Buttonholes by Carolyn Vance

ON YOUR WAY TO THE MASTERS Buttonholes by carolyn vance

Several of the swatches required for Level 2 of the Master Hand Knitting program require buttonholes. A knitter’s ability to make neat, evenly spaced, functional buttonholes is important. A row of misshapen, dysfunctional buttonholes is near the top of the list of reasons why cardigans and vests take up permanent residence in the back of a closet. While placing holes in one’s knitting may seem off-putting at ﬁrst, with a bit of practice and a good reference any knitter can learn to make buttonholes competently.

Techniques Buttonholes can be made in a variety of ways. Horizontal, vertical, and eyelet buttonholes are the most common, but loops formed of 1 I-cord or cast on stitches can also be used.

Horizontal buttonholes can be formed in one row, or over two rows. First, stitches are bound off either with or without knitting them ﬁrst. A one-row buttonhole is worked by binding off the stitches without knitting them, turning the work and casting on stitches, then turning the work again and completing the row. In working a two-row buttonhole, one binds off the required number of stitches then works to the end of the row. When the buttonhole is reached, stitches are cast on to replace those cast off, and the buttonhole is formed. The weakness of a horizontal buttonhole is its edges. Most reference books describe ways to minimize this, such as wrapping the ﬁrst stitch to be cast off, or casting on an extra stitch which is then knit together with a stitch at the edge of the buttonhole. 2 Try several techniques and see which one works best for you (See Swatch 1).

Vertical buttonholes, distinct from eyelets, are made by working each side of the buttonhole separately to the desired depth, then working across all the stitches to close the buttonhole. The top and bottom of this buttonhole can be reinforced by making a horizontal stitch at each end while weaving in the yarn tails (See Swatch 2).

Eyelet buttonholes, or Yarn Over buttonholes, are formed with a yarn over and an adjacent decrease. Some versions of this decrease extend the eyelet for three rows to accommodate larger buttons.

Considerations A good buttonhole must be large enough, but not too large, for the 3 button. For this reason, it is always a good idea to have the buttons

64 Cast On • May – July 2008 on hand and swatch buttonholes to ensure the one chosen is neither the stitch pattern. There is no such thing as a “one size ﬁts all” too large nor too small. Knitting is a ﬂexible fabric, and buttons buttonhole. Use these swatches as time to experiment and pick the will often go through surprisingly small holes. A buttonhole which best buttonhole for each situation. permits the button to pass through snugly will result in one the right size. References Melville, Sally, Sally’s Best Buttonholes, Knitter’s Magazine, Fall 1999 Vertical holes tend to stretch out a bit and can cause scalloped edges Editors of Vogue Knitting Magazine, Vogue Knitting, Pantheon Books, because the button rests against the side of the hole. To minimize New York, 1989 this tendency, it is a good idea to have at least three stitches between Lampe, Jean, Online Lesson Archives the buttonhole and the edge of the band. Vertical buttonholes also Hiatt, June, Principles of Knitting, pp. 218-227 result in extra ends to weave in. They work best in ribbing, and Wiseman, Nancie, The Knitter’s Book of Finishing Techniques, pp. with lighter weight yarns. 111-127 Radcliffe, Margaret, The Knitting Answer Book, pp. 329-338 Horizontal buttonholes do not have the same scalloping issues that Stanley, Montse, Knitter’s Handbook, pp. 193-204 vertical holes do. If the button is to sit in the middle of the band, however, the buttonhole must be worked off-center, closer to the body of the garment. Horizontal buttonholes can easily distort the knitting, pulling both sides toward the center of the buttonhole.

A good buttonhole disrupts the surrounding pattern as little as possible. In a rib pattern, an eyelet buttonhole disappears when placed in a purl ditch, but is quite prominent if placed between two knit stitches (See Swatch 3). Vertical buttonholes are quite inobtrusive in the purl ditch of 2x2 rib, and even horizontal buttonholes are less prominent when their edge stitches are placed in the purl stitch of ribbing. Buttonholes can also be placed in the trough formed by garter stitch or worked to complement the stitch pattern of the edging.

Because knitting does stretch, it is easy for buttonholes to start looking sloppy after a few uses, or even sooner. One way to prevent this is to make sure your yarn overs are snug, and your decreases are nice and tight. A buttonhole worked in ﬁne or slippery yarn can be improved by working it with a piece of same-colored or invisible sewing thread held alongside the yarn. Oversewing or reinforcing buttonholes can draw attention to them, so try to choose one that does not need this additional treatment.

Spacing Buttons look best when they are evenly spaced, so it follows that buttonholes should also be evenly spaced. This is most easily done by knitting the button band ﬁrst, and then determining the button spacing. With the button band already knit, the number of rows or stitches between the buttons can be counted. The buttonholes should be placed so that their centers are as far apart as the buttons will be, and at least one-half inch from the top and bottom of the band. Smaller buttons are generally placed closer together than large buttons.

Conclusion What is the committee looking for on the buttonhole swatches? Evenly spaced, centered, neatly formed buttonholes, accompanied by clear instructions for making each one. Don’t oversew or reinforce the buttonholes, and swatch to select ones that best ﬁt