Horizontal Buttonhole Band
A horizontal button band is knit perpendicular to the body of a cardigan, with stitches picked up along the front edge and worked outward. The band carries the buttons and buttonholes for the cardigan closure.
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Picking up stitches
Pick up one stitch for every row along the front edge (sometimes 2 stitches for every 3 rows for a slightly tighter band). Pick up from the right side using the project yarn or a contrast yarn.
Band width
Most button bands are 5–10 cm wide in worsted weight, narrower in finer weights. The band should be wide enough to accommodate the button diameter plus a small margin on either side.
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Buttonhole spacing
Plan the buttonholes evenly along the band. For a typical cardigan, place one buttonhole at the bottom hem, one at the neckline, and the rest evenly between (typically 4–7 buttonholes total). Mark the positions with stitch markers before starting.
Sewing the buttons
After binding off, sew the buttons to the opposite band at positions matching the buttonholes. Use a strong matching thread (not the project yarn — yarn breaks too easily on stress points).
Abbreviation reference
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| CO | cast on |
| BO | bind off |
Tips
- Pick up one stitch per row for stockinette body, slightly less for ribbed body.
- Plan buttonhole positions before starting the band.
- Sew buttons with strong matching thread, not project yarn.
In depth
Horizontal button bands are the standard cardigan closure. The combination of pick-up-and-knit construction and integrated buttonholes produces a clean, professional-looking finish that is also structurally sound — the band holds its shape over years of buttoning and unbuttoning.