Wednesday Question: Can You Recommend a Buttonhole?

All knitters have questions about the best way to do things, why different things happen while they are knitting, how to fix knitting mistakes and more.
 Here is this weeks question  from Shirley. I never know which buttonhole to use can you recommend one?

Answer:  There are several options. The simplest way to knit a buttonhole is to make an eyelet: just knit 2 stitches together, then bring the yarn over the needle. On the next row, work the yarn over like a regular stitch. This makes a small hole, and it's appropriate for smallish buttons, baby clothes. It works well in a garter stitch button band, where it is concealed by the ridges of the garter stitch. 

The one-row buttonhole is a firm horizontal buttonhole that is self-edging.

 Bring yarn to the front of work. Slip one stitch purlwise, and then bring yarn to the back of work. Slip the next stitch, and then pass your previously slipped stitch over it. This makes one cast-off stitch for your buttonhole—repeat these two steps until you have cast off enough stitches for the desired width of your buttonhole. Turn your work. Using a cabled cast on, cast on as many stitches as you cast off plus one additional stitch. For example, if you previously cast off 4 stitches, you will want to cast on 5 new stitches using the cabled cast on. Turn your work. With yarn at the back of work, slip one stitch from your left needle onto your right needle, then pass the extra cast-on stitch from your right needle over it. This closes the buttonhole—make sure that you pull your yarn a bit to tighten the hole and prevent gaps. Continue your row according to your chosen stitch pattern.

The two-row buttonhole makes a slit like opening, suitable for larger buttons  but it is loose and you may want to edge it with a buttonhole stitch to reinforce its weak corners and keep it from stretching excessively.

On the first row, cast off enough stitches for the desired width of your buttonhole. The two-row buttonhole is easier to make than the one-row buttonhole, but it is looser and you may want to edge it with a buttonhole stitch to reinforce its weak corners and keep it from stretching excessively.
 On the next row, cast on the same number of cast off stitches from the previous row to create the top edge of the buttonhole.
Using a buttonhole stitch*, stitch your way around the buttonhole. This will stabilize the buttonhole and keep its edges neat.

If you have a knitting question for Knitting Galore, please email it to : dbjones5559@hotmail.co.uk  or  Please  post it as a comment here.  All questions will be answered, and many are selected and answered each wednesday here on the Blog. 

Wednesday Question : How To Make A Buttonhole

All knitters have questions about the best way to do things, why different things happen while they are knitting, how to fix knitting mistakes and more. Here is this weeks questions posed by a new knitter. Question from Anne : How do I make a buttonhole?






Answer: Here are a couple of ways to make a buttonhole.
The simpliest button hole is to work a *yarn over, k2tog* combination at the point on the button band you want the button to be placed.

The result…

…is a small round button hole.

Two-row buttonhole

The two-row buttonhole makes a slit like opening, suitable for larger buttons.

To start, knit to the point where you want the buttonhole to start, then cast off the required number of stitches.

Keep in mind that knitting stretches and so do buttonholes, so don’t cast off more stitches than are absolutely necessary to squeeze a button through.

On the second row: Cast on the same number of stitches that you cast off the row before over the same spot.

To cast on in the middle of a row, use the backwards loop cast on (often called “M1”) or a knitted or cable cast on. 

On the following row, you might want to knit the stitches before and after the newly cast on stitches through the back loop…

or pick up a loose stitch and knit it together with a neighboring stitch to tighten up any loose stitches.

The drawbacks of the two-row buttonhole are that it has a tendency to stretch and - particularly in stockingette stitch - the difference between the cast on and cast off edges is very noticeable and can be less than attractive…

Though in a garter stitch border this is less noticeable, especially if you cast off in purl.

One-row buttonhole

The one hole buttonhole is a little more complicated to work,  but is a bit firmer and – done well – neater.

When you reach the position for the buttonhole, move the yarn forward to the front of the work, slip 1 stitch as if to purl then return the yarn to the back of the work, leaving a bar of yarn in front of the stitch…

Then *slip 1 as if to purl from the left to the right needle, and pass the second stitch on the right needle over the first stitch, as for casting off* Repeat from * to * for the required number of stitches.

Now slip the last bound off stitch from the right needle back to the left as if to knit …

And turn the work…

 Then use a knitted on, cable or backwards loop cast on …

to cast on one more stitch than you cast off.

Turn the work again to face the right side and slip the first stitch on the left hand needle onto the right hand needle…

Then pass the second stitch on the right hand needle (the extra cast-on stitch) over the just slipped stitch to finish.

The resulting button hole is less likely to stretch than a two row buttonhole…

If you have a knitting question for Knitting Galore, please email it to : dbjones5559@hotmail.co.uk  or  Please  post it as a comment here.  All questions will be answered, and many are selected and answered each wednesday here on the Blog.