Buttonholes

One of the things I like most about knitting is that it is a constant learning process.  I doubt that there is anyone who knows everything about knitting - although I can think of a few people who certainly come close, Elizabeth Zimmerman, Joan Schroeder, Lucy Neatby to name only three.

The back of Braydon's red sweater is finished, including the little tab for the buttonholes on one shoulder.  Buttonholes are one of those things that I always found irritating.  Mostly, it was because they just weren't neat and tidy enough to suit me.  That is, until I discovered the one-row buttonhole.  Now, I use this technique whenever and wherever I need buttonholes.  Excellent instructions can be found here at the Knitting Daily website.

Last night I spent considerable time making the buttonholes over and over.  The first time, I did the one-row buttonhole, but it just wasn't right.  There were open spaces in the stitches beside the buttonhole.  Rip, Rip, Rip.  I tried again.  The result was the same.  Then I tried the method where you bind off two stitches on one row, and cast on two on the next.  Sloppy and unsatisfying.  I tried making a smaller buttonhole by using the yarn over, k2tog. method.  Not bad, but too small for the buttons I've chosen.

The buttonhole band is done in K2, P2 ribbing.  However, I've discovered that the one-row buttonhole works best on a knit row, so for the one row hat I did the holes, I only knit.  That was the secret.  My buttonholes are now neat and have a bound edge around them - look at the picture, above, to see what I mean.  On the next row I went back to the ribbing and there really is no significant difference in the overall appearance for having done one of the rows in knit only. 

Today, I have just a little more knowledge in my head to draw from.  It's a good thing!