Buttonhole Tutorial

Some questions came up regarding buttonholes for a test knit, so I thought I'd make a photo tutorial. This describes a two-stitch, one-row buttonhole, made in the purl section of a K2P2 rib, like one might find on a cardigan button band. These instructions are based on Maggie Righetti's "the Neatest Buttonhole."

Five rows of K2P2 rib have been knit. Begin by knitting to the place where you want the buttonhole, in this case, to the P2:

1. Slip 1 stitch knitwise, then move yarn to front:

2. Slip 1 stitch knitwise, and pass first slipped stitch over second slipped stitch and off needle. Repeat step 2, for as many times as desired stitch length of buttonhole, in this case once:

3. Slip last stitch on right needle to left needle:

4. Turn work, and move yarn to front:

5. CO 3 using twisted purlwise CO. To do this, insert right needle purlwise into first stitch on left needle:

P1:

and place purled stitch on left needle:

3 stitches CO with this method:

6. Turn work:

7. Slip first stitch on left needle to right needle:

8. Slip last CO stitch over this stitch:

9: Then slip this stitch to left needle:

10. Continue knitting in pattern, in this case K2P2 rib:

Short Row Rave

Short rows are a kind of Magic to me. They can shape, curve, and create a bit of needed extra space, in a spot where it's, well, needed.

With short rows, anything is possible. In my Elysium, they allow you to knit an entirely seamless sweater, just short-rowing around the body:

In Eldora, they make a fitted beanie:

I'm working on some matching mitts, to be released soon - perfectly fitted around the hand:

And I just finished this very clever sweater, Pole by Joji Locatelli, available on Ravelry. The peplum and collar are shaped in a giant circle with short rows; it's like wearing a big cocoon. I used short rows on the sleeve caps as well, because that shoulder/upper arm area is another oddly shaped place which benefits from bit of extra space:

Short rows are easy; they just mean turning around in the middle of a row before you reach the end. If you've ever unintentionally done just that, then you know it leaves a hole at the turning point. Typically, to help fill up that hole, the stitch before the turning point is wrapped with the working yarn.

In stockinette, you knit to one stitch before the turning point, then:

On the knit side, slip the stitch purlwise to the right needle; move yarn to front, slip the stitch back to left needle, move yarn to back, turn your work. Voila, ready to continue on the other side.

On the purl side, slip the stitch purlwise to the right needle; move yarn to back, slip stitch back to left needle, move yarn to front, turn work. Ready, again.

Whenever you get back to that wrapped stitch and are ready to knit it, you might want to disguise the wrap - it's virtually invisible in garter stitch, but not in stockinette. One way is to knit (or purl) the wrap together with the stitch:

On the knit side, insert the right needle under the wrap then through the stitch as usual - knit.

On the purl side, lift the wrap from the back and place it on the left needle, insert right needle through both - purl.

Then continue on, confident that you will have a shapely and well fitted garment or object.

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Knitting in (Semi) Public

I had to wait for my daughter at the dentist's office yesterday, and of course was knitting - a little short row mitt in this instance. The office is a small one man practice, in an even smaller rural area; there are perhaps two people in the waiting area at a time.

My fellow waiting patron, a younger middle-aged man, unexpectedly said to me, "So, what do you do when you run out of string? Do you just tie another one on?" I took it as a teachable moment, and explained about "yarn" and even some joining methods. We had a brief discussion about the merits of knots, although I'm fairly certain we were each speaking in a different context. "Huh," he said conclusively before he left.

Meanwhile another lady had come in with her teenage daughter. When the daughter went in for her appointment, the lady turned to me, and said, "I always wanted to learn to knit. I can crochet. What is that, a sweater?"

I felt we connected on some level. Knitting in public is rewarding.

New Release Tuesday

Which means that it's time to release a new pattern, in this case, my first e-book ArachnoMania. It's two shawls, with five sizes, and two different yarn weights - all with a lovely Cobweb Edging.

Pearl Drop Socks

Pearl Drop Socks Remixed, originally uploaded by rchrispy.

So, we were talking about sock yarn, and not using it for socks. But look at my friend Chris' excellent sock design - enough to motivate me to use some of that stashed sock yarn for actual socks, maybe.
I had the good fortune to see these socks in person at the airport last weekend, at an orchestrated meet-up (yes, knitters will go to great lengths to meet other knitters face-to-face), and they're as fabulous as can be!
Find them as Pearl Drops on Ravelry. You can also see Chris' other designs at Pursuit of Fiber.

Into The Mists Of Time . . .

. . . is pretty much where I have to reach back, to find my most recent post. Sorry about that; who knew the last two months of your kids' school would be so busy? I didn't know.
But the monsters have finished with academia for the year, so now it's a matter of swim lessons and playdates, with plenty of lazing-around time for good mental health. While they laze around, I intend to promote my mental health by knitting alot.
Well, there's nothing new there, really, except for the type of knitting - I've become completely enamoured of knitting lace shawlettes with sock yarn. Sock yarn is of course a known thing - skinny-ish yarn, sometimes with really interesting colors. But what is a shawlette? It is, of course, a small shawl - not one of those circular, pattern-every-row, 2000 yard ones. Those are still very scary. I like some of the triangular, smaller-scale ones, maybe with a lace border and non-lace or simple body. Just the thing for 400 yards or so of pretty sock yarn. Since I do have some sock yarn in stash, with very little prospect of ever making socks from it (my Wicked Witch socks have languished for over a year, worked on exactly twice while on two school field trips this year), it's promising to have some potential uses for the stuff.
Of course, I haven't actually used what I already own; no, I bought new yarn - Malabrigo Sock yarn. Previously, I hadn't thought that I really liked it - why did I need more sock yarn to sit unused in the cabinet? And weren't the colors a bit odd? My swap spoiler ended those misconceptions by sending me some in the purply-blue colorway Abril, which promptly became my first shawlette Ishbel, above.
And in my typical obsessive way, I've collected a few more colors to add to the stash in order to make sure I stay busy this summer. But not too busy to blog, 'kay?