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.

My First Trip to Knitting Camp

Never having been to knitting camp before, I was not sure it would be worth the money. But I figured, the price was not much more than I would pay for that many nights' lodging in a comfortable hotel, and I would be surrounded by knitters instead of screaming children, so what was there to lose? As it turns out, I very much underestimated the camp experience.

I had been to innumerable knit nights, to trunk shows, to fiber festivals, to Stitches and to knitting weekends with my buddies, but CampKIP was something else entirely, combining the best (in my humble opinion) features of all of these things into 4 too-short days of pure fiber bliss.

Like a knit-in, camp involved a good-sized group of knitters staying overnight in a retreat atmosphere. But, it was better, because it was more than one night long.

Like a trunk show, there were handknits on display everywhere. But it was better, because there were more of them, by a wide variety of designers and knitted by all the various camp attendees.

Like a fiber festival or Stitches, there was yarn and fiber for sale, and door prizes and raffles. But camp was better because the group was smaller, odds of winning were better, and the vending was not so overwhelming.

There were dozens of knitters from all over the country. We all stayed 3 nights at a retreat, where fabulous meals were provided. Everyone showed off their WIPs and FOs. Lots of people brought spinning supplies (including wheels!) and spun. People shared equipment, like their spinning wheels, yarn winders, scales and swifts, even a drum carder! People gave each other impromptu lessons on all kinds of techniques. Each evening, there was a raffle of 15-20 door prizes. There was a scavenger hunt for additional raffle tickets and prizes. There was a bonfire at which marshmallows were roasted and  s'mores were made. For those willing to pay a bit extra, massages, a wine tasting and a beer tasting were available. On vendor day, sumptuous yarns, luscious fiber, and useful equipment were sold.

It was a yarn fanatic's paradise, I tell you! If you ever get the chance to go to a knitting camp or retreat, drop everything and GO!