Green Buttons

Rita had almost finished making her new dress.  She slipped a padded hanger into the neatly gathered shoulders and hooked it over the door frame. The hem needed a little extra work, she would have to unpick that section at the back and re-do it.  And then there was the button trim to do.  The photograph on the pattern cover showed four pearlised buttons making a short line down from the neck.  The model demurely fingered the top one while staring out to a distant horizon.  Rita admired this look and hoped to recreate it at some point at the party that evening.  She decided to pop down to Woolworth’s immediately and immerse herself in haberdashery.

She selected a card of four green iridescent buttons, which would contrast wonderfully with the pale yellow of the fabric. She went back home and tackled the hem, chanting “four green buttons” to the tune of Four Green Bottles.  Her haste got her into a terrible tangle.  She ended up having to unpick much more than she had intended.  Time stole her finishing touches and by the time she was ready to add her buttons, Peter was waiting for her in the front room. She pulled on the unembellished dress and scraped her hair into a pony tail, held in place by a band of fabric daisies.

Rita’s dress was envied at that party.  She took three orders for exact copies and made enough profit to buy herself a train ticket to London.  That card of four green buttons was never used yet never discarded, for ever to remain in her tin of bits and pieces.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/207490446/collection-of-vintage-green-buttons?ref=shop_home_active_1

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