Knitting Cardigan and don’t understand instructions

I’m knitting a boarder on a cardigan in 2x2 rib. I have 54 stitches on my needle and the next set of instructions for the button holes state the following:

I have tried my best to understand this and end up getting it wrong each time.
After multiple attempts I’m hoping someone can guide me through this section?

Welcome to KH!
Are you making the 3rd size? What is the name of your pattern?
When you cast off sts you need to work 2sts in order to cast off one stitch. Knit (or purl) the first stitch, knit (or purl) the second stitch, pass stitch one over stitch two and off the needle. This will leave one stitch cast off and one stitch left over on the right hand needle. For this pattern, don’t count that leftover stitch when you proceed to the next direction.

So Rib 3, cast off one (leaving one stitch on the right hand needle), (rib 10 more sts, cast off one) x4, rib 1.
That’ll leave you with 3sts-gap-11sts-gap-11sts-gap-11sts-gap-11sts-gap-2sts

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@salmonmac forgive me for butting in, I think there is a mistake here.
The rib 3 cast off 1 would make 4sts and a gap.
4, gap, 11, gap, 11, gap, 11, gap, 11, gap, 1
49 stitches and 5 cast off gaps

However, at this moment I don’t see how the next row lines up as I thought the cast on would align over the cast off creating the button hole but it looks to me like the cast on is a stitch out of alignment with the cast off. Now that could be my inexperience…or it could be that they don’t align.
The second row presents on the left needle as
1, gap, 11, gap, 11, gap, 11, gap, 11, gap, 4
My logic says it would be worked as
Rib 1, cast on 1, rib 11, Co 1, rib 11, Co 1, rib 11, Co 1, rib 11, Co 1, rib 4
To make the cast on stitches line up with the gap of the cast off stitches.

Perhaps this is the reason @LBFL is struggling iith working this section due to the cast off and cast on not aligning?

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@salmonmac yes it’s the third size I’m doing. It’s a sirdar pattern, No 3108. Thank you for replying and @Creations too. It’s great to have people that know what there talking about.

I’m also mindful that I’m trying to keep in a 2x2 pattern. I’ll try what @salmonmac has suggested encase I’ve counted the stitches wrong. At one point I thought I had created the first buttonhole row correctly but then when on the second row, I did in need think it wasn’t lining up properly. However this could be just my inexperience. When I tried to YouTube it told me YO at one point but pattern doesn’t indicate that. I’ll come back to you both today after I’ve attempted it again! Thank you again.

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When you rib 3 then rib 2 more sts and slip the second over the first, it indeed leaves you with 4sts on the right hand needle but they are distributed as 3sts-gap-1st. The single stitch is added to the next 10sts to make 11sts after the gap.

The same holds true at the end of the row, 11sts-gap-2sts. You rib 10, rib 2 more sts and slip the second over the first leaving you with a gap and one stitch on the right hand needle after the gap. Then proceed with the k1 leaving you with …11sts-gap-2sts.

The next row begins Rib 2 (those final 2sts from the previous row), cast on one stitch over the gap created by the cast off. The cast off and cast on align. It’s worth trying this on the needles to see how this works.

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Give it another try. It’ll help to count sts before and after the gap each time you bind off or get ready to bind off. Count 3 before the first bind off, count 11 before the next bind off and so on. It may help after the first 3sts to mark off the 2sts needed for the bind off with 10sts between each set of two.

A yarn over buttonhole would also work here but as you say, it’s not what the pattern is suggesting.

Ah thank you, that does make sense.

Sorry for any confusion I might have caused.

Good luck today @LBFL I hope you are able to get the holes aligned.

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@salmonmac so I have achieved the first row!!! However I’m going to rip it all out and do this boarder again using new wool.
I’ve ripped out that many times I feel like my wool has thinned out. One other question, on the second row when I’m casting on do I do it using a cable cast on technique?

@Creations @salmonmac I’m so glad I found this site! Wish I had off found it earlier. Thanks again! :smile:

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Success! Good going, you.
Yes, I can understand wanting new wool after yarn thins out. That’s a good idea and worth extra trouble.

You could use a cable cast on here. There are several cast ons that will work including the thumb loop and the knit cast on. The cable cast on has the nicest edge in my opinion.

Yay! Glad to hear you had success.
I am also very glad I found this site. I learn so much here.

I’m definitely going to make sure and make this site
my first point of contact for all my knitting woes!! I’ve already ripped the second row out once so before I attempt it again and fail. When casting on a stitch in 2x2 rib do I always discard the stitch when counting the pattern. Ie purl 2, knit 1’(inc St’s) and knit another 1 to keep continuity of pattern? I’m sorry I really am a novice when it comes to doing a boarder and buttons! @salmonmac @Creations

The best way to handle this is to look at the pattern established in the previous rows. I know the little collar made by the bind off can make this a little more difficult to determine but look below to the columns of knits and purls to determine how to continue the pattern. You need to count that cast on stitch as part of the pattern of k2,p2.

If you purl 2, then cast on one count that one cast on stitch as the next knit stitch, then k1 more, p2,k2.
If you knit 2 then cast on one, count that one cast on stitch as the next purl stitch, then p1 more, k2,p2.
If you knit one then cast on one, count that one cast on stitch as the next knit one and continue as p2,k2,p2.
If you purl one then cast on one, count that one cast on stitch as the next purl and continue as k2,p2,k2.

We’re glad to have you join us!

You can always cast on as a knit stitch since it won’t matter and then make sure that it’s worked as a knit or purl on the following row.

Oh my!!! You do now your stuff!! :blush: I wish I did. Lol I’ve completed the boarder but I still don’t think it’s right. You can see in this pic I have marked with stitch holders where I believe the buttonholes should be (at the bottom of them) but you can see (hopefully) in the pic that there seems to be a bit of a gap at the top of the three of them. Also I’ve lost the other two! Lol

I think at this stage I am just going to cast off, and forgive me but literally punch a hold on the wool with my fingers to create two more holes! Bad I know but this has literally held me up for days now
And at this rate my little man will have arrived and be on his way to his first birthday with no cardigan in sight.

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Ooh congratulations… how exciting!!!
When are you epecting his arrival?

What a lovely cardigan you’ve made for the little man too. It’s beautiful!

I can’t possibly help with the button holes (I’m sure salmonmac can) but I can say that depending what size buttons you are using it really is possible to just push through a stitch. You can slightly open the stitch up and can find a bit of extra yarn in your row to help open a stitch for the hole and it will just make some of the other stitches along that row a bit tighter but not necessarily noticable.

I had quite a large button I wanted to use but did not know where I wanted it and purposely made an after thought buttonnhole. For smaller buttons just opening up can be enough. For a bit larger the afterthought buttonhole makes it bigger and more set.
One method I know the stitch is snipped and the ends sewn in, I didn’t dare do this. Another method is just opening up the stitch gently, no cutting, and sewing around with yarn to hold it open.

Alright, looking quite good. Yes, there should be 5 buttonholes. It looks like you’ve got the first 3 or maybe the last 3 depending on whether the buttonhole bind off begins on a right side (RS) or wrong side (WS) row.
The sweater is so pretty that it’s worth ripping back to that row and continuing the bind offs. You can rip back to the cast on for the buttonhole row and then tink back the last row, the cast off row. Pull out the sts one at a time as you insert the needle into them.

You need the buttonholes approximately at the red arrows below for a perfect band.

Your little fellow is going to be even more adorable in this cardi and it’s almost there. Congrats on the new baby!

@salmonmac @Creations whoop whoop whoop! It’s finally done! :grinning: I have the left front off with boarder and buttonholes completed! Thank you both again. I ended up taking a spare bit of wool and some
Needles and practicing separately rather than re ripping out. The fancy stitch where you turn your needles to make a stitch didn’t work out, so I ended up just making a stitch from the stitch beneath and it worked perfectly. I’m over the moon. Now just my collar to do and to sew it all up before going on to the matching items. My little one is due in August so I hope something so simple won’t be so complicated in the next garments! Lol :laughing:

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Success! Congratulations on working this sweet little cardigan.
Each project has something new and that’s part of the fun. You’ll be up for whatever is next.

Yay! Great to hear you completed the tricky bit. It’s always a good feeling to overcome a problem bit.