One-row Buttonholes [TUTORIAL]
A few months back I asked my blog readers what types of knitting tutorials they'd like to see. One of most requested category was finishing techniques, including buttonholes.
My favorite method for doing buttonholes on a knitted garment is the one-row buttonhole. It is
quick and easy to knit
easy to remember
more robust than a yarnover buttonhole
doesn't stretch out like a two-row buttonhole
To do this buttonhole you also need to know who to do the yarnless bind-off and the knitted cast-on. The yarnless bind-off is very firm compared to the regular lifted bind-off which makes the one-row buttonhole extra secure: it will not stretch and flare out over time.
Ready for the tutorial? Here we go!
1. Work in pattern to where you want to place the buttonhole. (Here I've worked the button band in two-by-two rib.) Drop the working yarn — just leave it behind the work for the next few steps.
In steps 2–5 you're going to bind off as many stitches as is the width of your buttonhole using the yarnless bind-off. (In this tutorial I'm doing a two-stitch wide buttonhole.)
2. Slip the next two stitches purlwise onto the right needle.
3. Pass the second stitch on the right needle over the first.
4. Slip the next stitch purlwise onto the right needle.
5. Again, pass the second stitch over the first.
If you're doing a wider buttonhole, repeat steps 4–5 until you've bound off as many stitches as is the width of your buttonhole.
6. Place the first stitch on the right needle back onto the left needle. You now have the bound-off stitches between the needles (2 stitches in the above photo).
7. Turn the work so that you have the wrong side facing. Pick up the working yarn again and move it to the back.
8. Using knitted cast-on, cast on as many stitches as you bound off + one extra stitch (here 3 stitches).
9. Turn the work again so that you have the right side facing. The stitches you have just cast on are on the right needle.
10. Place the first stitch on the right needle (the last stitch you just cast on) back onto the left needle.
11. Now work the first two stitches together. This creates a very stable edge for the buttonhole. (Depending on the pattern on your button band this might be a K2tog or P2tog.)
And there you have it: one buttonhole completed! To make the buttonhole extra firm, on the next row back work the stitches above the buttonhole (the ones you created using the knitted cast-on) through the back loops.
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