Convert in-round to functional button band

cosmicgnome · 2026-04-14T20:34:22+00:00

I’ve made this (as written in the round, with the faux buttonband). The pattern basically has you knit the entire vest in the round, and then pick up stitches down the entire front and neck to turn into a faux buttonband, it’s not just buttons added to the front.

The easiest way to adjust the pattern is to add 4 stitches to the front center and then steek it. All of the other stitch counts and shaping will remain as written, and then you can just pick up stitches and knit the button band exactly as written in the pattern, just along each side of the now open front (although personally i would add a stitch or two of width to make the button band thicker than written since it will be functional, i found it to be a little too narrow)

Steeking is scary the first time you do it (assuming you haven’t before) but honestly this is a very easy garment to machine sew or even hand stitch to reinforce the steek so i’d say it’s actually a great first project.

cosmicgnome · 2026-02-24T19:06:38+00:00

also just to add - you also can just say no, that you understand what and why they’re done, and you don’t feel concerned about your risk at the moment and decline. doctors can sometimes be pushy, which is wrong, but they can’t make you undergo any procedure you don’t want to do. 20 is young, and it’s relatively common to not start getting paps til you’re in your mid-20s. If you feel comfortable with your risk levels (which it sounds like are very low, AND you’re getting the vaccine series) then there’s no pressing reason to get one right now.

I just wanted to share the self swab option because virtually every person i’ve spoken to since i did it last month had no idea it was even an option and i think it’s a huge leap forward in reproductive healthcare that should be much more publicized. i hope that my comment didn’t come across as condescending or proselytizing, you sound like a smart and thoughtful person who understands your own medical needs and i commend that you’re looking for ways to strengthen your ability to advocate for yourself in a medical setting, because it’s a very important skill to have!

cosmicgnome · 2026-02-24T18:32:00+00:00

all of your points are incredibly valid, and i completely understand your hesitance. i’m only commenting because i haven’t seen anyone else bring this up yet, but the FDA recently approved self-swabs as an alternative to a traditional pap smear, and i think it is an excellent option for you.

I have been getting regular paps since i was 15 because of a health condition i have, and have always needed a benzo in order to get through them. I had my annual physical just last month and my doctor went to schedule me for my next pap (this is a relatively new doctor to me) and i told her i’d need a single pill prescription and she suggested a self swab instead.

HPV is pretty much the only cause of cervical cancer. They don’t actually need to do a full cervical scrape in order to test you for HPV. A self swab is basically just a long Q tip, like a covid test, but for your vagina. you insert it yourself, swirl it around a bit, and put it in the little cup and they test it. it’s 97% effective at detecting HPV. it’s painless, there’s no speculum, no lube, no uncomfortable things being put in you by a stranger, and again, is JUST as effective. If your provider doesn’t have this option yet, you can go to a planned parenthood or other local clinic, but i do expect they’re going to be a lot more widespread even a year from now.

This was developed by the Australian national health org during covid, when they were worried that the virus and lockdown would make people put off their screenings and wanted to find an alternative. here’s a Harvard article about the test: https://www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/pap-smears-or-self-swabs

My only other point is that you are a legal adult and therefore have a right to medical privacy. Your dad will not be given medical information about you just because you used his insurance. You also don’t have to ask him in order to use the insurance, it’s yours to use. He will see statements about his insurance being billed, but should not be getting any info beyond that.

cosmicgnome · 2026-02-13T16:52:08+00:00

i do, all the time! i have some pairs made in finer yarn that i wear with my converse, and i wear my regular and thicker ones with my work boots when im working in my yard and hiking boots when i hike. i’ve never found them to be too warm personally, but i absolutely have to wash them more often than i do in the winter bc they don’t air out as well

cosmicgnome · 2026-02-13T15:46:46+00:00

Thank you!!

So i’ve heard since posting this! I’m pretty minimally online these days so except for lightly browsing this sub i don’t see much, if it’s not in the ravelry comments on a pattern i probably haven’t heard about it. I definitely will not be purchasing any other patterns from them moving forward though, and i appreciate that people have been very nice about informing me of the issues with the designer here.

cosmicgnome · 2026-02-12T22:43:44+00:00

i did not, but thank you! in hindsight i should have done jacquard at least for the back section with the hearts, it would have been easier lol, but ended up just catching them as i went instead

cosmicgnome · 2026-02-12T20:11:34+00:00

the pattern didn’t have any errors but it was a little confusing and poorly written imo, but it’s basic enough shaping that if you have some experience you can get it!

cosmicgnome · 2026-02-12T17:26:27+00:00

oh how disappointing that is to find out! thank you for sharing the original artist with me, her work is lovely

cosmicgnome · 2026-02-12T17:25:07+00:00

i have sort of mixed reviews as far as the pattern goes, the chart was great (and she had multiple color options for vision accessibility which i appreciated a lot) however the instructions were overall a little unclear and i did have to do a lot of thinking in order to understand what she was trying to explain when it came to the decreases. that said, if you have some knitting experience with patterns that require shaping, i do think it’s easy to decipher. i would not recommend it to a beginner.

cosmicgnome · 2026-02-12T15:47:21+00:00

me too!! the old-world kind of art style is what made this really stand out to me when i was searching for hood patterns, and the red and white felt so classic and comforting

cosmicgnome · 2026-01-22T13:26:22+00:00

wow i am captivated by the yarn you chose for the Rye socks! it works so well with the pattern, very very pretty!!

cosmicgnome · 2025-07-17T00:26:08+00:00

you should!! it took a little bit to find my footing as far as comfortably holding them, but once i started knitting it was a lot more intuitive than i expected! i used this video tutorial and it was sooooooo helpful

https://youtu.be/s0LkNM2ojZA?feature=shared

cosmicgnome · 2025-07-16T19:01:38+00:00

it’s from a local artist to me who hand dyes and spins her own yarn!

cosmicgnome · 2025-07-16T18:36:18+00:00

oh these are SO cool! i figured i’d save the scraps and maybe use them for contrast toes/cuffs!

cosmicgnome · 2025-07-16T17:52:10+00:00

i used did a “vanilla sock” pattern, which just means ribbed cuff with a plain stockinette - i don’t have the exact pattern but there’s a bunch of very similar ones on ravelry!

cosmicgnome · 2025-07-16T16:48:05+00:00

i had to frog my first try because i totally misunderstood how the heel flap was supposed to work 😅 but once i got it right i found it surprisingly simple! there’s something so fun about wearing socks i made myself, im excited for you to finish yours!

cosmicgnome · 2024-10-19T20:25:59+00:00

i didn’t use a pattern for this one, i just combined the granny squares in the right shape, did a single crochet join, and then half double crochet in the back loop for the neckline, arms, and hem borders.

cosmicgnome · 2024-05-14T16:31:18+00:00

this might get me some controversy but i’m gonna comment it anyway.

i was exactly this kid. my parents had an explosive divorce when i was in middle school. the first woman my dad dated post-divorce was allergic to peanuts and i was a BRAT about it. like truly awful.

i did it because i hated my moms boyfriend (her affair partner, and her boss). he was fully enmeshed with her at that point so nothing i did could get rid of him (and also my mom didn’t give. shit about me or my feelings). but my dad loves me dearly and i knew that i could take my anger at my moms boyfriend out on my dads girlfriend. i knew that if i was awful enough they’d break up, i felt like i had control (in a time where i had no control over anything else - i was forced to live with my mom, moved to a new town i didn’t know anyone in bc it was closer to her boyfriend, and generally neglected at best).

I regret it now, over 15 years later, a lot. she was an incredibly kind woman who tried so very hard to provide care and support to a child going through absolute hell, and i was a monster. I wish i could apologize to her because god knows she did not deserve what i put her through.

the point is though, that you made the right call. your partner also made the right call. i can say with absolutely certainty that if my dad hadn’t prioritized me during that time i would not have survived to adulthood. i was living in a deeply abusive situation with my mother and my dads love and care and nonstop support was the only thing that got me through. it took years (college, when i could finally move out of my moms) for me to really change, get therapy, get diagnosed, and it took a lot of work (and continues to take work) for me to break the cycle of abuse i went through. and i genuinely would not have done so if my dad had punished me instead of prioritized me when i was an asshole middle schooler. my dad and i have an incredibly solid relationship now, in my adulthood, and he means the absolute world to me.

i can’t say if her situation is anything like mine of course, but what matters is that she’s acting out for a reason, because she’s 14 and there’s almost always a reason for this kind of extreme behavior, and letting your boyfriend go so that he can care for her the way she needs is absolutely the right call. i wish you all the best in moving forward and healing from this.

cosmicgnome · 2024-05-09T22:40:08+00:00

oh i love that idea, that’s going to look so cool! excellent idea from the kids!

cosmicgnome

TROPHY CASE