How to Add Spaced Buttonholes to a Crocheted Cardigan Edging

Have the cardigan, edging yarn, a suitable hook, removable stitch markers, a measuring tape, and the actual buttons ready. You will also need a needle and yarn or thread suitable for attaching the buttons.

Choose the buttons before finalizing the holes. Buttonhole size needs testing in the intended stitch pattern: an opening should be slightly smaller than the button’s width while still allowing the button to pass through. Vogue Knitting recommends making a swatch when changing the button size specified by a pattern. See its buttonhole sizing guidance.

If you are following a cardigan pattern, retain its band width, corner shaping, and starting point unless you are deliberately adapting them. Lion Brand’s Crochet Granny-Sampler Jacket, for example, establishes a single-crochet band, makes marked chain-and-skip openings, and adds further rows afterward. The holes are planned within the band’s construction. Read the original Lion Brand pattern.

Make the initial edging row before calculating stitch positions. Claire Montgomerie’s tutorial for Stitch & Story explains that an edging needs an evenly distributed foundation row. Along row ends, its approximate starting ratios are one stitch per single-crochet row, two per double-crochet row, or three across two half-double-crochet rows. These are starting points; follow your cardigan’s specified count when provided. See “How to Crochet Neat Edging.”

Lay the front edge flat and inspect it before proceeding. As a practical diagnostic, a flared foundation suggests trying fewer pickup stitches; an edge that draws together suggests trying more. Rework a short section and compare it before committing to the whole front.

Count the stitches along the straight front section where the buttonholes will sit. Record that number separately from any stitches continuing around the neckline or hem. The example below assumes a straight section without increases or decreases.

Make a small single-crochet sample with the same yarn, hook, and tension as the band. For a trial two-stitch opening, work several single crochets, chain two, skip two stitches, then continue in single crochet. On the return row, work one single crochet into each of the two chains and continue across.

Working into the individual chains is the finish described by designer Linda Permann in Craftsy’s button-band lesson; she identifies it as a way to create a neater, sturdier opening. Her method pairs the chain count with the corresponding skipped stitches. See “Crochet Buttonholes & Button Bands.”

Pass your button through the completed opening. If it requires excessive tugging, test a larger opening; if it slips back through readily, test a smaller one. Change the chain count and skipped-stitch count together. Keep the successful sample beside you while working the cardigan.

Two chains are only an example. Do not assign a universal button diameter to that count: the useful result is the opening produced by your particular yarn and tension.

Start by choosing the first and last hole positions, leaving solid fabric between each opening and the end of the band. Measure between the hole centers, then divide that distance by one fewer than the number of holes. Five holes, for example, create four intervals. Vogue Knitting likewise recommends marking the first and last positions before distributing the remaining markers. See its buttonhole-spacing instructions.

For an exact stitch plan, account for the stitches occupied by the openings. The following calculation is an illustrative planning aid, not a published cardigan pattern. Define:

• N: total stitches along the straight front section.
• H: number of buttonholes, at least two.
• W: stitches skipped for each tested buttonhole.
• A and B: solid stitches before the first hole and after the last hole.

Calculate the solid stitches available between holes as N − A − B − (H × W). Divide that result by H − 1 to find the solid stitches in each gap. This separates the opening widths from the spaces between them.

Worked example: five holes across 90 stitches

Suppose the front section contains 90 stitches, your test calls for two-stitch holes, and you choose four solid stitches at each end:

90 − 4 − 4 − (5 × 2) = 72 solid stitches between holes

72 ÷ 4 = 18 solid stitches per gap

Numbering the existing stitches from the end where you will begin the buttonhole row gives this plan:

Section	Existing stitch positions	Action
Starting margin	1–4	Single crochet
Hole 1	5–6	Chain 2, skip 2
Gap 1	7–24	18 single crochets
Hole 2	25–26	Chain 2, skip 2
Gap 2	27–44	18 single crochets
Hole 3	45–46	Chain 2, skip 2
Gap 3	47–64	18 single crochets
Hole 4	65–66	Chain 2, skip 2
Gap 4	67–84	18 single crochets
Hole 5	85–86	Chain 2, skip 2
Ending margin	87–90	Single crochet

The check is 8 margin stitches + 10 skipped positions + 72 gap stitches = 90. Each hole starts 20 stitch positions after the previous one, so the centers are evenly spaced.

If your gap calculation leaves a remainder, distribute the extra stitches across the gaps. With 74 available stitches and four gaps, for example, use gaps of 18, 19, 19, and 18 stitches. If the calculation produces negative or impractically small gaps, revise the hole count or margins before crocheting.

Place a marker in the first stitch to be skipped for each opening. This differs from marking the hole’s center, so use one convention consistently. For the 90-stitch example, mark stitches 5, 25, 45, 65, and 85. Check the arrangement with the cardigan laid flat.

Work the example row as follows:

1. Chain 1 and turn; this turning chain does not count as a stitch.
2. Single crochet in the first four stitches.
3. Chain 2 and skip the next two stitches.
4. Single crochet in the next 18 stitches, then chain 2 and skip two stitches. Repeat this step four times total.
5. Single crochet in the final four stitches.

You should have five chain openings, 80 single crochets, and 10 chain stitches occupying the original 90 positions. Keep the chains at your tested tension. Before turning, count the holes and confirm that all markers correspond to skipped stitches.

This is a complete buttonhole-row instruction for the stated 90-stitch example. For another cardigan, substitute your calculated margins, hole widths, and gaps.

Chain 1 and turn. Work one single crochet into every single crochet and one into each individual chain across the row. In the example, each chain-two bridge receives two single crochets, restoring a row of 90 single crochets.

Pay particular attention to the first and last stitches. The Craft Yarn Council’s single-crochet instructions use a chain-one turn and then work into the first stitch and every remaining stitch, including the last. See “Single Crochet.”

An alternative is to work the required stitches around the chain bridge, into the chain space; Vogue Knitting illustrates that version. Choose the finish you tested and use it consistently across every opening. See the two-row buttonhole instructions.

Add the remaining plain edging rows specified by your cardigan pattern, checking the buttons again after the band reaches its finished width. Lion Brand’s jacket pattern similarly follows its buttonhole row with additional single-crochet rows. See the band construction.

Lay the completed fronts together at the intended overlap. Use each finished opening to mark its matching button position on the opposite band, then check all positions before sewing. Leave enough room beneath sewn buttons for the band to sit without puckering; Linda Permann’s lesson describes using a temporary spacer beneath a button while attaching it. See Craftsy’s button-attachment guidance.

Use this troubleshooting sequence before fastening off the edging:

• The row count has changed: compare the number of chains, skipped stitches, and stitches worked into each bridge. They should match for this method.
• The holes look unevenly spaced: check their starting positions and widths against your written plan.
• A button does not fit: return to the sample and revise the opening before reworking the band.
• The opening feels loose: test fewer chains with an equal reduction in skipped stitches.
• The band ripples or draws together: inspect the foundation row as well as the buttonhole row; correct the underlying edging before adjusting hole placement.

If the edging is already complete without holes, undo it to the intended buttonhole row and rebuild from there. An outer-edge chain loop is another design option: Permann describes loops made on the final row. Because those openings sit at the edge, test the resulting overlap before choosing that approach. See her chain-loop method.

Finish by checking every fastening with the cardigan fronts aligned. A tested opening size, a written spacing plan, and an unchanged stitch count give you concrete checks at each stage—and make it easier to repeat the same neat buttonhole along the entire edging.

• Button Up — Vogue Knitting
• Crochet Buttonholes & Button Bands — Craftsy, Linda Permann
• Crochet Granny-Sampler Jacket, Item #20012A — Lion Brand Yarn
• How to Crochet Neat Edging — Stitch & Story, Claire Montgomerie
• Single Crochet — Craft Yarn Council