Double knit buttonholes via grafting create beautiful buttonholes in double-thick fabric

Here is a beautiful grafted buttonhole for double thick fabric, such as a folded-over button-band. These are GORGEOUS buttonholes: blue-ribbon, state-fair stuff. 

But! They are very stretchy because grafting does not constrain the buttonhole in any way: structurally, grafting IS knitting. Rough handling will stretch these out. (For a good-looking buttonhole that can take a beating, use my TULIPS buttonhole, instead.) These particular buttonholes are for refined garments and refined wearers (plus, you know, boasting rights at knit night). 

Grafted double knit buttonhole

Based on a horizontal opening, these are made along a row. There are no short rows: on each fabric face, set-up begins and ends on the same row by knitting "guides" of polyester sewing thread into the fabric. After the knitting is done, grafts are worked following the guide-thread. At the end, the buttonholes are finished with a duplicate stitch at each corner: left and right, front and back.

_______________

--For a folded button band, both sides of the fabric must be knit in the same direction. This means the fold must be at right angles to the slit, with the band knit attached (as-you-go) option A. There are directions for this kind of buttonhole band in this post.

--This trick does not easily work for a single-layer band picked up along the long edge and afterwards folded over, as option B. The fold means the two sides of the band are knit in opposite directions and have to be grafted 1/2 stitch off. This gets an "X" for right now. 

--A work-around for bands picked up the long way is option C: the front of the band picked up along the long edge and the back of the band, the same. The two layers are knit independently, then the buttonholes grafted, and then the long outside edge sewn or slip stitched together at the red lines.

What looks like buttonholes in these sketches are actually buttonhole BLANKS held together with guide-threads. These are afterward grafted together.

Click here for super-enlargement to make text legible.
If using translation function, click here for translatable text.

There must be at least a two-stitch border between the edge of the buttonhole and the edge of the fabric face. 

___________

There are two separate how-to's below. 

--Project 1: High-viz demo. The buttonhole is made in the center of two different-color swatches, grafted with yarn of a third color for visibility.

--Project 2: swatch-prototype of an as-you-go attached and folded (doubled back) button hand, option A. It is worked in one color, with the graft in the same color, as it would be on a sweater. 

___________

Project 1: High-visibility demo

Five-stitch buttonhole. Pink graft between blue and brown fabrics.

Materials: 

• Scrap yarn in different colors. I used blue and brown. 
• Obviously, use what you have: blue = front fabric, brown = back fabric.
• Best: wool of a weight usually knit at 5 sts/inch. Slippery, splitty yarn (acrylic, cotton, polyester) makes grafting harder, but any non-superwash wool should be fine. Demo uses "Quebecoise" yarn--very rustic, very grabby. 
• Knitting needles of proportionate size.
• Contrast color scarp yarn for grafting. I used pink.
• Sewing "tapestry" needle (dull tip, large eye). 
• Two colors of polyester sewing thread in contrasting colors to all three yarn colors. I used red on the blue side and white on the brown.

Make swatches

.

Bottom-up 15-stitch swatches Buttonhole in the middle
Cast on 15 sts in blue. Work a few rows in ribbing to mark which edge is “down.” Work five or so additional rows in stockinette. On next front side row, work steps 1-9
s t e p	Take what action?		What does this step do?	#  of  sts
1	Using blue yarn, knit 4 stitches		border	4
2	Hold a length of red polyester sewing thread together with the yarn. Knit the next stitch with both yarn and thread		helper st before buttonhole blank	5
		Leave a 3-inch tail on the thread
3	For the next 5 sts, knit with thread only		buttonhole blank	10
		This is where the graft occurs. The spider’s web of guide-threads form a “window” between swatches	“window”	-
4	For the following stitch, knit with yarn and thread together		helper st after buttonhole blank	11
		The other end of the thread should also be left several inches long.
		The yarn stranded behind the thread buttonhole blank must make a loop of about 8 inches. This loop will be cut in half & used to tidy the edges, so each half must be long enough to thread on the tapestry needle and work a duplicate stitch.	yarn loop which, when cut, becomes “side yarns”	-
5	Drop the sewing thread and knit 4 sts		border	15
6	At row-end, tie the thread ends together in a loop		“thread loop”	-
7	Do not cut the yarn loops yet		yarn loops will become “side yarns”	-
8	Work several additional rows in stockinette		band above buttonhole
9	For a single buttonhole-blank swatch, bind off. For additional blanks, repeat from step 1 leaving at least 8 rows between blanks and end with a bind off, several rows above the last blank.		bind off / repetition	-
Make another swatch to match in brown, using white thread.

.

click to enlarge

Here are my IRL single-blank swatches. The long loops at the bottom are the strands behind the thread windows. These loops measure 8-ish inches from end to end. The thread loops hang loose on the backs.

Set-up

Hot off the needles, the swatches curl up, their backs a mess of loops and threads. Time to tidy up.

Steam-block the swatches to lay as flat as possible. No need to let the swatches dry, just let them cool a bit.

This sketch shows the blue front fabric laying flat after blocking. The yarn loop and the thread loop are behind the fabric. The ribbing, not shown on this illustration, is below the knitting.

 Click here for super-enlargement.

The yarn colorized yellow shows the "helper stitches" originally knit together with the thread at each end of the buttonhole blank, as well as the strand, connecting these stitches together, which hangs in a loop at the back.

The thread is   red.

The background bright blue dots  highlight a gap in the column under the thread-tail which connects the outermost thread loops to next thread loops in (towards the center). This means the highlighted gaps are in the row below the buttonhole blank.

--On the right, the gap is between stitches 5 and 6 (counting from the right edge). 

--On the left, the gap is between stitches 10 and 11 (again, counting from the right edge).

These gaps see a lot of activity, so have a good look to locate just exactly where they are.

• "Park" the thread loop on the fabric surface by inserting a crochet hook, grabbing the knotted loop bottom and drawing through to the smooth knit side.
• Cut the yarn loop in half. These strands are the "side yarns" and they are used at the very end to work a duplicate stitch at each end of the blank. But, in the meanwhile, these side-yarns dangle in the way of the grafting. Therefore, draw each side-yarn to the front of the fabric through the bright blue gaps. Just as with the thread loops, park these side-yarns in the fabric by drawing them under and over a few fabric stitches with a crochet hook.
• All parking is done BELOW the buttonhole blank (between the blank and the ribbing). 

After all the tidying, here's how the swatch appears.

Click here for super-enlargement

The side yarns colorized yellow have been pulled to the fabric surface through the blue gaps previously highlighted. The left side-yarn is "parked" by pulling it through an additional stitch or two to tuck it out of the way. The right side-yarn is not yet parked. (This photo from Project 2, below, shows a view of parking IRL.)

The bottom of the  red  thread loop has also been parked on the fabric surface.

The top and bottom loops surrounding the buttonhole-blank remain in their original darker blue color, the rest of the fabric is faded to lighter blue for less distraction.

To be explained later: the two mysterious darker half-stitches flanking the bottom of the buttonhole-blank, as well as the safety pin.

Tidy up the other swatch in the same way. Here is the brown swatch.

Click here for super-enlargement

The brown (back) swatch is color coded like the blue except the guide-thread is white. In this illustration, both yellow side yarns have been parked.

Like with the blue illustration, the non-essential stitches are faded. They are a pinkish hue for less distraction, while the essential stitches surrounding the buttonhole-blank remain  brown. 

Again, the bottom of the blank is flanked by two darker half-stitches.

Note the safety pin is on the opposite fabric edge than on the blue swatch--explanation coming up.

Getting ready to graft

Open the windows and align

--Loosen the thread stitches on both ends of a blank by pulling some slack into the thread stitches from the loop. Distribute evenly until you can see right through the spider-web of thread-guides from both fabrics. Don't work tight! Make a nice open window. Loosen that thread! (And, re-park the thread loops when they inevitably comes loose during this process.)

--Next, hold the fabrics back-to back, meaning purl sides together, smooth knit sides facing outwards. 

--Finally, line up the windows on both fabrics exactly behind one another, blue in front, brown behind.

Order of work: graft top loops, then bottom loops

Top loops: Holding the fabrics ribbing down, each top loop is grafted, head-to-head with the matching top loop of the back fabric. This is done by flipping back and forth, meaning switching from one fabric face to the other. Flipping does NOT mean turn the fabrics upside down.

Bottom loops: After the top loops are grafted, the fabric is rotated, ribbing uppermost. With the fabric upside down, the bottom loops look just like the top loops did, so the fabrics are again flipped back and forth as the bottom loops take their turn in being grafted head-to-head. 

Detailed instructions follow. 

Direction of graft: safety-pins explained

Just like knitting, the top loop graft starts at the right and proceeds ⏪ to the left. When the work is turned upside down to graft the bottom loops, the work again proceeds  ⏪ leftwards.

HOWEVER, right-to-left only describes the FRONT fabric. It gets real confusing real fast because the BACK fabric (brown in my case) is worked flipped over, meaning, it is worked MIRROR-IMAGE: from the left edge of the buttonhole blank to its right edge ⏩. 

 I've messed up many times by forgetting this simple fact. 

Therefore, instead of thinking "leftward" or "rightward," put a safety pin as a marker into the LEFT edge of the front fabric and another on RIGHT edge of the back fabric. Now, from the front, when the fabrics are held back-to-back, both markers appear at the left edge. 

This orients the top-loop grafts on BOTH fabrics to progress towards the markers,

and the bottom-loop grafts on BOTH fabrics to retreat from the markers.

Preserve the guide threads

Before starting, here's one more look at the fabric to be grafted. 

This time, I've put brown dots behind the thread-guides of the blue fabric. These "behind-dots" represent the brown fabric. This is because, when the blue faces you, the brown is behind. 

Same thing with the blue dots on the brown fabric: when the brown fabric faces you, the blue is behind, so the blue "behind-dots" are meant to represent that back fabric. 

IN ADDITION, the dots ALSO show the exact part of the thread window through which the sewing needle must pass. These dots are needle-targets and they are BEWEEN the thread loops, NOT through the arms of the thread-stitches. 

So, another number-1 way to make a mess is to mistake between...

    --the gaps between columns (where the dots are, and where the needle SHOULD poke through) 

    --the gaps between the arms of a stitch (where the needle SHALL NOT pass).

Naturally, getting this right takes some poking around, but precision is required: tangled in the grafting yarn, the thread guides become useless.

If this doesn't fully make sense right now, no worries, this problem comes up again with more, more, more illustrations.

Tension

Draw the grafting yarn through firmly, but not so tight as to pucker the fabric. Goldilocks that yarn--it's a swatch for a reason.

No half-stitches grafted: 
the MYSTERIOUS DARK LOOPS from the illustrations

All the loops grafted in this part of the process are in sets of two. At no point does a grafting needle pass through a singleton loop: the needle ALWAYS passes through TWO loops of each color, those being BOTH ARMS of the stitch being grafted. 

Yes, this does mean the half-stitches on each bottom edge --the MYSTERIOUS DARK LOOPS from the illustration-- remain ungrafted when the time comes to turn the fabric upside-down and work the bottom loops. However, this has been foreseen and these half stitches (singleton loops) are tidied up with the side-yarns in the finishing process. In this grafting phase, the needle always passes through whole stitches (two arms at a time). 

The actual path of the needle: the TOP of the thread stitch is the guide

It is only the TOP LOOP of the thread-stitch which guides the grafting needle. In this sketch, the stitch being grafted is striped green. The thread top-loop to follow--colored brighter red--guides the grafting needle over the tail of the green-striped stitch, and then under its two arms. The needle exactly follows the path of the thread top-loop. Where the thread goes over the tail, the needle goes over the tail. Where the thread goes under the arms, the needle goes under the arms. The thread bottoms--colored faded red--are to be ignored. 

Reading the illustration-directions for grafting

Slack has been worked into the threads and the window is stretched open. The ribbing is below these illustrations and it's time for the TOP LOOP GRAFTS.

Here is the order for grafting the top loops, seen from the front (blue) side.

Grafting top loops seen from the front (blue) side.

The ribbing is down, below the buttonhole blank.

The red-striped forked tail come onto the blue fabric surface from between the fabrics. We will see this tail IRL shortly. 

Click here for super-enlargement (it's printable, plus, you could admire the cute 'lil forked tails better.) 

Here is grafting the top loops, seen from the back (brown) side. 

Grafting top loops, seen from the back (brown) side.

The ribbing is down, below the buttonhole-blank

Click here for super-enlargement 

Sequential grafts

The blue fabric face has grafts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. The brown fabric face has grafts 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. The grafting stitches are numbered sequentially. After working 1 a+b from the blue side, flip the work and graft 2 a+b from the brown side. Flip back to blue and graft 3 a+b, flip again to brown and graft 4 a+b, and so on. 

Arrows and dots: path of the needle

The dots on the grafting chart are the same dots illustrated earlier: they highlight the exact part of the thread-window through which the tapestry needle must pass on its way from one fabric face to another: they are the needle-target. The color of the dot represents the fabric behind, meaning, the fabric FROM which the needle came or TO which it is going.

The very small arrows outlined in white point to each set of yarn loops through which the needle must pass--these locate where graft passes. 

Close up of stitch-1 and graft-1 from chart for grafting front fabric, top loops

Geek note. As it grafts each stitch, the needle always passes first through loop "a," and then through loop "b." This is why, on tclose-up above, and the upper (blue) grafting chart, the letters are switched in order. Writing "b" before "a" seems backwards until you realize that the direction of the tapestry needle on the front fabric goes ⏪ in a leftward direction, meaning the grafting yarn does indeed pass through loop "a" before loop "b." 

(Yet another example of how reading goes ⏩ rightwards, but knitting goes ⏪ leftwards.)

The black loops with the racing stripes represent the actual grafted stitches, but they are ALSO arrows--arrows which show the exact direction of travel. Their forked tails show which way the grafting yarn came come FROM, their pointed arrow-heads show which way the grafting yarn is going TO.

The forked tail of graft-1 (red stripe) shows that the grafting needle comes onto the blue fabric surface from between the two fabrics, through the gap to the right of stitch-1. (This is the gap one row ABOVE where the side yarn comes out.)  The yarn for graft-1 has not traveled from the brown fabric. That is why the diagram does not have a brown dot in that gap.

The middle part of graft-1 passes under arms "a" and "b" of stitch-1. 

To relate the diagram to the real world, in the photo below, the black arrow points to the tail of the pink grafting yarn, sticking out between the two fabrics. The green arrow points to where the pink yarn emerges at the gap. The needle carries the grafting yarn, as it passes under arms "a" and "b" of stitch-1. 

IRL, the needle grafts stitch-1. The graft begins when the yarn is drawn from the back of the blue fabric to the fabric surface. The green arrow points to the where the yarn comes through the gap. Then the needle passes through arms a and b of stitch 1, as shown. 

The black arrow points to the tail of the grafting yarn, sticking out between the fabrics. This tail will be important later, during the finishing process

. 

After passing through both arms of stitch-1, the arrowhead on graft-1 shows the graft exiting through the gap between stitches 1 and 3, heading for the back fabric (brown "behind dot"). 

Now, flip the fabric and follow the diagram for grafting the brown (back) fabric. The blue behind-dot and the forked tail of graft-2 show the gap where the needle ought to emerge as it travels TO the brown fabric FROM the blue fabric.

Close up of stitch-2 and graft-2, from chart for grafting back fabric, top loops

The diagrams makes it look easy--out of one gap and into the next. However, in real life, things aren't always quite so easy to arrange.

The photo below shows the needle emerging onto the back fabric, IRL. 

But wait! It came through in the wrong place! Instead of coming up the gap for graft-2, the needle came up THROUGH THE ARMS OF THE THREAD STITCH. Bad needle! Bad! 

Through the arms of the thread-stitch? What? Bad needle! Try again!

Oh no, again! This time the bad needle came up even worse: through the gap for graft 4, instead of the gap for graft 2.

Wrong gap! Bad needle! 

And yes! Third time, the needle behaves and pokes out where it should. 

In the correct gap at last! The needle is now in position to draw the grafting yarn to the brown surface in order to work graft-2 on the brown side. 

It's poke and withdraw, poke and withdraw, until the needle comes up exactly where it ought. The fabric must be flipped back and forth til the poke comes through correct gap on BOTH fabrics. Delicate and easily collapsed, the thread guides really have to be tip-toed around (but see footnote 1). If the needle comes up in the wrong place, the thread guides get tangled in the grafting yarn and become useless. 

In the sketch below, the needle has (finally!) come up through the correct gap on the brown side. The needle now follows the grafting arrow to bring the (pink) grafting yarn through the two arms of stitch-2. This is graft-2 (first graft on the back fabric). 

Stitch-2 being grafted on the back side. The needle goes left-to-right, However, because this is a top-loop graft, a better way to think about it is: the graft is worked "towards the marker." 

Compare this illustration to stitch 2 a+b on the photo as well as the grafting chart and the close-up. All four show different perspectives of the same graft passing (or setting up to pass) through two arms of stitch-2.

___________

Once you get into rhythm, it gets easier. Here's a mid-row IRL check-in, showing the needle progressing down the blue fabric face, then the brown, grafting top loops towards the maker. 

IRL, the second-to-last graft each side, both being worked toward marker.

The blue front fabric is grafted first, then the brown back fabric: the order of these photos follows the path of knitting, not the usual order of reading.

At the end of the diagrams the needle grafts stitch-10 on the brown back fabric, then comes out to the front blue fabric again...but where? 

Dun-DUN-duuun! Time for...

Bottom loops

Below is what the fabric looks like from the front, after the top loops are all grafted. The ribbing is down, as it has always been so far. The dark half-stitches flank the BOTTOM of the buttonhole blank just as they have all along. As before, the brown dots highlight the GAPS BETWEEN THE THREAD STITCHES. With my "bad needle!" illustrations, I've been hammering on how important it is to go through those gaps between the thread stitches, and you can see that the ends of the grafts (now colored solid black) do indeed come and go through those brown-dot gaps. 

Now comes one of those shift-of-perspective tricks, like magic eye or an M.C. Esher drawing. 

First, WITHOUT CHANGING ANYTHING, I simply rotate this drawing 180 degrees. It is now standing on its head.

--The ribbing is at the top. 

--What were top loops are now bottom loops. 

--What were bottom loops are now top loops. 

--The dark half-stitches now flank the blanks's top loops. 

BUT! Wait a minute here. The brown dots are now THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE THREAD STITCHES! Right between the arms of each red thread-stitch! Just where we do NOT want the needle to pass. What's with THIS?

The answer is, when you rotate a knitted fabric, top-down columns are offset by one-half stitch from bottom-up columns. That's why, when removing a provisional cast on, there's one fewer stitches going "down" than "up." (That's also why the upside-down graft now looks like it begins and ends with a half-stitch.)

How to solve this conundrum? This is where the change-of-perspective trick comes in. 

In this next illustration, the fabric is still upside-down (ribbing at the top) BUT, I've moved the brown dots over a half-stitch. Now the dots are back where they should be--in the gaps BETWEEN the thread stitches, not between their arms. Comparing the before and after, the direction of the shift was away from the marker, or to the left on the front fabric (and, correspondingly, to the right on the back fabric). In their new position, the brown dots again highlight where the needle must pass through on its trips to and from the back (brown) fabric, bringing the grafting yarn with it.

The blue "X" is where the needle comes out, onto the surface of the blue fabric. and the red-bordered blue arrow points at the arm of the first full thread stitch, which acts as a landmark. That blue arrow is about to make two more appearances, so if this isn't clear yet, it will be soon.

Here it is again, "in-the-wool." 

The blue arrow again points to the same thread-arm as in the pretty diagram. The tear-drop-looking half-stitch (white with black outline) is the dark half-stitch from the diagram, and the stitch marked 11 b+a is going to be the first one grafted after the needle comes through the gap, carrying the grafting yarn. 

As in the diagram, the yarn colorized yellow is the side-stitch knitted together with the thread, as well as the side-yarn dangling from that stitch. In this new upside-down orientation, the thread knitted together with that yellow-ized first and last stitch presents as a half-stitch, running just parallel to the teardrop half-stitch.

Teardrop = dark half-stitch flanking bottom loops of buttonhole blank

Yarn colorized yellow = side yarns. Note that half of the first visible red thread (exactly parallel to half-stitch) is the one originally knitted together with the side yarns, and now this, too, presents as a half-stitch. 

But, recollect: we never graft half-stitches!That is why the blue arrow points at the next thread arm, which is the arm of the first FULL thread stitch, just like in the diagram (and where the needle is, in fact, coming out).

For bottom loops, the needle must come out in the gap alongside the first unworked full thread stitch NEAREST the marker, then work the graft "retreating" from the marker, as shown on the grafting diagram for bottom loops (up next).  

"11 b+a" relates to the first stitch on that diagram.

. 

After the needle comes onto the fabric surface in the correct gap, it is time to graft the bottom loops. Below, the actual grafting diagrams.

 On both the blue (front) and the brown (back), the blue arrow points to the landmark arm of the first full thread loop, once again showing where the needle must emerge for the first bottom loop graft on each fabric. 

Except for the business about turning the fabric upside down and finding the right starting place, the ACT of grafting bottoms is the same as tops, and the diagrams read the same way. Start with 11 a+b on the (front) blue side, flip and work12 a+b on the brown (back) side, flip and work 13 a+b on the front, flip again, and so on, always keeping the ribbing at the TOP with each flip.

Geek note. The yarn passing between graft-10 and graft-11 (top loop to bottom loop connector) has a tendency to be loose. Have a look to see if the tension needs adjustment before starting the bottom-loop grafts. 

Here is the order for grafting the bottom loops, seen from the front (blue) side.

Click here for super enlargement

Here is the order of grafting the bottom loops, as seen from the back (brown) side.

Click here for super-enlargement

.

Again, flip the fabric from one face to another to sequentially graft stitches 11-18. 

Where the grafting ends at stitch 18, green-stripe graft-18 goes through the gap, then comes out BEWEEN the fabrics, NOT through the front fabric. (There's no blue "behind dot" in that gap.) In fact, this tail comes OUT where the original grafting tail went IN: the pink tail at the red arrow, from this photo, above. 

Finishing

The two ends of the grafting yarn come out in the same place between the fabrics. They are now overlapped in a half-knot. 

half-knot

Here it is IRL.

This half-knot is located between the fabrics, where the graft starts and finishes. This is called the "tied end." 

Adjust the tension and the swatch is almost done! 

The final touch is a duplicate stitch in each corner. This fastens down the singleton loops, meaning, the dark half-stitches at each bottom edge of the button blank. It also packs plenty of yarn into the corners to protect this delicate area. This duplicate stitching is done using the side-yarns, previously parked on the fabric surface, and is worked with the fabrics in the ribbing-down position. 

 Recall that the side yarn was originally brought to the fabric surface through the gap under the tail connecting the first thread stitch to the second. This is the gap alongside the single unworked "dark loop" at the bottom edge of the button blank (red arrow). 

Un-park the side yarn and thread it onto the grafting needle. Unlike in the grafting process where the needle followed only the top of the thread stitch, in this finishing process, the needle is going to follow the entire path, top and bottom, of the second thread loop. This loop is now colored bright green. 

Step 1: needle inserts under previously unworked half stitch, labeled "dark loop," by  red arrow. 

Click here for super-enlargement

Step 2: needle inserts under arms "a" and "b" of stitch 1: This is the same stitch-1 from the grafting chart. 

Click here for super-enlargement 

Does it seem odd that a grafted stitch also gets a duplicate stitch through the same arms? It is partly for beauty--with this stitch, the column alongside the buttonhole now appears undisturbed. However,  equally important is strength. Without the duplicate stitch, stress would stretch the single lonely strand of tail yarn, now colored  magenta . (Enlarge to see better.)  The duplicate stitch prevents this by doubling the connection. 

Step 3: needle inserts into the bottom stitch again, behind the front fabric, where the end must now be worked in. 

Click here for super-enlargement 

Step 4: completed duplicate stitch (ends not yet worked in).

Click here for super-enlargement 

Step 5:

For the left corner, front fabric, the graft follows the second-to-last thread loop, now colored bright blue, and goes under arms "a" and "b" of stitch-9, in mirror image to steps 1-4 of the right corner. The needle is shown beginning the process by inserting under the arm of the dark half-loop on the left side. 

Click here for super-enlargement

On the back fabric, the path of the side-yarns is the same, with the top of the duplicate stitch passing under the arms of stitch-2 on the right and stitch-10 on the left. 

At the end, switch to a sharp pointed needle to skim in the six ends: four side-yarn tails + two grafting tails. No one will ever see inside the band, so neatness isn't the issue. The aim is tidying away all the dangling bits, and also keeping the yarn firmly seated to maintain tension on the graft and duplicate stitches.

Remove the guide threads

Snip off the loose part of the thread loop as best you can. Next, snip one guide thread in the middle of the window. Using a small dpn, tease the thread from the middle to the ends, then gently tug the thread out when you can no longer tease any free. Flip the fabric and remove the thread from the other blank, then admire your gorgeous buttonhole. 

Geek notes about finishing

-- After working a few of these, it's actually better, tension-wise, to remove the thread guides BEFORE working the duplicate stitches. This is because removing the thread guide disturbs their tension.. 

--Another tip: The side yarns are probably frazzled from blocking, plus parking and unparking. So, after threading, but before beginning the duplicate stitch, twirl the tapestry needle between your fingers to restore the yarn's original bounce and twist.

Final product

Here is the finished buttonhole as seen from the front, with the guide threads removed and both corners duplicate stitched.

Finished buttonhole from the front (ends not yet worked in)

Here's a three-dimensional view of both layers at once. Now you can see the grafts traveling through the window, plus how the duplicate stitches narrow the opening and protect the ends.

The finished product with both fabrics showing. 

Compare this with the finished product "in the wool." The duplicate stitches hide the corners, so only three of the five grafts show--same on the diagram and IRL on the photo. 

The duplicate stitches are in direct horizontal line (—) with the buttonholes as shown on the diagram, and pack plenty of yarn into the buttonhole corners. However, on the photo, they don't read as part of the buttonhole. Instead, they help create the "undisturbed" look of the columns running vertically (丨) past each side of the buttonhole.

 

A complicated bit of knitting, isn't it?

________________

Project 2: Attached, doubled-back button band in one color

Option "A" from opening illustrations.

This is a left buttonhole band, meaning, it would be on the wearer's left side when the garment is put on.

This sample has "body stitches" added so, to get this same look on a swatch, add stitches as indicated in step 13 on the chart below.

.

This sketch shows the layout of the folded-back attached buttonhole band, it is option "A" from the opening illustration. 

If you knit as shown in the sketch, this orientation for the buttonholes makes a right buttonhole band, meaning, it would be on the wearer's right side when the garment is put on. 

BOTTOM UP

Worked BOTTOM UP, the chart below makes a LEFT buttonhole band, meaning on wearer's left side. Traditionally, buttonhole bands were gendered, and this was designated the "men's side" for buttonholes. However, these are easier for a right-handed wearer to button, whether man or woman, so, being right-handed, these are what I usually knit. 

For a RIGHT ("woman's side") buttonhole band worked bottom-up, follow alternate directions at this link. 

TOP DOWN

Adapting the below chart to work TOP DOWN (ribbing last thing worked before bind off) the directions makes a RIGHT buttonhole band ("women's side").

Therefore, for a TOP DOWN buttonhole band on LEFT ("men's side") again follow alternate directions at link.

Geek note

For dog sweaters and baby sweaters, right side ("women's") buttonholes are actually easier for right-handers to button up from the outside--the right hand does the fancy work of pushing the button through, while the left hand merely holds the band still. Aaaand, this is why these are "women's" buttonholes to begin with. See, before zippers, old-timey women's clothing featured multiple elaborate buttons. Such clothing requires help getting into. Rght-handed assistants standing facing the wearer find right-side buttonholes easier to operate. 

Left handers will find left side ("men's") buttonholes easier to operate from the outside (dog and baby sweaters) and right side ("women's") buttonholes easier to operate when worn. 

Materials: 

• Scrap yarn, maybe an ounce
• Grabby wool of a weight usually knit at 5 sts/inch. Avoid slippery or splitty yarns. 
• Knitting needles of proportionate size.
• Sewing "tapestry" needle (dull tip, large eye). 
• two colors(A, B) of polyester sewing thread in contrasting colors to yarn.

Cast on 25 sts (but see note at step 13). 

Work a few rows in ribbing. The ribbing marks which side is "down." 

(If adapting for top-down, work a few rows in stockinette and end with ribbing. )

Switch to stockinette and knit a few more rows.
On next front-side row, follow below chart.

.

BOTTOM-UP 25-stitch swatch, buttonholes on LEFT (“men’s”) side This same chart makes buttonholes on the RIGHT (“women’s”) side when worked TOP DOWN
s t e p	Take what action?		What does this stitch do?	#  of  sts
1	Knit 1 st		fabric edge	1
2	Hold a length of polyester sewing thread in color A together with the yarn. Knit the next stitch with both yarn and thread		helper st before buttonhole blank	2
		Leave a 3-inch tail on the sewing thread
3	for the next 5 sts, knit with sewing thread only		buttonhole blank	7
4	for the following stitch, knit with yarn and sewing thread together		helper st after buttonhole blank	8
		The other end of the sewing thread should also be several inches.
		The yarn stranded behind the thread buttonhole blank must make a loop of about 8 inches. This loop will be cut in half & used to tidy the edges, so each half must be long enough to thread on the tapestry needle and work a duplicate stitch.	yarn loop which, when cut, becomes “side yarns”	-
5	drop the sewing thread and knit 1 st		plain st before fold	9
6	Purl 1 stitch in yarn only		this is the fold line for the buttonhole band.	10
		This is column 10 on the front fabric face (knit side) and column 16 on the reverse (purl side)
		Geek note: This is a REVERSE fold line. Being a purl column, it recedes, leaving the flanking knit columns in relief as the visual fold. The purl column thickens the band from the inside, for a pleasant-feeling, sturdy edge. For a knit-looking edge, follow the instructions for pinstriping, below.
7	Knit 1 st		plain st after fold	11
8	Hold a length of polyester sewing thread in color B together with the yarn. Knit the next stitch with both yarn and sewing thread		helper st before buttonhole blank	12
		Again, leave 3-inch tails on the thread
9	For the next 5 sts, knit with seing thread only		buttonhole blank	17
		The yarn stranded behind the sewing-thread buttonhole blank must make a loop of about 8 inches.	yarn loop which become “side yarns”	-
10	Knit 1 st with both yarn and sewing thread		helper st after buttonhole blank	18
11	Drop sewing thread and knit 1 st		plain st before purl-border column	19
12	Purl 1 st		this is the “purl-border-column.”	20
		This is column 20 on the front fabric face (knit side) and column 6 on the reverse (purl side)
		Geek note:  This column is the bridge between the buttonhole band and the body stitches. If adaping a sweater pattern to have this kind of attached, double-knit grafted buttonhole band, substitute the 20 stitches worked so far for the buttonband into the pattern instructions.
13	Knit 5 sts		“body sts”	25 (?)
		—These stitches are meant to represent the garment body, so on your swatch, increase or decrease st count for this portion as preferred.  --The white buttonhole band on the opening photo has 13 stitches in this section. —By casting on more, this buttonhole swatch does double duty as a gauge swatch for the project.  —With fewer or more cast on, the stitch count in steps 6 and 12 goes off on the purl side, but remain accurate on the knit side.
14	At row-end, tie the sewing thread ends together, each color in a loop with itself		“thread loops”	-
15	Do not cut the yarn loops yet		yarn loops will become “side yarns”	-
16	Work several additional rows in stockinette, BUT keep the purl-border-column and the fold line as a knit stitch on the back, and a purl stitch on the front (see steps 6 and 12) …                OR  follow geek note, below		-	-
		Geek note:  For tighter, better-looking purl columns, work this first row as directed to set the pattern. Then, on rows 2 through to end, instead of purling these columns as-you-go, actually knit the purl-border-column and the fold line as simple stockinette fabric, along with the rest of each row. Afterwards, and before working the buttonholes,“convert” these to purl columns by dropping down and latching up as knit stitches on a purl background. Tidier and easier to knit.
17	For a single buttonhole-blank swatch, bind off. For additional blanks, repeat from step 1. On my multiple-blank samples, the rows are approx ten rows apart.		bind off / repetition	-

.

Tidy up as for project #1: steam block the swatch so it lays flat, or at least, flatter. Cut the strand behind and bring the side yarns to the fabric surface through the correct gap, both front and back. Park the thread loops and the side yarns.

Here's the project to this point, knit with five stitches in the "body stitch" section and two sets of blanks.

Left:  front knit fabric face

Right: back purl fabric face

magenta brackets: the five stitches of this swatch acting as "body stitches," meaning, a substitute for where the garment would be. 

1: purl border-column, "bridge" between buttonhole band and body stitches

2: fold line

Both these columns were knit in stockinette on this sample, afterwards laddered out, then latched up ("converted") to present as knit columns on the purled face, purl columns on the knit face.

black  arrows: buttonhole blanks

red  arrows: example of thread loop, parked, front and back

yellow colorized yarns: side loops, parked on front

Click here for super-enlargement 

.

The grafting diagrams are identical to project 1. Here are those links again: saves scrolling around.

Grafting top loops from front (stitches 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9)
Grafting top loops from back (stitches 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10)
Grafting bottom loops from front (stitches 11, 13, 15, and 17)
Grafting bottom loops from back (stitches 12, 14, 16, and 18)

The rest of this project description focuses on the other parts of the swatch.

Start from the top
It's easiest to start grafting from the top: all the threads and yarn loops hang down, so the upper buttonhole starts with less clutter. Working in ends on each buttonhole before working the next lower gives each successive blank the same advantage.

If knitting top-down, the bottom of the GARMENT is the top of the BUTTONHOLE BAND, so the lowest buttonhole on the band (closest to bottom ribbing) is actually the uppermost buttonhole, and the one to start with. 

Keeping track--m&m's or pennies?
Grafting in the same color as the surrounding fabric makes it harder to keep track. If you're a wiz at grafting, skip this part. However, I am a miserable failure at this, so here's my breakdown.

There are three things to track with each graft...

• Stitch being worked (first, second, etc)--this is progression
• Whether grafting top or bottom loops-- relates to direction (toward marker or retreating away?)
• Whether grafting from FRONT or BACK--relates to progression and direction

A buttonhole band has more landmarks than a loose swatch: front and back are evident by relation to the garment. You can also choose one edge as a reference instead of using a marker. Yet I STILL manage to mess this up, so I find it helpful to chant...

first graft top FRONT, work towards marker

(bite half of first m&m in top row, flip the work)

first graft top BACK, work towards marker 

(eat other half of first m&m in top row, flip) 

second graft top FRONT, work towards marker 

(bite half of second m&m in top row, flip) 

second graft top BACK, work towards marker 

... etc.

It's the same chant for the bottom loops in the same order, except that instead of grafting towards the safety-pin, the grafting retreats away, so the chant goes...

first graft bottom FRONT, retreat from marker 

(bite half of first m&m in the second row, flip) etc.

 If m&m's aren't your thing, set out two rows of five pennies, instead, flipping from heads to tails at each fabric flip. Probably healthier.  

But, is five really the good number? Hmmm...

How many stitches wide?

The duplicate stitches at the four corners actually hide the buttonhole edges, making them look narrower. A five-stitch buttonhole only shows the three center grafts clearly. However, five stitches is a wide buttonhole. So as part of the swatching, make some four-stitch buttonholes, and even try a three-stitch hole to see what you think about the balance between visual and actual size. Of course, match the hole to the button you plan to use.

What kind of buttons and how to attach them?

These buttonholes require a larger button than most other kinds. Big buttons might need an anchor button. They're also thick buttonholes, because, you know, they're made on folded-over fabric. Thick fabric requires either a shanked button or a holed button with a thread shank.

Which direction? (What's the "front" and what's the "back?")

The tied end of the grafting yarn should be on the open edge of the band, so you can get at it to tie it off. With an attached button band this means using the folded edge of the button band instead of a safety pin as the reference mark. This orientation makes the button-blank between the purl-border-column and the fold line the "front" of the fabric, while the button-blank nearest the fabric edge is the "back." The work is towards the folded edge when grafting the first (top loops) part, and retreats away from the folded edge for the second (bottom loops). 

Stitch count--how many to cast on for as-you-go bands, plus, making a matching button band.

The bridge between the garment and the bands (buttonhole band AND button band) is the "purl-border column." From that column to the fabric edge, there are 19 additional stitches, for a total of 20 stitches including the bridge. Therefore, to substitute this style as-you-go (attached) buttonhole- / button-band on a project, DECREASE the cast-on stitch count by whatever stitches your pattern allocates to both attached bands (buttonhole band AND button band) then, INCREASE the stitch count by 40, meaning 20 for the buttonhole band plus 20 more for a matching button band.

The matching button band has the fold line in the center (column 10, counted from the fabric edge). It is knit (obviously) without the blanks, helper stitches, etc. IMHO, the easiest way to work the matching button band is is to knit all 20 stitches as simple plain stockinette, then afterward drop and re-latch the purl-border-column (bridge) and the fold line column, to present as purl columns on a knit background.

For each ONE stitch narrower you make the buttonholes, the buttonhole band AND the matching button band each decrease by TWO stitches--one stitch narrower on each of the two button blanks flanking the fold line, with the button band following suit. No matter the width of the buttonhole, it must be bordered by TWO stitches each side, so each five-stitch buttonhole-blank requires 9 st, not including fold line and purl border-column, a four-stitch buttonhole blank requires 8 sts, and so on. 

Fastening the band shut: some options

This white buttonhole band is not fastened down in any way: the buttonholes themselves hold the fold in place. For this option, add one stitch to the count between the fabric edge and the fold line for casting on, with the extra stitch held at the fabric edge. This means start step 1 by knitting TWO stitches instead of one. This gives an extra column so that the fabric edge overlays the purl-border-column, making it invisible from the inside. The buttonhole band is less stiff with this option. 

The pin holds the buttonhole band back fabric open for show. 

Without the pin, the band would stay folded shut, with no need to sew down the fabric edge.

If you do want to fasten, do not add the extra overlap stitch. Instead, sew with either a thin yarn or sewing thread in the same color, using the overcast stitch, one sewing stitch per knitted row. If you have no thin yarn in matching color, split out a ply or two of the main yarn.

The matching button band does not have grafted buttonholes to hold the fold in place, so do not add the overlap stitch, and do plan to fasten this band down along the long edge.

Geek note: the ribbing "casts a shadow" upward, appearing to extend to the buttonhole's lower edge. However, this is an illusion caused by stresses in the fabric. To avoid, consider whether plain stockinette might not look better for the bottom of the band (less distortion, bottom buttonhole looks more like the others). 

Pinstriped variation: contrasting OR main color along the garment edge + another option for fastening the bands shut

Work a contrast color pinstripe along the fold column. When you fold the buttonhole band, why! There's the contrasting color right in the fold line--shown as the yellow column's reflection in the mirrors. The photos show the front (left) and back (right) during the process of working a matching contrast-color pinstripe up the border-purl-column, using the pink-handled crochet hook. 

If you want to fasten the long edge of the band to the purl-border column, nothing easier than to catch a single loop from the fabric edge as you work each slip stitch, stitch for stitch, pinstriping the purl-border column from the front. 

Pinstriping can also be worked in the main color, instead of a contrasing color. This is especially useful if you don't like the recessed look of the reverse purl fold line.

Geek note

--Pinstriping up the fold column adds bulk and strength, BUT it makes the fold line belly out. To counteract, pinstripe with a smaller hook and firm tension, and possibly, a thinner yarn. 

--Pinstriping up the purl-border-column makes the bands stiffer, especially if you also use it to fasten down the long edge as-you-go. This is an advantage on a drape-y garment, and not so much on bulky garment, where sewing with thread might be better. 

Work the button band to match. For this option, the fold-pinstripe, whether in contrast color or same color, must be applied before the buttonholes are grafted. 

___________

This post is part of a series about double knitting, and this buttonhole is actually an example of "double knitting by transformation." This means the buttonhole was knit as a stockinette fabric, and then afterwards transformed into double knitting--in this case, via grafting. It is an example of horizontal transformation. 

Previous posts show double knitting by vertical transformation for color patterns, transformation to create vertical baffles (think puffer jackets) and transformation to create beautiful alternating-color edges on regular double knitting. 

The next post planned for this series (probably this fall) continues with horizontal transformation, showing horizontal baffles worked via a variation of today's grafted buttonhole trick. 

--TK

___________

footnote 1: I say that the thread is delicate and easily collapsed, but polyester sewing thread is actually ridiculously strong. What is delicate is the structure of the thread window. However, because polyester is so strong, you can revive a collapsing thread window by giving a good tug top and bottom to pull the window open again. If you've tangled up the grafting yarn with the guide-threads, though, there's no cure I know of, other than pull it out and do again. (And that's why the grafting yarn in project-1 is in contrasting color.)