In knitting, there is the typical simple yarn-over buttonhole, but there are also horizontal and vertical buttonholes, stretchy and sturdy, big and small… There are, in fact, quite a few ways to make buttonholes! Here, our Four-Row Yarn Over Buttonhole Tutorial shows you how to make a vertical buttonhole… Very cool!

Click To See Video Transcript

Hey, I’m gonna demonstrate how to work a four-row yarn over buttonhole. The beauty of this buttonhole is that it creates a larger hole than a standard yarn-over buttonhole. And the way we accomplish that is by working a few rows along one side of the buttonhole and then a few rows along the other side, and then rejoining.

Let’s get started. The first row of this technique is a wrong side row and what you want to do is work in pattern up until the location of your buttonhole. So as you can see here, I’ve purled up until the last five stitches. That’s what I’m doing here on my swatch. And now rather than continuing across the rest of this row, what I’m going to do is turn my work.

And once I turn my work, now I’m ready to continue working. And I’m going to be working the second row on this side of the button, buttonhole. So for me I’m going to just knit, but for you just work in pattern to the end of your row. 

So here I am again on the wrong side row, ready to work the third row on this side of the buttonhole. And once again, I’m going to work in pattern up until the location of my buttonhole.

Okay, I’ve reached the location of my buttonhole. And now what I want to do is make my yarn over. And in order to do that, for me, from the purl side, I’m going to take my working yarn over the top of my needle. Then I’m going to bring it back to the front of my work. And that, I’m doing that in order to continue working in pattern to the end of my row, which for me is purling.

So I’m turning my work, and now with the right side facing me, I’m now ready to work up this other side of my buttonhole. For this first right side row on this side of the buttonhole, I’m going to work up until one stitch before that yarn over.

Okay, here we are. One stitch before the yarn over. Now what I want to do is use the tip of my right needle to slip this first stitch knitwise. Next, I’m going to knit into this yarn over. But don’t let the yarn over fall off the left needle. Next, I’m going to use the tip of this left needle to pick up and pull it over the top of that last stitch I knit and off of the needle.

Just like that. So here we are. Now what I want to do is turn my work, keeping the stitches on the needles they are on currently. So carefully turn your work. And now I’m going to work in pattern to the end of my row. 

Alright, I’m turning my work once again. Now this is my first row. Gonna be my fourth row for both this side and this side of my buttonhole.

This is joins the two sides together again. So once again, I’m gonna work up until one stitch before that yarn over.

Here we are. And then I’m simply gonna knit two together.

And now I’m ready to just continue to the end of my row. And that’s it. That is a four-row yarn over buttonhole.

This technique accommodates a larger button than usual by building up three rows of fabric on each side of the buttonhole. A fourth row joins the buttonhole at the top, and the final effect is a vertical buttonhole big enough for a statement-making button… Classic!

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