Let’s talk buttons!

Here at Hazel Village, most of our doll clothing is made to fasten either with velcro or with functional buttons. Velcro is the most accessible option, and of course is ideal for little ones who have not yet reached the age where tiny, non-ingestible things are safe for them to handle. But for children who are old enough, the process of buttoning and unbuttoning doll clothing is a great way to develop dexterity. Teaching a kid how to dress up their Arthur Lamb can also be developmentally helpful as a parent endeavors to teach that kid how to dress themselves. And once you pass the age where button logistics are a factor at all, we hope you can appreciate them purely for their charm! 

Lewis Toad is wearing the Splish Splash Suit. 

One of the many wonderful things about buttons is the fact that they can be made from just about any material. You could carve a button yourself right now out of an avocado pit! Historically, buttons have been made out of everything from ceramic to wood to animal horn. The buttons we use for the woodland friends' attire typically fall into three categories: shell, yarn, and corozo. 

 

Shell Buttons

Lucy Owl is wearing the Lakeside Opera Jacket.

Did you know that those glossy white plastic buttons you see on all sorts of modern clothing are actually attempting to emulate the pearlescent splendor of a real shell button? Here are two of the shell buttons we use on our doll clothing: 

See how they catch the light so beautifully! In the photo below, these same buttons are flipped upside down: 

Notice the lovely natural shell pattern on their backs. This kind of reddish-pink colored seashell is called 'strawberry trochus' – a fact that we think the animals would appreciate.

Yarn Buttons

Phoebe Fawn is wearing the Ivory Sweater, a staple in Hazel Village fashion.

Much of the animals' knitwear is made by our artisan partners in Peru, who specialize in hand knitting with the softest baby alpaca yarn. When Jane first discovered these knitters at a trade show in 2017, she was utterly wowed by the tiny, working buttons on their doll sweaters. Thus began a long and fruitful partnership!

The Nest Vest closes with a single yarn button at the back collar.

In case you knit or crochet and would like to learn how to make buttons like these, we found this video tutorial which may be helpful. 

Corozo Buttons

If you didn’t know better, you might see a brightly colored button and assume that it must be made of plastic. Not so! Corozo is a kind of palm nut which is naturally white on the inside and can be dyed any color.  

Sometimes called "vegetable ivory", corozo is an excellent sustainable material. It is naturally durable, scratch-resistant, and water-resistant; and because the nuts fall from the tree when ripe, they are a renewable resource. Pretty neat!

Corozo allows us to custom-design earth-friendly buttons with unique shapes, lovely colors, and special carved details. Here is a little gallery of Hazel Village corozo buttons!

This dark brown button, which can be found on our Hazelnut Tailcoat, is etched with an H and a V for Hazel Village. If you look closely at the photo below, you can see the natural grain of the corozo nut.

 

Our Cozy Flower Cardigan has pale pink buttons with cute flower shapes etched into them.

 

This Buttercream Jacket has delectable-looking buttons in the perfect pale yellow to match its fabric. This style is called a shank button – instead of buttonholes, it has a loop on the back for the thread to run through.

 

This Acorn Enthusiast Coat from last December had the cutest acorn-shaped buttons! 

 

Our visiting friend Alexander Opossum had two light orange corozo buttons on his Goldenberry Shirt. These buttons were a smaller size than usual, the better to emulate the tiny berries in the fabric's print. 

 

Of course, we cannot forget the iconic turtle button! This was on the Turtle Society sash in spring 2025, and also appeared on a pair of Turtle Appreciation Shorts. 

If you are unfamiliar with the Hazel Village Turtle Society, we recommend reading this blog post. H.V.T.S. is one of our very favorite things. 

 

This special dahlia button was made for Oliver Mouse's Formal Capacities Sash, which was released in early 2025. As you will know if you have read our map tour blog post, Oliver is growing dahlias all around his house because they are his favorite flower.

 

These mustard blossom buttons were made for the Sandwich Chef Jacket of our visiting friend Augustus Wild Boar. We were particularly pleased with how these buttons looked atop their hand-embroidered parsley and dill buttonholes. Augustus looked every bit the sandwich expert that he is!

 

Last but not least, we'll leave you with a sneak peek of good things to come! This Birdwatching Vest with birdseed buttons will be available in September. 

Thank you for reading, friend! If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at hello@hazelvillage.com. If you enjoyed this blog post, you might also like: 

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