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The button blanket, which came in to use after European contact, has now become the most popular piece of contemporary feast attire among people of the north coast—Haida, Tsimshian, Tlingit and Nisga’a. At first, crest designs decorated with dentalium shells were sewn onto wool blankets acquired from maritime fur traders and later the Hudson Bay company. By the middle of the 19th century, the favoured blanket was made of blue duffle, with designs appliquéd in red stroud. Squares of abalone shell were sewn to the eyes and joints of the crest figures to reflect bits of light as the wearer danced around a fire. When pearl buttons obtained from fur traders came into use, they proliferated on the form lines.
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