Simple Way to Make Vertical Buttonholes Without Breaking the Yarn

When we inspect designer shirts and cardigans, we most likely see vertical buttonholes along the button bands, not horizontal buttonholes. It is not a coincidence.

Because buttons can slide from side to side in horizontal buttonholes, the overlapping button bands shift. Even with minimal tension this shift leads to gaps in the sections between the buttons.

Vertical buttonholes, on the other hand, keep the buttons firmly in place making sure that the button bands are nicely overlapped, and the cardigan closure does not look like digits eight stacked on top of each other.

The biggest issue with adding vertical buttonholes to our hand knits is that to make a vertical slit in a knitted fabric we should work two sides of the buttonhole separately.

The common approach is to make one side of a buttonhole, break the yarn, re-attach it to the other side, and make the second half of the buttonhole. This solution works, but if we want to make six, eight, ten or more buttonholes, we’ll end up with quite a few extra yarn tails.

Thankfully, we can trick the knitted fabric and make beautiful sleek vertical buttonholes without breaking the working yarn.

Here’s how we can do it step by step.

This type of buttonholes looks neat and tidy on any stitch pattern, and it blends in perfectly with the texture of ribbing, looking exactly the same on both sides of the fabric.

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The full step-by-step photo tutorial about this method, is a part of the Knitting Collection #6. Once you order your copy of this collection, you will instantly receive a “big PDF” (370 pages!) with this and 43 other tutorials included in the collection.

You will also receive one e-book and two knitting patterns as a special bonus, so go ahead and get it all right now before you forget 😊

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