WIP Wednesday: The Beatnik Button Band Tutorial

Hey everyone! I've finished my Beatnik!!! I modified it into a cardigan and I am so, so pleased with how it turned out. You'll see the finished product Friday after I sew the buttons on, but for now I'd like to share with you an easy way to add a button band to your knitted cardigans.

*This to tutorial is for a picked-up button band, not one that is knit then sewn on*

1. Mark off every 1 or 2 inches on one half of the cardigan, ending midway around the back. I used paper clips that I bent open slightly, but I know there are plastic clips made especially for this.

2. Recheck your gauge. I was pretty much right on gauge for the Beatnik, and that meant about 5 stitches per inch. Using this number, I made sure I had five stitches picked up between each paper clip.

3. Remove the paper clips as you go.

4. Knit in rib or garter stitch for as wide as you want your button band to be.

5. To make button holes, bind of 2-4 stitches (depending on how big you want the buttons to be) for each button and continue in pattern.  YO that many stitches over each button hole on the way back.

Let me know if you have any questions, and I can't wait to show you the finished product. Until then: here's another preview: