How to work afterthought buttonholes

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Helen Spedding explains how to work four simple methods for adding buttonholes to a completed piece of knitwear

What can you do if you’ve knitted a cardigan or jacket that was designed to hang open, but you later decide you’d like to be able to button it up? Or if you’ve finished a project and realised you forgot to work a buttonhole? Don’t despair: there are two simple methods you can use to add a buttonhole to a finished project, and we’ll be examining them here.

One involves cutting into the knitted fabric, while the other (less scary!) option doesn’t require any cutting. We’d strongly recommend practising the cut methods on a swatch (at least once; two times is better) before you take your scissors to your project, as once you snip and start unravelling there’s no going back!

No-cut method – larger hole: step-by-step instructions

This method is suitable for large buttons, and gives a sturdy buttonhole.

Step 1

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – Large hole 1

Decide where you want your buttonhole to be, and with the WS facing you, poke your finger up through the fabric to open up a hole. Thread a tapestry needle with a 20cm length of yarn that matches your project. Insert the needle down into the fabric next to where you want your hole to be, and up out of the intended hole, keeping your finger in place for now.

Steps 2 + 3

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – Large hole 2

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – Large hole 3

Take the needle up over the two stitch ladders above the hole, pass through the fabric and bring it back out towards you through the intended hole, to form one ‘wrap’.

Step 4

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – Large hole 4

Repeat this process until you have four wraps around the top of the hole. (Using more or fewer wraps will create a larger or smaller hole.)

Step 5

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – Large hole 5

Rotate the work 90 degrees, and now work four wraps around the stitch on the left-hand side of the hole.

Step 6

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – Large hole 6

Work four wraps around the bottom of the hole. Work four wraps around the right-hand side of the hole. Weave in ends securely on the WS.

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – Large hole Front — Front

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – Large hole Back — Back

No-cut method – small hole: step-by-step instructions

If you’re planning to add small buttons, and will only require a little buttonhole, you can try the following method.

Step 1

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – small hole 1

Decide where you want your buttonholes to be positioned, and place locking stitch markers through the fabric.

Step 2

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – small hole 2

Thread a tapestry needle with a 20cm length of yarn that matches your project. Working from the wrong side, use the needle to pick up the horizontal strand of the stitch where you want your buttonhole to be.

Step 3

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – small hole 3

Pull up the stitch and pass the needle through the stitch two rows above the original stitch.

Step 4

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – small hole 4

Tie a knot in both ends of the yarn.

Step 5

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – small hole 5

Rotate the work 180 degrees. Using a separate strand of yarn threaded onto your needle, pick up the horizontal strand of the stitch below the hole, and pass the needle through the stitch two rows below the hole.

Step 6

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – small hole 6

Tie a knot in both ends of the yarn. Weave in the yarn ends for a few stitches either side of the hole.

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – small hole Back — Front

Afterthought buttonholes – No-cut method – small hole Front — Back

Cut method – sewn cast-off: step-by-step

This technique was developed by Elizabeth Zimmermann, and makes use of the sewn cast-off method. It takes longer to work than the method given on the following page, but it gives sturdier results as you have much longer yarn tails which can be woven around the hole to reinforce it.

Step 1

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – sewn cast-off 1

Determine where the buttonhole is to be located, and carefully snip one single strand of a stitch using sharp scissors.

Step 2

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – sewn cast-off 2

Unravel the yarn strand in both directions, using a tapestry needle to tease the yarn out, working one half-stitch at a time and unravelling as many stitches as you will need to create the size of hole you want. Our sample has three stitches unravelled on the top and bottom. You will be left with stitch loops above and below the hole, and two yarn tails.

Step 3

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – sewn cast-off 3

Place the stitches at the bottom of the hole onto one DPN, and the stitches at the top of the hole onto another DPN.

Step 4

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – sewn cast-off 4

Carefully push the two cut yarn ends through to the wrong side of the work. I like to weave these ends in now, to avoid further unravelling, but this can be done later if you prefer. Thread a length of yarn onto a tapestry needle ready to cast off the live stitches.

Step 5

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – sewn cast-off 5

Pass the tapestry needle through the first two stitches on the DPN purlwise from right to left.

Step 6

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – sewn cast-off 6

Now pass the tapestry needle back through the first stitch knitwise and drop the stitch off the DPN. Continue to work this way, passing the tapestry needle purlwise through the first two stitches on the DPN and knitwise through the first stitch, dropping the stitch off the DPN, until you reach the last stitch.

Step 7

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – sewn cast-off 7

Now pass the tapestry needle purlwise through the last stitch on the DPN and through the first stitch in the knitted fabric to the left, then pass the needle back knitwise through the stitch on the DPN.

Step 8

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – sewn cast-off 8

Weave the end of the yarn still on the tapestry needle around the left-hand edge of the hole on the WS, then bring the tapestry needle up next to the stitches on the top DPN, ready to cast these off.

Steps 9 + 10

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – sewn cast-off 9

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – sewn cast-off 10

Rotate your work so the DPN is at the bottom, and repeat steps 5 to 8 until all stitches have been cast off.

Step 11

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – sewn cast-off 11

Weave in the yarn end firmly through the stitches around the hole on the WS, especially where you see any gaps. If you haven’t already done so, weave in the two small yarn ends left over from when you first cut the fabric.

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – sewn cast-off 12 — Front

Cut method – simple version: step-by-step

This method is quicker to work than the version on the preceding page, although it’s harder to make the results look as neat, and the hole isn’t quite as sturdy.

Step 1

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – Simple version 1

Decide where you want your buttonhole to be placed, and snip the stitch in that position using sharp scissors. For example, if you’re adding a hole into the middle of a band, pick the central stitch of the band. You will be left with a small hole in the fabric, with two cut ends of yarn.

Step 2

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – Simple version 2

Using a tapestry needle to unravel the yarn strands, carefully unravel the stitches either side of the cut stitch, until you have the number you need to accommodate the size of your button – here we have unravelled a total of three stitches.

Step 3

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – Simple version 3

You will be left with stitch loops above and below the hole, and two yarn threads at either side of the hole.

Step 4

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – Simple version 4

Using DPNs or circular needles, carefully put the stitch loops above the hole onto one needle, and the loops below the hole onto a second needle. Push the two yarn strands at the edges of the hole
to the wrong side of the fabric.

Step 5

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – Simple version 5

Starting with the bottom needle, slip the first two stitches onto a new needle. Pass the first stitch over the second on your right-hand needle.

Step 6

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – Simple version 6

Slip the next stitch on the left needle onto your right needle, and slip this over the stitch already on the needle. Repeat until you have just one stitch remaining.

Step 7

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – Simple version 7

Turn your work so WS is facing you, and thread the yarn end closest to the remaining stitch onto a tapestry needle. Pull it through to the front of the work, and pass it through the remaining stitch on your knitting needle. Drop the stitch from the knitting needle and weave in the yarn end on the WS.

Steps 8–10

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – Simple version 8

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – Simple version 9

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – Simple version 10

Turn your work 180 degrees and repeat steps 5 to 7 on the remaining live stitches.

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – Simple version Front — Front

Afterthought buttonholes - Cut method – Simple version Back — Back

Add buttonholes to finished garments with these four methods

Now you’ve mastered this technique, you can use it on all sorts of cardigan projects – or anything you want to add buttons and buttonholes to!

Boost your knitting skills with Simply Yarn!

Inspired to learn more knitting techniques and get great results? Explore our expert guides on Simply Yarn! Useful tutorials include our guide to darning and how to lengthen and shorten knits.

Helen Spedding

As Operations Editor of The Knitter, Helen makes sure that everyone works together to produce the best magazine they can – and that they hit their deadlines! As well as keeping the magazine running smoothly day-to-day, she sources all the latest stories for the news section, writes features, interviews top designers, and checks every word that makes it into print. When she gets a spare minute, Helen enjoys reading knitting books and blogs, and working on her own projects. Her first love is lace, but she’s also on a mission to improve her stranded colourwork so she can cast on more Fair Isle projects from her favourite designers, Kate Davies and Mary Henderson.

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