Well, I have had continued stress with furniture shopping, still unpacking, and more medical drama with my heart medication.  But, that is a topic for another post. In the meantime, I have been obsessed with knitting the perfect button hole. I am working on my first knitted garment that requires  20 buttons.  And, what I have learned is that there are many different ways to knit a button hole! No two button holes are alike. And, not every technique works for me. You have to try them out to see what works for you.

For me, the perfect button hole needs to be strong, no stretchy. And, it has to have a clean, neat shape that is consistent every time you knit it in the garment. And, I don’t want the button hole to be too obvious either.  Some of the button holes I tried were too sloppy looking or stretched too much even as you continued working on the garment.

So, I found the perfect knitted button hole on You Tube here. It is a one row, reinforced button hole worked on the right side of the garment.  The button hole is clean. not stretchy, strong, and easy to remember.

Here are my written instructions:

FYI:  For my button hole, I had 7 cast on stitches.  This is 2 knitted stitches, 3 button hole stitches, and 2 knitted stitches. I like placing a stitch marker after the 7 stitches to mark where the button hole stitches end. For the video, the person had 6 cast on stitches, with only 2 stitches for her button hole.

1. Work your stitches until you come to where your button hole should be.

Note: In the video, the person is working a k1, p1 stitched edging before the button hole. I like working two knitted stitches as an edge before my button hole.

2. Slip the next stitch (as if to knit) from the left to right needle. Bring your working yarn to the front. Slip the next stitch from the left to the right needle. Pass first slipped stitch over the second slipped stitch on the right needle.

Repeat the  slip 1, PSSO for the number of stitches required for your button hole. Place the stitch back on your left needle after you have completed the number of slip 1, PSSO needed. Turn your work to the wrong side.

Note: On the video, she has two stitches for her button hole.  I like working three stitches for the button hole.

3. With my button hole,  there was a total of 7 cast on stitches. So, on the wrong side, you now see two stitches on one needle, and two stitches on the other needle before your slip marker. Bring the working yarn to the front.

Now you are going to cast on the number of slipped stitches that were bound off, plus one extra stitch. To do this, you are going to work a twisted purlwise cast on. In the video, the person casts on 3 stitches total. For my 7 stitch button hole, I cast on 4 stitches.

4. To work the twisted purlwise cast on, you will be working in the back loop of the stitch on your left hand needle. Place the right needle through the back loop of the stitch on your right needle and work the stitch as if to purl. Place the loop now on to your left hand needle. Repeat until you have the total number of stitches that you bound off for the buttonhole, plus one extra. Turn your work to the right side.

5. Slip the first stitch on your left hand needle on to the right hand needle.  Take the last stitch that was cast on in Step 4 and pass it over the slipped stitch. Knit the next stitch on the left hand needle.  You should now have the same number of stitches that you started with on your right hand needle. For my button hole. I have 7 stitches.

6. Continue working your garment pattern until the row is completed. Then work the next row as instructed on the wrong side of the work. When you turn your work  back on the right side, you will see the button hole is nice and neat.

Viola! The perfect button hole for me. If you have decided that you hate button holes, you can also check out the link below for how to make a button loop.

Other button hole videos that might work for you are below:

I hope this helps you find your perfect button hole for your knitting projects. Happy knitting!

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