Folded button stand with waste-yarn buttonholes

Machine types that can knit it

• Single bed, punch card
• Single bed, electronic
• Single bed, no patterning
• Single bed (punch card) + ribber
• Single bed (electronic) + ribber
• Double bed with pushers (Passap type)
• Double-bed hand flat (V-bed)

Steps

1. E-wrap cast on the needles for the whole length of the band. Keep a separate length of yarn for casting off the buttonholes.
2. Knit 6 rows (carriage ends on the right).
3. At each buttonhole, knit the buttonhole needles by hand with contrast waste yarn: 4 needles, then 8 plain needles, and so on.
4. Knit 4 rows. Loosen the tension one notch and knit 1 row: this is the turning row (carriage on the left). Return to the band tension and knit 4 rows.
5. At each buttonhole, pick up the loops just above the waste yarn with a transfer tool. There is one more loop than waste-yarn stitches (5 loops for 4 stitches). Hang them on the needles directly above. The extra loop leaves 7 stitches between holes.
6. With the separate yarn, cast off the 4 buttonhole stitches with the latch tool, lifting the cast-off loops off the gate pegs. The 4 needles are now empty; let the cast-off yarn run loosely to the next buttonhole, where it will be hidden.
7. Hang the 4 loops just below the waste yarn on the 4 empty needles.
8. Repeat 5–7 at every buttonhole along the band.
9. Knit 7 rows (carriage ends on the right), then cast off as usual.
10. Off the machine, pull out the waste yarn to open the buttonholes. Attach the band to the garment.

The full card

What it looks like

A narrow double-layer band with neat slot buttonholes evenly spaced along it. Both layers have the hole in the same place, so the buttonhole has a clean, firm edge and no raw loops show. A slightly looser row runs down the middle where the band folds.

How it behaves

Flat, double thickness. The band is firmer than the garment and does not curl, because the fold balances the stocking-stitch roll [inference].

How it works

The band is knitted as one strip and folded in half along a looser turning row. At each buttonhole a few stitches are first knitted by hand in a contrast (waste) yarn. After the second half of the band, the loops above the waste yarn are hung back on the needles, the buttonhole stitches are cast off with a separate yarn so those needles are empty, and the loops below the waste yarn are hung on the empty needles. When the waste yarn is pulled out, the slot opens through both layers.

Machines

Any single-bed machine, or the main bed with the ribber lowered. Latch tool and transfer tool. Weights are optional on a narrow strip.

Parameters

Tension: start one or two numbers tighter than the maximum, because the turning row needs one notch looser (the handout used T8 for the band and T9 for the turning row). Buttonhole width: 4 needles knitted in waste yarn with 8 needles between holes in the handout example; fewer needles for smaller holes. Rows: 6 rows, waste-yarn row, 4 rows, turning row, 4 rows, then 7 rows after the hook-up. Number of needles = length of the button stand.

Steps

1) E-wrap cast on the needles for the whole length of the band. Keep a separate length of yarn for casting off the buttonholes. 2) Knit 6 rows (carriage ends on the right). 3) At each buttonhole, knit the buttonhole needles by hand with contrast waste yarn: 4 needles, then 8 plain needles, and so on. 4) Knit 4 rows. Loosen the tension one notch and knit 1 row: this is the turning row (carriage on the left). Return to the band tension and knit 4 rows. 5) At each buttonhole, pick up the loops just above the waste yarn with a transfer tool. There is one more loop than waste-yarn stitches (5 loops for 4 stitches). Hang them on the needles directly above. The extra loop leaves 7 stitches between holes. 6) With the separate yarn, cast off the 4 buttonhole stitches with the latch tool, lifting the cast-off loops off the gate pegs. The 4 needles are now empty; let the cast-off yarn run loosely to the next buttonhole, where it will be hidden. 7) Hang the 4 loops just below the waste yarn on the 4 empty needles. 8) Repeat 5–7 at every buttonhole along the band. 9) Knit 7 rows (carriage ends on the right), then cast off as usual. 10) Off the machine, pull out the waste yarn to open the buttonholes. Attach the band to the garment.

Charting

Bed chart in front-bed stitches, with the waste-yarn stitches marked in a contrast colour in the buttonhole row and the turning row marked "T+1". Hand steps noted in the row column: "hang loops above waste yarn", "cast off buttonhole stitches", "hang loops below waste yarn".

Limits and common problems

Waste yarn that sheds or breaks leaves fibres behind or will not pull out; use smooth, strong yarn (crochet cotton, nylon) in a contrast colour. Starting at the maximum tension leaves no looser setting for the turning row. Forgetting the extra loop when picking up shifts the spacing: the gap between holes becomes 7, not 8. Pull the cast-off yarn too tight between holes and the band puckers [inference]. Check one buttonhole by pulling the waste yarn after a few rows on the first sample.

Combines with

machine-linking (attaching the band), v-neck-holding (cardigan fronts), neckline-waste-yarn. Alternatives: a ribbed horizontal buttonhole band, or a vertical folded band with grafted (Kitchener) buttonholes.

Pieces and assembly

Cardigan and jacket fronts, plackets, cuffs with buttons. Knit two bands: one with buttonholes, one plain for the buttons. Attach by hanging the garment edge and the band on the machine and linking, or by sewing; the sandwiched-band video starts the attaching part at 9:26.

Related techniques

• Piped edge (rolled tube trim)
• Machine i-cord (tube cord)
• V-neck shaped by holding
• Neckline shaped on waste yarn (divide and rehang)
• Linking trims and seams on the knitting machine (no linker)