Comparing Buttonholes to Buttons
For the Linden Button Up design, I worked up a swatch with 3 different types of buttonholes. There are pros and cons to each style, and I highly recommend choosing buttons after making your vest and fitting them to your buttonhole. However, I totally get also getting excited and already having the perfect buttons hanging around. So, if this if the case for you, then here is my review of the different styles to different size buttons!
And now the text commentary. From top to bottom, you have the Bind-Off Buttonhole (2 sts for this version), the YO Buttonhole, and then at the bottom, the No Cut Afterthought Buttonhole. Please keep in mind that this is only applicable for this exact yarn thickness (DK weight) x size needle (US4). If your yarn is thicker or your gauge is bigger, you will end up with larger buttonholes, or visa versa.
The Bind-Off Buttonhole: It is the only vertical opening option, so if you like that appearance, it is great. I’d say you could easily use this for buttons between 0.5”-1”. If your button is more 3D than the flat buttons I chose to demo with, then you may find you need this version that is more customizable than the other options!
The YO Buttonhole: It’s one of the simplest buttonhole options out there, and super easy to use anywhere. I found this option to be stretchy enough to fit anything between the 3/8” to 3/4”. I was juuuust able to stretch the 1” button through, but it was a bit of a struggle.
The Afterthought Buttonhole: I found this one to have the least amount of stretch, but have the advantage of being able to place your buttonholes after the fact. In addition, you could very easily work a sliiightly larger version as discussed in the tutorial. However, once it’s all sewed down, it’s a pain to undo, and the size is the size. As worked, I think it would work well for the 3/8” to 3/4”. In the video, it was a bit of a push to get the 3/4” button through, but I think that would improve with blocking and more use. I would NOT go any larger than 3/4” for this option, though.
My very last comment about these buttonholes is that ALL of them are dependent on YOUR gauge. One of my testers sampled all three of these buttonholes, and found that their Afterthought Buttonhole was actually stretchier than their YO Buttonhole, which is the opposite of what I found. A last option is to do what I did here, and work up a mini swatch comparing the three different buttonholes with your particular gauge!
I hope this helps! <3
