If your garment has separately worked button and buttonhole bands, you should first pin the fronts to the back at shoulder seams. Then pin The bands to the front, taking care to ensure that the lower’ edge of the garment forms a straight edge One stitch should be taken from the band and the cardigan to form the seam.

Reinforced cardigan bands: You can create a really professional finish on a cardigan by reinforcing he front bands with grosgrain ribbon facings. First. pin a facing in place on the wrong) side of each band, taking care not to stretch the knitting. Slipstitch the facings in place, as shown, On the buttonhole band, cut the buttonholes in the facing to match the buttonholes on the garment and work buttonhole stitch around each one using a matching sewing thread. Sew the buttons to the button band in corresponding positions.

Buttonholes: To knit a horizontal buttonhole, work to the positron of the buttonhole, bind off one, two or three stitches, then work 10 the end of the row. On the next row, cast on the same number of stitches over those cast-off. On the following row, pick up the loose thread at the base of the buttonhole. work the next stitch and puss the picked up stitch over it.

Horizontal buttonhole: To make a vertical buttonhole, divide the stitches at the buttonhole position and work an equal number of rows on each set of stitches, then join up with a row of stitches worked right across.

Neckbands: When you work the neck trimming on a garment, you will usually have to pick up stitches along the edge of the knitting The following tips help to create a tidy edging, On a V-neck sweater, a neat appearance is achieved by keeping a single knit stitch up the center front, on the right side of the work, To do this, pick up an even number of stitches on each side of the V and one at the center front, so when you work in kl, pi rib, this center stitch will always be a k 1, The V is shaped by working a decrease on each side of the center k 1, It is easiest to pick up stitches evenly if you divide the edge with pins, If you ‘have 60 stitches to pick up, for example, along the front slope off a cardigan, you can divide this Into 10 equal sections With pins and pick up six stitches in each section. Dividing the neck evenly: Picking up and knitting stitches When you pick up and knit along cast-off stitches across the front and back of the neck, knit through both loops, This will avoid loose stitches and ladder-like holes,

A shaped edge where decreases have been worked has an alternate long and short stitch, Knit through all loops as required, spacing them evenly, but work twice into long loops for more stretches omit some of the long loops for less, When picking up and knitting stitches along the straight side of the neck through rows. insert the needle through both loops,

Picking up dropped stitches: If a stitch is accidentally dropped, it is easiest to use a crochet hook to pick it up, even if it has unraveled a few rows down. To pick up knit stitches, insert the hook into the dropped stitch, catch the bar lying above the dropped stitch and pull it through, To pick up purl stitches, simply turn the work over and use the same method as for knit stitches,

Joining in new yarn: Whenever possible, Join a new ball of yarn at the beginning of a row, Where a new ball of yarn has to be Joined in the middle of a row, you can make a neat join by splicing the yarn, Unravel a short length of the yarn from the old ball and the new one, and cut away a strand or two from each, Twist the remaining strands together to make one thickness of yarn, Knit carefully through this join,, trimming off any stray ends.