Ribbing Transition

For a good looking transition from ribbing to stockinette or a pattern in the main portion of your garment, on the last ribbing row, SLIP every knit stitch purlwise and purl every purl ribbing stitch. On the next row, change to a larger size needle and begin the body of the garment.

Smooth Transition to Ribbing

If you want to create a smooth line for ribbing when knitting a top down sweater, on the last round before the ribbing, change to a smaller sized needle which is usually 2 sizes smaller than the body of the sweater. Work one round of the body stitches (stockinette or pattern). On the first round of ribbing, SLIP every knit stitch and purl the purl stitches. On the next round, knit the normal ribbing stitches to the desired length.

Placing Buttonholes Evenly

To evenly mark buttonholes, use about a 12-15” length of 1” wide elastic. Lay it out without stretching and using a permanent marker, mark a dot every inch leaving an inch selvedge on each end. To use it, use a binder clip to fasten one end of the elastic to a ruler or yardstick. Stretch it to the needed length and clip the other end. Now you have a movable ruler marked to your buttonhole specifications. I do recommend marking the sweater (clips or the like) right away to avoid errors in the event that the binder clips slip. When stretched, the dots will mark your buttonholes evenly down the length of front band so just use a clip stitch marker at the spots where the dots are.

By the way, to remember which side for buttonholes, use this saying:
Holy Moly! Girls are always right and boys are always out in left field. (The holes would be on the right for girls.)

Unisex Baby Sweaters

When making baby sweaters in colors that can be worn easily by either sex, knit buttonholes on both sides of the front band. Sew buttons over the holes on the appropriate side once you know the sex of the baby. If it’s handed down, the buttons can always be moved to the other front band.