Georgia Eldridge Hanley

Margaret was home again from the country. Vacation was nearly over and in another week school would begin.

“How would you like to look over your clothes and see that they are in good order?” her mother said to her one day. “Wouldn’t it be a good plan to sew on the missing buttons and see that the others are on firmly and not hanging by their eyelids?”

“Sir Bodkin would like it. He can sing me a little song all about buttons. He loves to sing and tell you what to do, you know,” laughed Margaret.

“That’s a very good idea. What he has to say seems always to be right,” said Mrs. Allen.

Margaret went to her room to look over her clothes. Sure enough, here was a button gone and there, one loose.

“’Most everything needs a little dose of thread and needle after a vacation, I s’pose,” she said to herself.

There they all were

When all the garments needing buttons were piled on her bed, Margaret called her little friend, but he did not respond from the work-basket at all.

“Whatever is the matter and wherever is he?” Margaret asked herself. Then she remembered that he and the others were still in the sewing-bag she had carried away on her trip. She found it hanging on a hook in her closet. When she pulled open the draw-strings, there they all were.

“Sir Bodkin!” she called.

“Where are we?” asked a sleepy voice.

“Safe at home again,” replied the little mistress. “I forgot to take you out and put you in your home. But first I’ll give you all a rest in the fresh air in the pincushion,” she said and stuck each one in as she talked.

“What are we to do to-day, My Lady?” asked Sir Bodkin from the table-top where he stood putting his crown on straight.

“I’m getting my clothes ready for school next week and there are some buttons to be fastened on,” she said.

“That’s fun. Bring on your buttons and then we’ll know what to do,” said the tiny King.

Margaret obeyed him and brought over the garments with missing buttons.

“Here’s a slipper-button gone, and a pearl one from my dress, a bone one from my under-waist, one from my dress with the button trimming, and one from my coat,” said Margaret all out of breath.

“First the shoe-button. That’s a shank button. Some black patent thread and a thick Stitcher with a big eye will soon fix it,” he said to Margaret.

“Measure your thread and wax it with your beeswax, make a knot in one end. Find the place where the button was sewed before. Now, sir, push up from the wrong side of the slipper-strap to the right side and straight through the shank of the button, then back to the wrong side again,” he said.

“Oh! that’s stiff. I had to push him hard with my thimble!” cried Margaret.

“That’s the way. Now through again several more times, then fasten the thread on the wrong side and that’s done!” Sir Bodkin said.

Shoe

Pearl

Thread Shank

Trimming

“Better give the button on the other slipper a few stitches to be sure it doesn’t come off,” he then said when the first was on good and tight. They did this.

“Bring on the next!” ordered the King. Margaret showed him her gingham dress and a pearl button with four tiny holes in it.

“Come here,” the King then said to a medium-sized Stitcher who was then harnessed with white cotton thread doubled. When the knot was made they were ready to begin.

“Cross the center,” the King said to the Fairy, who stepped from the wrong side of the dress through to the right side and up through one of the tiny holes in the button which Margaret was holding for him. Then he crossed over the center to the opposite hole and slid down through to the wrong side again.

“Now up through the other hole and cross again,” said Sir Bodkin which the Stitcher did and slid back to the wrong side again.

“See how neat that looks,” said the King to Margaret when it was sewed on, as she and Stitcher wound the thread round and round underneath the button to make a shank for it to play on, and then fastened the thread.

“A pretty way to sew on pearl buttons for trimming is to come out one hole every time and go in the other three from it like this,” he said taking his toe and pointing on the button.

“Now for that bone button, clumsy but useful,” said the King. It had two holes and was sewed on the under-waist, with the thread doubled, the same way as the pearl one.

“Now for the pretty pink pearl!” cried Sir Bodkin who was very fond of that color. Margaret brought her dress and the button which was cut with a shank on it. It belonged down the front of her dress in a row with many other buttons.

“This goes on very much like the shoe-button, but doesn’t have to be sewed so strong, for it is only an ornament,” Sir Bodkin explained.

When this one was on Margaret brought her coat and a pretty cloth covered button, all smooth on top and metal underneath, with a funny little round place of cloth to sew through.

“You must not show on the wrong side where the button is sewed on a coat. If you want to make it very strong you may sew through a tiny little pearl button, the same color as your coat, on the wrong side. But this one we shall fasten on the right side blindly but quite strong.” The thick Stitcher was harnessed with heavy dark thread doubled and waxed and knotted.

“Catch your thread on the coat, first on the spot where the button is to go and then, second, sir, as you know, step through the sewing-place underneath the button. Third, through the coat again and so on. But whatever you do, don’t step through to the wrong side so it will show!” said Sir Bodkin. Then the button was sewed securely and the thread fastened and snipped. Stitcher rested in the pincushion.

“You haven’t sung to-day!” Margaret said to the One-Eyed Fairies.

“To be sure we haven’t, My Lady!” their King said.

Then one of the little Stitchers came out of the pincushion and began to sing:

Every one laughed and clapped their hands at the Fairy who ran back in confusion to the pincushion.