I need upcycled ideas for clasps & fasteners

[KatyMac]

I make costumes - often waistcoat like to wear over other clothes and they fasten at the waist or on the bodice; I only use vintage or preloved resources

I cant do buttonholes to save life and hooks and eyes can only go so far

2 part belt buckled/clasps are quite expensive

I have used a dubgaree buckle sideways onto a button which is OK for more steampunk designs but it isn't tremendously cottagecore!

Any ideas of things I can repurchase?

Repurpose!!

Buttons with loops rather than buttonholes? Use cord and make frogging. Or lacing through eyelets or metal rings? Or ribbon ties. (I have no idea what cottagecore is so these may be unsuitable!).

Button and loop closures are quite easy to sew. If you accidentally make the loop too big you can just hand sew it up a bit from the edge nearest the garment.

If your garment is already finished or it’s a small button where a fabric loop might look a bit clumsy you can make a thread loop.

When you say you can’t do buttonholes do you mean on a sewing machine. Have you tried hand stitching them using thicker thread? I think they look much nicer than machines ones.

What Chemenger said. You could also look up Scandinavian Frog and Clasp;suspender clips and bulldog clips. Then rummage though tool box,fishing gear and desk drawers for suitable bits. Buttons became part of European dress very early. They are far and away the most practical of the pre Velcro and Zip era. Before buttons, I think garments were held together with large pins or variations on that. You could use old chicken bones as toggles with loop fastenings- very faux Neanderthal.

Hair elastics work well as toggle loops. Depending on the material, you might be able to get away with just knotting them onto the material and using them to attach the toggle that way too.

Loops are good I'd forgotten them!

I do hand buttonhole but it puts the price up quite a lot as I'm not fast - I bought a buttonhole attachment (vintage) but I have yet to try it!

I really like hoop and eye tape but it's hard to find second hand and eyelets/lacing are great but increase the cost again

Thanks for the ideas - I think I have some googling to do...Scandinavian frog and eye....

Cottage core is just very romantic
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottagecore so lacing works well

Coincidentally I did some lovely lacing last night - I just need to find some decent cord now - I do make life difficult for myself by minimising buying anything new!