Stumbling Block

I hit a stumbling block with the little yellow sweater. First of all, it may not fit my little guy very well around the chest because he is so big!! That's not the pattern's problem. Dh says it's okay if the stitches stretch a little. I wish it had an inch of give, but oh well. Secondly, I am not pleased by the looks of the buttonband and buttonholes. The white yarn appears to be bigger than the yellow overall, so I think I am going to rip out the buttonbands and re-knit using smaller needles. I will also try to make the buttonholes a bit tighter (notice how the buttonhole side is bigger than the other side). This was the first time making one-row buttonholes from Nancy Wiseman's book, The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques. It took a few minutes of uninterrupted time to figure it out, but now it makes sense. What I don't understand is why the ribbing on the bottom looks fine, but the ribbing on the buttonbands seem to be bigger. Oh well. It shouldn't take too long since this is such a small sweater.

This project is good for me, though. I now know how to pick up stitches evenly for buttonbands. Before, I would just pick up stitches wherever it looked good, but Nancy's book makes it very clear and easy. It looks so much more professional when doing things the right way! I did not understand the formula she used for buttonhole placement. I need my engineer husband to walk with me through the steps. This is not the first time I have struggled with directions. Usually when I read them aloud to him, I end up figuring it out without his input. Is anyone else like this? LOL