Better Buttonholes for Knitted Garments

Do you avoid making worked-in buttonholes by knitting only pullovers or zip-up cardigans? Buttonholes give many knitters pause, as they are a feature usually located on the front a garment: you want them to look their best and be done well. In this post, we aim to provide you with the information you need to build a better buttonhole!

Small Eyelet Buttonholes

Knitted buttonholes are best kept as small as possible as a knitted fabric will stretch to allow the button to pass through. There is no one formula to follow, so you can be flexible in your choice, keeping in mind the garment style, yarn used, and the size of the button.

Traditionally used on baby garments, the small eyelet buttonhole is appropriate anytime a small button is used. The eyelet makes a round opening so a button somewhat larger than the opening is required to stay in place. The technique involves a combination of a paired yarnover and decrease (for example, yo, ssk), similar to what you use in lace and mesh patterns.

If you need a slightly bigger buttonhole, try working a double yarnover by wrapping the yarn around the needle twice, and working an additional decrease to compensate (for example, k2tog, double yo, ssk). When you come to this double yarnover on the next working row, you will work k1, p1 (or p1, k1) into those stitches.

If you still need a much larger buttonhole, Ysolda Teague has an interesting technique she calls the One Row Buttonhole, which is an excellent choice to use when an eyelet buttonhole is not appropriate.

Reinforcing a Buttonhole

If a buttonhole is going to be subjected to hard wear, the yarn used for the garment is softly spun, or if the fabric is worked at a loose tension, the smart choice is the reinforce the buttonhole. Reinforcing the buttonhole will also stabilize the opening to avoid stretching out with wear. On occasion, a sewn finish can be used to camouflage an imperfect buttonhole, to correct one that is too large or stretched, or to add a decorative touch. Using the same yarn used for the garment will help the edge blend in.

The choice of stitch to reinforce a buttonhole is up to the knitter or crocheter. Shown above left is the buttonhole swatch before any reinforcement was completed. The buttonholes in the center are reinforced with (from top to bottom) an overcast stitch in a contrasting yarn, overcast stitch in with a ply of the yarn used,  buttonhole stitch with a ply of the yarn used to knit the swatch, and the buttonhole stitch worked with a contrasting color. The top right photo shows a close up on the first two methods, the bottom right photo shows the second two methods.

Purchasing your buttons at the start of the project will help guide your choice of buttonhole to make! Before you cast on your project, take your swatch (you did make that swatch, right?) to the shop so you can see how the buttons look with your fabric.

Giveaway

One lucky blog reader will win a large Joy Hand Block Printed Fabric Bag. To enter, leave a comment on this post telling us what you’re knitting or crocheting this fall. Be sure to also mention your Ravelry ID or email address so that we can contact you if you win. We’ll randomly select one lucky winner to announce on our next blog post on Friday, November 10. Good luck!

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Summer Fun with Pom Poms

Today, we're featuring three fun craft ideas for the Knitter's Pride Rejoice and Nirvana Pom Pom Makers. These are great crafts for using up those odd bits of leftover yarns and fun to do with kids, too! 

For our projects, we made larger pom poms using the 2.5"/8.5cm Nirvana pom pom maker and smaller pom poms using the 3/8"/3.5cm Rejoice pom pom maker. For instructions on how to make pom poms, take a look at this tutorial from our blog archive.  

Pom Pom Hair Tie

Our first project is a fun summer accessory for keeping the hair off your neck! All you'll need is a pom pom in the size of your choice (we used a small one) and a hair tie. 

Using the tails from your pom pom, secure the pom pom to your hair tie. Be sure to wrap a few times and tie some nice strong knots so that it won't come apart. 

Voila, you have an adorable pom pom hair tie! 

Pom Pom Flowers

Our second project is a great way to decorate your home throughout the year - and you won't have to worry about watering or wilting! We went outdoors to source a small branch to use with both large and small pom poms (in the example below, we use one of each size, but feel free to get creative!).

All you have to do is tie your pom poms to the branch using the tails; you can use a little craft glue to secure the ends in if you like. Using hot glue or other craft glue to secure each pom pom might be helpful with more slippery yarns like cotton. You can make several and put them in a vase for a lovely decoration! 

Pom Pom Garland

With our third project, you can add a little color to any part of your home! You can make your garland as long as you'd like, depending on where you plan to hang it. 

For our garland, we used 8 of the smaller pom poms and crocheted a chain approximately 4.5 feet long. 

To make sure your garland comes out fairly even, fold your crochet chain in half, and arrange the pom poms in the order you'd like them to appear. Remember that the ones at the center (on the left in the photo below) should be closer together since the crochet chain is folded.

Tie your pom poms to your crochet chain and trim the ends. Now you're ready to hang your garland! 

We used ours to brighten up a shelf in the kitchen! Where would you hang a pom pom garland?

Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Shelley, you're the lucky winner of a Nova Platina Deluxe Interchangeable Needle Set! We'll be in touch to arrange delivery of your prize. Thanks to everyone who participated! 

Winner + Guest Post: Stacey Trock of Fresh Stitches

Thanks to everyone who entered our Pin It To Win It giveaway this month, we saw some fantastic pins and comments. Random.org has decreed our winning entry to be Raveler Lindaturc, who is wishing for some Dreamz Interchangeable Needles - looks like Santa got her letter! We have sent a private message to Lindaturc to arrange delivery of her Dreamz Starter Set. Congratulations!

Guest Post: Stacey Trock of Fresh Stitches

We're pleased to offer you this photo tutorial (featuring our own Dreamz Crochet Hook!) courtesy of Stacey Trock at Fresh Stitches. We are proud sponsors of the Fresh Stitches Crochet Chat Podcast this month and are excited to share this post with our fans! 

"Sc in each ch" is an instruction you'll often see in a written pattern. But exactly how do you crochet into a chain? It's a great question, because there are actually two different options for crocheting into your chain stitches. I'll show you both options and compare the finished look!

Meet your chain

When you crochet your chain (also called a 'foundation chain'), it should look like this:


Yarn: Ella Rae Classic Wool, color #70

Hook: Knitter's Pride Dreamz, size H (5.0mm)
It should look like a bunch of 'V's, laying on their side.
Does your chain not look like this? Let's troubleshoot:

• Look at the back... you might just be looking at the wrong side!
• Is your chain forming a ringlet curl? That's normal! Mine is just flat because I'm pulling on it. The ringlet will come out once you continue crocheting.
• Is your chain zig-zag-y? This typically happens when you pause in between your chains, which allows the chain to twist slightly.

Okay... let's do our first row!

Option 1: Crochet through the back loop only

Remember how we talked about those 'V's? The first option is to crochet only through the top half of the 'V' (also called the 'back loop'):

When you've completed single crocheting, your piece will look like this:

Option 2: Crochet through both loops

The second option is to insert your hook under the entire 'V' (also called crocheting through 'both loops'):

When you've completed single crocheting, your piece will look like this:

Comparing the two methods

Let's look at the two options side by side:

As you can see, crocheting through both loops creates more of a 'bump', while crocheting through both loops is straighter along the bottom edge.
There's no right way! And once you know the two options, you'll be able to pick the one that best suits your project!