How to Add Buttons As You Knit

I don't remember where I got this idea. I don't think it came from my own brain, but I'm not sure who properly deserves credit. Oh, well. The gist of it is this: I'm lazy. I don't like sewing on buttons, because it means more ends to weave in. So, for this cardigan I'm knitting, I decided to try adding the buttons as I went.  Note: this will only work for buttons with a shank or two holes. Buttons with four holes cannot be knitted in this way. Well, you could actually add them this way, but they would look funny. You'll see what I mean.


Here's how I did it:
You'll need:

• Knitting-in-progress to which button is to be added
• Button(s)
• A tapestry needle small enough to go through the hole(s) in your button(s)
• Floss or thread

First, work up to the point that it's time to add a button. Where's that? You'll have to figure that part out yourself. As a general guide, I'd recommend basing it on the pattern's placement of the buttonholes. Once you've decided where, work up to the stitch you want to use to anchor the button. Make sure you are on a right side row, unless you like buttons facing inward. Come to think of it, there may be situations where you want a button on the wrong side, but that's certainly not the norm!

Next, thread a needle with thread of your choice. I used a snippet of dental floss.

Using the needle, pull the floss or thread through the stitch (direction doesn't really matter).

Then, thread the other end of the floss or thread through the needle. Now, you've got the needle pulling the thread, which pulls the stitch. Slip the stitch off the left knitting needle.

Push the tapestry needle through the button shank if you have a shanked button, or from back to front if you have a two-holed button, and pull the thread, then the stitch, through as well.

If you have a two-holed button, you must then repeat this going from front to back through the other hole. Now your button is on the stitch!

Place the stitch back on the left needle, then knit that stitch through the back loop. (Technically, it doesn't matter whether you knit it through the front or back loop, since the button compresses the stitch to the point you can't really tell anyway, but I found it much easier to knit it through the back loop.)

Voila! You have knitted in a button.