Free crochet calculator
Space buttonholes evenly in crochet
Enter the stitches in the band and how many buttonholes you want. The row appears here as chain spaces, with as many stitches at each end, checked stitch by stitch.
Leave empty to get half a gap at each end. With two or more buttonholes, both ends get the same. With one, this many stitches come before it and the rest after.
- 6 sc, ch 2, sk 2, *12 sc, ch 2, sk 2*, repeat from * to * 5 times in total, 6 sc (84 sts)
On the next row, work 2 sc around each chain space.
US termssc = single crochet, st = stitch, ch = chain, sk = skip
If you like, tick off each line once you have crocheted it.
The band, stitch by stitch: the red marks are the stitches you skip for the buttonholes.
CrochetBuddy works this out on your phone, keeps the band in your project and counts your rows. It is with App Review now.
CrochetBuddy →Coming soon to the App Store
How to work it out yourself
Example: a band of 84 single crochet with 6 buttonholes of 2 chains.
- Each buttonhole is a chain space,
ch 2, sk 2: 2 chains over 2 skipped stitches. It uses 2 stitches and makes 2, so the band keeps its 84 stitches. - The holes take 6 × 2 = 12 stitches, which leaves 84 − 12 = 72 stitches worked plain. (At most (84 − 1) ÷ 3 = 27 holes fit, with a stitch between two and at each end.)
- The 72 stitches share out over 7 gaps, and each end gets half a gap: 72 ÷ 12 = 6 stitches at each end.
- The middle gets the rest: 72 − 12 = 60 stitches in 5 gaps of 12.
6 sc, ch 2, sk 2, *12 sc, ch 2, sk 2*, repeat from * to * 5 times in total, 6 sc (84 sts) On the next row, work 2 sc around each chain space.
On the next row the chains become stitches again: work 2 sc around each chain space, and the band is back to 84 stitches.
Questions
- How is a crochet buttonhole made here?
- As a chain space: chain as many as the hole is wide and skip the same number of stitches. On the next row you work that many stitches around the chain space, so the band keeps its count.
- How many chains should a buttonhole have?
- Enough for the button to pass through snugly: 2 chains suit many buttons in DK yarn. Try one hole on your swatch first; the calculator keeps any width you enter.
- What does 'Stitches at each end' do?
- Left empty, both ends get about half a gap. With a number, that many stitches come before the first hole and after the last. With one buttonhole, it is the stitches before it and the rest come after. It must be at least 1.
- How many buttonholes fit on a band?
- Each hole needs at least one stitch on each side, so at most (stitches − 1) ÷ (chains + 1). On 84 stitches with 2 chains that is 27; the calculator says the limit if you ask for more.