I've been screwing around all morning trying to remember how to make buttonhole in circular knitting. For reference, it's for a thumbhole in a pair of simple mitts so any other technique is welcome as well.
I found the buttonhole video on knittinghelp.com, but it's for a one row technique that turns the work.
I tried the bind off that she shows (which is very neat and clean with a wrap stitch reinforcement) but then the working yarn is still on the right needle when the bind off finishes to the left.
I found the buttonhole video on knittinghelp.com, but it's for a one row technique that turns the work.
I tried the bind off that she shows (which is very neat and clean with a wrap stitch reinforcement) but then the working yarn is still on the right needle when the bind off finishes to the left.
posted by:
|
SF Bay Area
|
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Fri, March 21, 2008 - 9:45 PMThe number of stitches will depend on the sz needles and the thickness of yarn, but the general technique is as follows:
Bind off a few stitches - 2 with really bulky yarn, maybe 4 with worsted weight, 6 or 8 with DK or lace weight yarn.
Then, use the <a href = "backward" title="www.knittinghelp.com/apps/fl...backward">www.knittinghelp.com/apps/fl...backward loop cast-on</a href> to cast on the same number of stitches you bound off.
Then continue knitting in the round, taking care not to knit too tightly into the new cast-on stitches on the top of the thumb-hole to prevent it from being too tight. If it ends up being too tight anyway, let me know and I'll tell you the other loosier-goosier way to do it. :) -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Fri, March 21, 2008 - 9:46 PMSo Tribe.net doesn't like html coding, eh? Good to know.
-
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Fri, March 21, 2008 - 9:54 PMUgh - it's been a long day. Sorry. Let me try this again:
The directions in the buttonhole video will work fine in the round as with flat knitting. You turn in order to do the cable cast-on which is stretchier than the backward loop method, but the backward loop method is easier, so if you like:
The number of stitches will depend on the sz needles and the thickness of yarn, but the general technique is as follows:
Bind off a few stitches - 2 with really bulky yarn, maybe 4 with worsted weight, 6 or 8 with DK or lace weight yarn with the same slip-stitch bind-off shown in the buttonhole video: www.knittinghelp.com/apps/fl...r/play/8
Then, use the backward loop cast-on (here: www.knittinghelp.com/apps/fl...ay/35/1) to cast on the same number of stitches you bound off.
Then continue knitting in the round, taking care not to knit too tightly into the new cast-on stitches on the top of the thumb-hole to prevent it from being too tight. If it ends up being too tight anyway, let me know.
The looser way to do it is effectively exactly what she does in the buttonhole video, only I don't bother with that fancy reinforcement bit for thumbholes because I want them to be stretchy.
P.S. Is there a way for me to delete my messy prior comments? -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Sat, March 22, 2008 - 8:34 AMThanks. Still confused; if you bind off stitches, isn't the working yarn left on the right side of the bind off? If the bind off goes from right to left, the working end of the buttonhole is on the left of the bound off stitches and the working yarn is on the right side of the bound off stitches. How do you get the working yarn into the position to do the cast on? -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Sat, March 22, 2008 - 8:38 AMOh wait, maybe I get it; you do the bind off and then turn the work just briefly to cast on *over, as in on top of but not into* the bind off, then turn back and link the top (cast on) to the bottom (bind off)? Is that it? -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Sat, March 22, 2008 - 9:36 AMIf it was me, I would bind off in one round, complete the round, and do the cast on when I reached that spot again in the second round.
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Sat, March 22, 2008 - 9:41 AMYep, I think so. I wish I had Microsoft Paint on this computer so I could draw a little diagram, but basically:
If you bind off regularly (i.e. knitting the stitches and then binding them off) you end on the left side of the bound off stitches. Thus, you would continue going in the round, and leave those stitches bound off for the time being.
So your work looks like this probably:
VVVV_____VVVVVV (Vs being live knit stitches the _ being a bound of stitch)
When you come back around on the next row, you have that hole where the _____ is. So you could use the backward loop cast on *there* (i..e. one row up from where you bound off. Then continue around. Then on the *next* round, you would knit into the cast on, so it would look like this:
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
VVVVvvvvvvVVVVVVV
VVVV_____VVVVVVV
I think that's what you're intuiting from looking at it, and why the buttonhole instructions don't make as much sense. So let's look at those in more detail.
With the buttonhole, you bind off without carrying the yarn over, so you end up with four bound off stitches and the yarn (*) still on the right hand needle.
VVVV_____*VVVVVVV
In that case, you need to cast-on the *same* row as you bound off in order to continue working around. For the sake of using the stretchier cast-on (the cable cast-on) as in the video, you have to turn the work so you can go inbetween the last two live stitches.
Yes: You are casting on *over* the bind-off, so you end up with this, with the live yarn at the *:
*vvvvv
VVVV_____VVVVVV
:-D -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Sat, March 22, 2008 - 9:42 AMgah... spacing: the last example was supposed to look like this
____*vvvv
VVVV____VVVVVV
to show the little v's as cast-on stitches on the *same* row as the bind off.. -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Sat, March 22, 2008 - 9:49 AMThanks, I think I get it. I'll try it and get back to you! -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Sat, March 22, 2008 - 5:39 PMIt works! There is a bit of an out-of-control moment when the cast on stitches are introduced, but it works like a charm once you get past that.
Thanks everyone! -
-
-
This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 5:53 PMSo...the only thing I noticed is that the buttonholes have to face the same direction on both right and left mitts. It's certainly not a problem, but in the interest of learning new things, is there a way to make them mirror each other instead? -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 6:39 PMI'm not sure what you mean, but if you make the hole at the beginning of the round on one hand, you may want to put the hole at the end of the round on the next hand. -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 6:41 PMBrilliant!! -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 6:43 PMNo wait, it's circular which means that the rounds are all going to the left. So, the beginning of the buttonhole is always on the right. It makes a "bar" at one end and a "curve" at the other, right to left on both hands. I know this is hard to visualize... -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Wed, April 2, 2008 - 6:54 PMDo you mark your rounds so you know where they start? So you would put your buttonhole on either side of your marker. -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Mon, April 7, 2008 - 3:29 AMRight, but wouldn't you get the same "bar on the right" and "round on the left"? -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Mon, April 7, 2008 - 5:38 AMOK - I may be misunderstanding, but I *think* this is what you're asking about:
If you look at this picture: www.learn2knit.co.uk/knittin...g068.gif
That button hole was made in the opposite direction from your glove (i.e. the cast-on was done from left to right on the right side of the fabric, instead of on the wrong side of the fabric as with your glove) so, it should be the reverse of what your glove looks like. In the picture above, there is a little "bar" sitting on top of the knit stitch at the left side of the button hole. Is that what you're referring to when you say there's a bar on the right? And the top of the knit stitch at the left side of your button hole is rounded, like all the others?
If I've totally misunderstood that part, then the rest is irrelevant, but if that's what you're referring to:
The "bar" shows up because of the cable cast-on used for the button hole. When you temporarily turn the work to cast-on, you slip the needle in-between two stitches and draw up a loop. Because you draw up a loop knitwise (i.e. you've inserted the needle between two purl stitches - because you're looking at the wrong side of the work - and wrapped the yarn behind your needle - a.k.a. across the front of the work - in order to draw up a loop) you've created a "bar" on the right side of the fabric. When you get to the end of the button-hole cast-on and turn the work again so the right side is facing you, you just knit the next stitch, so the left end of the button-hole would have a knit stitch identical to any other, while the right side has that little extra strand from the cast-on.
A way to avoid this would be to use a different cast on, such as the back-ward loop method (I think I described that in an earlier post, but just in case: www.knittinghelp.com/apps/fl...lay/35/1 You can see from this picture: www.knittinghelp.com/images/...ngle.jpg at the very bottom edge of the fabric that that cast-on will still give your button hole a horizontal line at the top, but it might avoid the extra "bar" on the last knit stitch to the right of the button hole that you get with the cable cast-on.
*fingers crossed that some of that made sense*
One of these days I'll get a webcam and then we can just set up video-conference knitting lessons. ;) -
-
Re: buttonhole in circular knitting?
Thu, April 10, 2008 - 1:40 PMThis is very helpful, thank you.
I resolved the issue by wrapping the stitches on both sides of the butonhole...and being more diligent about maintaining proper tension in the yarn. That seems to be my big issue, I knit too loose. You should see the sock I just finished! It would fit a giant. Going to rip it out and try again with a simpler pattern and tighter stitches to gauge.
Right now I am experimenting with two mitts knit on one long circular. It's pretty wild but incredibly groovy and the same time.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
