Because I love to layer my clothing, I’m a fan of open-style cardigans and vests such as my Brooklin Vest featured in this post.

However, sometimes you may want more styling options, including the option to close it up. How can you make an open-style cardi sweater or vest (that doesn’t have any buttonholes) closed after the fact? After-thought closures! There are a few options that I often suggest to knitters – some require purchasing actual closures and others utilize knitting tools you may already have. Check out all of my suggestions below!

Closure Option 1: Screw-in Closures

I first discovered these wonderful closures from Jul Designs a few years back when attending Vogue Knitting Live in NYC. She has such innovative after-thought closure options, including the screw-in variety as pictured above and below with my Brooklin Vest. In that particular style (called the “Cordoba Flat Oval Ring Closure“), there are screws on either side that are inserted into your fabric and then you screw the top in on the wrong side of the fabric to secure it.

It works great in my example here because Brooklin is knit with bulky-weight yarn (shown in Berroco Vintage Chunky), so although this type of closure is a little heavy, the bulky-weight fabric holds it perfectly.

A thinner yarn would likely still do well so long as the fabric was dense, but I personally think this pairs especially well with chunkier knits and balances things out well.

Closure Option 2: Styling Tacks (pedestal buttons)

This is another product from Jul Designs and if you were part of my Brookdale Knitalong last year then you already are familiar with it (since we talked about it in one of our Zoom meet-ups!). It looks like a button on the outside, but it actually has a pedestal shaft on the backside (so it looks like a tack) along with a leather pad that the shaft fits into. This particular style is called the “Mid-century Modern Square Stud“.

So you stick the tack into your fabric, put the leather pad on the wrong side of your fabric and secure the shaft into it. And voila, instant removable closure! What I love about this style is how versatile it is. It’s a little less cumbersome than the screw-in style and so it’s easy to move and because it’s also light, you have lots of styling options (and it can work well with a variety of yarn types).

Closure Option 3: Wooden Shawl Pin/Stick

The classic wooden shawl pin! Super easy to use, light-weight and often it’s available in a variety of lengths and styles. And it’s not just for shawls, as you can see in my Brooklin Vest example pictured here. The one I have pictured is the Brittany Shawl Pin and it’s often my easy go-to for quick closure styling.

Closure Option 4: Metal Shawl Pin/Stick

Another shawl pin option is going with a metal variety. This particular one is just a stick, but often you will see them sold with a “pin” as well that the stick goes through (like this one).

Similiar to option 1, it may depend on the thickness of your fabric whether or not a metal pin is the best option (for example, a loosely knit silk shawl would likely be too light a fabric to hold the weight of a metal shawl pin) but it will definitely work well for denser fabrics or yarns worsted-weight or thicker.

Closure Option 5: Double-Pointed Needle

Here’s a closure option that you may already have lying around in your knitting supplies! A double pointed needle (DPN) makes a great shawl pin and works especially well if you have the shorter variety, which is what I have pictured here (from the company Brittany)

Closure Option 6: Cable Needle

Here’s another option that utilizes a knitting tool you may already have – a cable needle! If you have ever knit cables before then you likely have one of these in your tool box. Pictured here is a plastic variety I have had for probably over 2 decades (it’s the Susan Bates style that likely came in a beginners knitting kit!).

They make great light-weight shawl pins. You may even have different sizes handy that you can play around with! One particular brand of cable needles that I think is perfect for this dual-use is this wooden set from Brittany needles.

I hope these 6 after-thought closure ideas have inspired you to play around with different styling options for your open-style knits!