I want to thank all of you who voted for your favorite button. There’s really no question that the Everest and Streamline buttons matched best, but I wasn’t really looking for a button to “match” so much as “pop.”

And I never promised this was a democracy, either, so . . . I went with my first choice. There’s just something about the way this Seabird button gleams and shine, and I like the way its coppery color goes with the underlying brownish tone to the red. You’ll just have to trust me that, in person, it’s a great choice.

What’s that? You’re seeing a sewn on button and you’re assuming that the sweater is finished?

Really?

Whatever would give you that idea?

Well, maybe it’s because I DID!

Union Square Market Pullover, from the Interweave Knits Fall 2005 issue. Designed by Kate Gilbert (a brand new Mom, too, just last week).

Knitted in Rowan’s 4-ply Cashsoft, in “Redwood,” with trim in “Rose Lake.”

I modified the sleeves, making the cuffs narrower–as much as I liked the “bell” of the originals, they would have gotten in my way all the time. I also–as you heard over and over–had to recalculate basically everything about this sweater. My stitch gauge was about 2/3 of what the pattern called for (and this, using the same weight yarn AND smaller needles), and my row gauge was about 3/4 that of the pattern. Every single number had to be recalculated. All the shaping (done by short rows) had to be reconfigured. I’ve never worked so hard on somebody else’s pattern before! Not because the pattern wasn’t well put together–I thought it really was–just because nothing I was working with matched up (grin).

On the plus side, I apparently did the math correctly, because it seems to fit really well. What a relief! Sorry about the lousy picture, though.

As to the buttons? I really do like the coppery Seabird button, but I do have to admit . . . I’d love something even more special. Just because. Nancy made an excellent point, that I had to practically climb a mountain to get this done. I’ll keep my eyes out . . . I can always sew on different buttons if I want to, right??

Speaking of which, I’ve now got three good links for button places. Button Drawer. Button Shoppe. And JHB Intl.

Not only that, in thanks for all the button votes, I’ll pass on my favorite method for quick and easy sewings-on of buttons:

• Start with a double-long length of thread.
• Fold it in half, and thread the crease of the fold through your needle–keeping the two ends together. You will now have two thicknesses of thread in the needle.
• Insert into the material where you want to sew your button. Pull through, but not all the way through.
• Thread the button onto the needle (either going through its shank, or up one hole, down the next, depending on your type of button.)
• Insert the needle back down through the material, catching the loop from the original fold underneath. Pull tight to secure the thread.
• Go back up and down two more times to secure the button. (If using 4-holed buttons, make that three trips for each set of holes.)
• Before going back down to the wrong side of your fabric the last time, wrap your thread around the shank of the button (or around the threads securing the button). This gives added strength, and also lifts the button ever so slightly up from the fabric, making it easier to work with.
• Insert the needle through to the wrong side, and prepare to tie your finishing knot. With your needle, catch one or two of the lines of thread you just laid down as you sewed the button, and pull the needle through, leaving a loop at the end. Insert the needle through that loop, pull to secure. (Repeat with another knot, if desired.)
• And that’s it! The double-thickness of thread means you have to make fewer “passes” through the button to really secure it. The fold at the beginning means you don’t have to start with a knot at all. Quickest, easiest way of securely sewing a button I’ve ever tried.

• Tags: Finished Knitting, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:And The Winner Is…. //