Ask the Experts: Which Comes First: The Button or the Hole?

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Buttons and buttonholes are one of the most universal means of closing a garment. Historically, buttons first appeared in the Indus Valley in modern-day Pakistan around 2700 BCE. The first known buttonholes were slits cut into leather during the Roman Empire. Learning to button (and unbutton!) clothing is a milestone in early childhood development.

Above: Simple, self-scaling buttonholes in crochet and knitting.

Despite their ubiquity, buttons and buttonholes can cause problems when we make our own clothing. When knitting or crocheting a cardigan that closes with buttons, is it better to make the buttonholes then find buttons to fit? Or should you choose your buttons first, then make buttonholes the right size? What is the right size? Let’s discuss.

Start With a Basic Buttonhole

Nine times out of ten, I make the buttonhole first, then find buttons that fit. I find it annoying when buttons slip out of buttonholes on their own. I want my buttons to stay buttoned! Given the elasticity of knit and crocheted fabric, this means looking for buttons that just fit through their corresponding holes. If the button slips through the hole too easily, it’s likely to slip right out again. I also prefer buttonholes that are small and unobtrusive when they are not covered by a button.

My go-to buttonhole for knitting is a simple eyelet: Work to the spot where I want the buttonhole, yarn over, then knit 2 together or purl 2 together as needed to maintain the stitch pattern. I tend to tuck them into the purl sections of ribbing.

For crochet, my default buttonhole is equally simple. I work to the spot where I want the buttonhole, chain 2, skip 2, and continue in pattern. On the next row, I work 2 stitches into the chain-2 space.

Both of these buttonholes have the benefit of being self-scaling. The size of the buttonhole changes according to the size of the yarn being used. Work at a big gauge with chunky yarn and you’ll get a bigger buttonhole. Chose a finer yarn at a small gauge and you’ll get a smaller buttonhole.

Choosing the Right Button

Buttons can be the focal point of your sweater, or they can be an unobtrusive, functional fastening. You get to decide. I’m just going to talk about choosing the right size buttons for the holes you’ve made.

I often wait to search for buttons until all the knitting is complete and my buttonholes are made. Then I take the sweater with me as I make the rounds of the various stores in my neighborhood with a decent selection of buttons. If the sweater is still in progress, but I know I’ll have a button shopping opportunity, I’ll add a small buttonhole band to the side of my gauge swatch (just like the swatches you see pictured here) and carry it along with me.

As I consider the options, I push those buttons right through the buttonholes I’ve made. I’m looking for buttons that just barely fit through my buttonholes. This ensures that the buttons will stay buttoned.

I rummaged through my button stash and came up with these options for my two knit swatches. Which would you choose?

For the heavy worsted weight swatch on the left, the buttons are between 7/8″ and 1¼” in diameter. For the fingering weight swatch on the right, the buttons are between 3/8″ and 5/8″ in diameter. When the buttons are thick, domed, or ball shaped, you’ll need a smaller diameter for the button to fit through the hole.

Starting with the Buttons

Maybe you’ve fallen in love with some special buttons and you want to make them a feature of your sweater. Or perhaps you’ve found a button that looks great with your yarn, but it’s too big for your basic buttonhole. In this case, you’ll need to make buttonholes the appropriate size for your buttons.

I love the look of these vintage faceted buttons against the olive-green yarn, but at 3/4″ diameter, they are too big for my basic eyelet buttonholes. I’ll measure the buttons to find out how big the buttonholes should be.

Measure from the edge of the button to the far side of the farthest hole in the button. If you’re using a button with a shank, measure to the far side of the shank. In this case, the measurement is 1/2″. My stitch gauge in this knitted swatch is 6.5 stitches to one inch, so I’ll need a buttonhole 3 or 4 stitches wide. I’ll round up, since this button is a bit thick.

For this button, with this yarn, I’ll make a 4-Stitch One-Row Buttonhole. I like the One-Row Buttonhole because it’s tidy and it’s not prone to stretching out.

On the crochet swatch, my gauge is 7 single crochets to one inch. Instead of my usual chain-2 buttonhole, I’d make a chain-4 buttonhole to accommodate this larger button.

Related: How to Work a Double-Knit Buttonband

Do you have a knitting or crochet question?

Send an email to knitting@goldenpeakmedia.com or crochet@goldenpeakmedia and put “Ask the Experts” in the subject line. You might see your question answered in an upcoming newsletter!

Sandi Rosner
Technical Content Editor, Yarn

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Sharpen your buttonhole skills with these workshops and projects: