Nifty Knit Buttonholes [Tutorial]

So, I have been working on another pattern for you guys, and was hoping to get that up this week, but my smallest little lady is at home with the flu, so it was not to be. I will get that up for you next week, but in the mean time…

I have been putting together a new pattern suitable for the Australian autumn/winter that includes the dreaded knit buttonhole.

I hesitated in doing a pattern with buttonholes because I specialize in beginner patterns, and a lot of beginners are terrified of buttonholes, especially in knits. But I am hear to tell you there is no need to be frightened. It can be a simple thing to do if you get the right gear and have a few practice goes. I promise, you will wonder what you were ever worried about!

This is how you do it:

Stabilize your fabric. Most of the time this is already in the pattern, but adding the interfacing to the button placket is super important so don’t miss this step.
Stabilize some more. Next you make a sandwich; wash away stabilizer on the top, and tear away stabilizer on the bottom (I know it seems like a lot of notions but neither of these two things is terribly expensive and you only need a little piece of each).
Work your buttonhole. Almost every machine has an automatic buttonhole these days, but they are all different – follow the instructions in your machines manual for this step. (I did this one manually with a wide and narrow zigzag because I have lost a part to my sewing machine – long story)
Tear away your tear away stabilizer and trim away your wash away stabilizer (the rest will wash away in the first wash).
Open your buttonhole. For this step I can’t recommend a buttonhole cutter strongly enough. When you open a knit button hole with a seam ripper it has a tendency to stretch the buttonhole out a lot. If you open it with a buttonhole cutter (looks like a little chisel, and again, not very expensive), it stops this from happening.
And there you have it – perfect knit buttonholes every time.

What are your best button hole hints and tips? Comment and share your best info.

Thanks for reading

Liz xx