How to Attach a Button to Handknits

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Of course, you learned to sew on a button when you were young. But you might feel less confident when it comes to attaching buttons to your precious handknitted sweaters. Should you use yarn, or normal sewing thread? How do you make them secure without damaging the knitting?

Above: This is all you need to attach a button to a sweater.

In this article, we will go through the basics of sewing buttons onto handknits. We’ll see how to handle both holed buttons and shank buttons. And we’ll touch on some special cases that deserve special treatment. Ready to dive in?

Yarn or Thread?

In most cases, I attach my buttons using the same yarn I used to knit the sweater. I like keeping the materials consistent. Also, I’ve read that the polyester in most modern sewing thread can cut through wool over time (though I haven’t experienced this personally).

If the sweater is made with a chunky yarn spun from multiple plies, I’ll split the yarn to get a thinner version for attaching my buttons. If it’s a chunky single-ply yarn, I’ll search my stash for a thinner yarn in the same fiber and a matching or blending color.

Even if your sweater is made with a particularly delicate yarn, one that seems to drift apart if you give it a good tug, you can still use that yarn for sewing buttons. The secret is to add twist to the yarn. More twist equals strong yarn; less twist equals weak yarn. If you find that the motion of sewing is causing your yarn to untwist, take a moment to spin the needle in your fingers to re-twist the yarn. In this situation, over-twisting is a good thing.

In the photos below, I’ve used yarn in a contrasting color for sewing so you can more easily see what’s going on. You will, of course, use yarn in a matching color.

Let’s Sew a Button with Holes

Fortunately, my small-ish tapestry needle fits through the holes in my button. If this button had smaller holes, I’d need to use a sewing needle and would require the aid of needle threader to get the yarn through the eye.

1. We’re going to work with a double strand of yarn. Thread your yarn through the needle, bring the ends even, and tie them together in a simple overhand knot.
2. Bring your needle through the button band from wrong side to right side.
3. Bring your needle up through one hole in your button, then down through the other hole.
4. Bring your needle through the button band from right side to wrong side at least one whole stitch away from the entry point. You want to see two strands of sweater yarn between where the sewing yarn went in and where it is coming back out. Before you snug everything up, pass your needle between the two strands of sewing yarn between the knot and the sweater.

5. Now pull everything snug. You’ve caught the overhand knot on the wrong side of the button band, and it cannot pop out to the right side.
6. Bring your needle through the button band, up through the button, down through the other hole in the button and down through the button band again. You have 4 strands of yarn passing through the button. On the wrong side, take your needle under the strands of yarn that sit directly underneath the button.
7. As you draw the yarn through and the loop gets small, pass the needle through the loop and continue tightening. This makes a half-hitch, the first part of your final knot.
8. As you pull the yarn through and this new loop gets small, pass the needle through the loop again.

9. Pull the yarn through until this final knot is snug.
10. Weave in and trim your ends.
11. Your button is secure and ready to go! You can choose to orient your buttons with the holes lined up vertically or horizontally—knitter’s choice. If your button has four holes, you can work so that your sewing yarn forms two parallel lines or an X on top of the button.

Attaching a Shank Button

What if your button doesn’t have any holes? Then you’re probably working with a shank button (Photo 12).

Shank buttons have a loop on the back of the button (Photo 13). Instead of sewing through the button, you’ll sew through the loop (Photo 14). Otherwise, the process is exactly the same as described for holed buttons.

When Extra Reinforcement is Needed

Sometimes your knitting needs a little help to support a button. Maybe the button is big and heavy. Maybe you’re using the button in an area where it will be under a lot of stress, such as a child’s garment, or to fasten a bag. These are situations where you need a backer button.

Choose a flat button which is a little smaller than your main button. Clear buttons work well in this situation.

This button is heavier than I usually like to use for handknits (Photo 15), but I love the look against this chunky yarn. I’ll use a thinner yarn for sewing (I’ve used a contrasting color here for clarity), and I’ll use a shell button as a backer.

Start out just as you did for the holed button, but when you bring the yarn to the wrong side, bring your needle up through one hole of the backer button then down through the other hole. Now take your needle between the two strands of yarn between the knot and the sweater (Photo 16). When you snug everything up your overhand knot will be neatly hidden behind the backer button.

Continue to sew on your button, making your final knot under the backer button. Weave in and trim your ends (Photo 18). You are essentially sewing your fancy button to the backer button, with the sweater sandwiched in between. The stress of pulling on the main button is born and distributed by the backer button instead of tugging directly on the sweater fabric.

Special Buttons

You may have fallen in love with some carved wooden buttons, or buttons in some other material that will cause problems when it comes time to wash your sweater. You could remove the buttons before washing, then re-attach them when the sweater is dry. But if you’re like me, that sweater would end up in a pile of “garments that need attention,” and may never be worn again.

A better solution is the old-fashioned button pin [affiliate link]. These look like safety pins with a bump on one side and are meant to attach shank buttons to clothing. You can easily remove and replace buttons as needed. You can even change to a new set of buttons to give your sweater a whole new look.

Sandi Rosner
Technical Content Editor, Yarn

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Put your button stash to work on these great cardigans: