needle
Hear me call, hear me wheedle!
Keep my stitches straight and true,
Magic and love sewn through and through.
Buttons
Buttons are fascinating, and whole books have been written about their history and art. Today buttons are a mass-produced, easily obtained everyday object. But they also go beyond ordinary: people collect them and there’s a collector’s market for unusual buttons. In ancient times, buttons were a precious commodity used in trade. They were used sparingly because they were rare. Women passed down their button boxes to their daughters, nieces, and female relations. I’ve inherited a few button boxes—one came when my mother, a sewer, gave me a gallon jar of buttons my grandmother (a quilter, knitter, and sewer) had gotten from the old shirt factories in town. There must be thousands of buttons in that jar. I’ve given a quart of them to a local charity that teaches people the sewing arts and works with the local disability charities to teach people working skills. I’ve also shared them with friends and my witch sisters.
Buttons are an art and a craft, but they are also very utilitarian. They fasten things together. They keep our clothes from revealing our private secrets. They keep us neat and orderly, and they are often found on our body, even next to our skin. Thus they can absorb our secrets, our hopes, and our fears.
Buttons come in various colors, patterns, sizes, and shapes; there are even different ways of attaching buttons to fabrics, from holes to shanks. They can serve, in a pinch or by design, as a magical substitute for coins, stones, and other objects. They are practical, portable, and very magical. And these wonderful little objects keep you whole and holy as you go about your daily life. You can charm the buttons already on your clothes, the ones ready to replace lost ones, and the ones you are about to sew on:
White ones, black ones, all the colors,
Buttons keep me in working order.
Magic go round with shanks or holes,
These little buttons keep me whole.
Button Sewing Charms
The thing about mending is that most of it doesn’t take long, but each one is individual and requires several steps. Even something as simple as sewing on a button can involve finding a matching button in size and shape, matching the color of the thread, and then measuring to ensure accurate fitting. In sewing on a button, some magic-based choices can be made. Does the button have two holes are four? Two holes can symbolize partnership and joining together, while four symbolizes the four elements and the solidness of the earth. A two-hole button charm for protection and strength is:
Back and forth, back and forth
With strength and power and with force
To withstand the bad things life can bring
Through my needle, magic sings.
For safety and strength
As I will it so mote it be.
With a four-hole button, you can choose to sew the button on in an X pattern or straight across. You can change the qualities you want to bring into the charm as well. Sewing with an X can “mark the spot,” create a spotlight, or designate a space for attention. It can also be a barrier and cancel out negativity. The crossing of two lines can bring together to opposite ideas into one space. It’s your choice how you regard the X, and then you can create a charm to make an effect. For a four-hole button, this charm can be used, saying it in pairs. This charm speaks to the opposite ideas in one space.
From right to left, from left to right,
Join together in the heart.
Bring together the dark and the light,
Union and harmony to me impart.
Thread
Thread is a marvelous thing. Spun from fleece, flax, and other materials, it is placed on long spools. As Clothos reminds us, threads can be long, they can be short, and they can be abruptly cut short. Thread comes in a variety of materials and lasts a very long time. Those made from natural materials do deteriorate over time, but they still last years. Thread colors can help coordinate not only to the project but also to magical intention. Thread connects and binds things together and helps create the intended shape of the garment or other object. To charm your thread:
All the colors of my threads,
Magic repairs all tears and shreds.
Sew together with love and care,
Magic my threads for repair.
Pins
Pins and safety pins are shaped differently but do the same thing in different levels of permanence and safety. They hold things together while we are waiting for a more lasting solution. Straight pins are long and sharp and sometimes their heads come in different colors. They hold things together but often fall out and can prick people. They are intended for the short-term use, while safety pins with their ability to hide their point can hold two items together for longer. Sometimes safety pins become the permanent solution to damage just because we forget or put off fixing them. Removing pins during mending often signals the end of a tear and the beginning of the renewed object. To charm your pins:
Long and straight, bless my pins,
As my magical work begins.
Bent and safe, bless my pins,
As my magical work begins.
Hold things together firm and right,
Bless my sewing day and night.
Measuring Tools
Measuring tapes and rulers are very helpful in mending and sewing. You probably need both. The tape is for larger projects, and its flexibility allows you to measure the body and body parts. A six-inch ruler helps with the placement of buttons and other items. These items can symbolically take the measure of the person and the project, a reminder of Lachesis apportioning out the time of our lives. A way to bless your measuring tools is this charm:
Bless this tool of measure,
May it reveal magical treasure.
Length and breadth of magic and love,
As below, so from above.
There are also other
