These buttons have a very long history, and are beautiful on knit or crocheted garments.

The base is plastic drapery rings, which are available in many craft stores.

You can get a wide variety of different looks with these buttons just by varying the materials you use. Fuzzier yarn yields a thicker button. Cotton thread yields something more refined.

Once you’ve made them, you can also embellish them with embroidery, beads, trim, etc.