Third Time's a Charm...Sort Of

Why do knitted button holes always turn out somewhat funky - funky even after you've ripped and redone them three times?

First I did a one-row, 2-stitch button hole on one of my knit-back-backwards rows. I pretty much followed the directions Sally Mellville gives in The Knit Stitch for a knit-row version. It seemed to work.

But once I had the next row knit and looked at them, most had a noticable hole at one end and some just looked wrong.

The wrong ones turned out to have one too few stitches in one direction. Then there was the buttonhole that just didn't exist, despite a pin marking where it should exist.

Second try I went for two-row holes, but used a purlwise crochet cast-on. This cast-on does not work in this application. Trust me on that and save yourself a round of ripping.

The e-loop cast-on (aka backward loop cast-on), which the buttonhole instructions called for in another pattern that I knew I had and finally found, worked fine, though it defies all attempts at consistent tension. Plus I had to pick up a missed cast-on and a pair of dropped stitches over the next couple of rows.

Fortunately I dropped a pair of stitches because I dropped them on the YO P2tog row I did for the picot hem edge. I managed to wrestle enough slack to both retrieve and knit two stitches together and to add the matching YO.

I should mention that I haven't done button bands before. I've knit quite a few sweaters, but only two cardigans, though I wear cardigans more than pullovers. My garter stitch cardigan (that I never wear but liked knitting) has no separate band. My big, frequently worn at home and heavily pilled, basketweave-stitch cardigan has I-cord edges like the pattern in Simply Knit on which I based it.

Because this button band has a picot hem I now get to do the button holes all over again. Tomorrow. Once. Maybe.

Comments

[Sharon T]

I am currently knitting a cardigan and not looking forward to the button bands. Mine are usually re-worked a few times until they look just ok. I'll be looking back at this post to refresh my memory and do it right the first time. maybe. yes, right the first time.

[MaryB]

Nancie Wiseman has great buttonhole instructions in her finishing book! MaryB

[RobinH]

Karen- I've noticed a couple of posts like this where you try several techniques to do something complete with handy links. A suggestion- you could tag these for your techniques section. I noticed you did one a while back with several stretchy cast-offs for toe-up socks and I've been meaning to go back and look at it (for obvious reasons- I'm not happy with the cast off I just did on the current socks and want to try something else). And I'm positive I'll be coming back to look at this buttonhole post when I get to that point in the new cardigan. These are really incredibly useful.