Fastenings: buttons, zips and velcro
Design & Technology · Early Years · The School
Three kinds of fastening
A BUTTON goes through a small hole. A ZIP has two rows of teeth that lock together. VELCRO has two strips that stick when pressed. All three are ways of doing up clothes, a bag, or a shoe.
Trying each one
Do up a button on a coat. Do up a zip on a bag. Press two pieces of velcro together. Which was the fastest? Which needed the most careful fingers? Each one feels completely different to use.
Why designers choose differently
Velcro is quick, which is why it is often used on young children's shoes. A button looks neat, which is why it is often used on a smart shirt. A zip is strong, which is why it is often used on a coat that needs to stay firmly shut.
Try a coat that has a zip, then a coat with big buttons, then a coat with velcro straps. Time how long each one takes to do up. The velcro is usually fastest. The buttons are usually slowest for small fingers. Now pull gently on each fastening. The zip is hardest to pull open by accident. That is exactly why a winter coat, which needs to stay shut in the wind, very often has a zip as well as buttons or velcro — one fastening backing up another.