This stitch uses a standard buttonhole stitch to form a circle; each stitch is taken down into the same hole in the centre. The stitch tension creates a small central hole. The hole could be off-centre for more informal look.

Buttonhole wheels have similarities with buttonhole couronnes but there are two main differences: firstly, couronnes are worked independently from the fabric and then applied and so will normally be slightly raised whereas wheels are stitched directly into the fabric; secondly, the central hole is normally smaller for a wheel than a couronne.

Buttonhole wheels were evidently in use during the 17th century as they feature on a fragment found in Egypt which has been radiocarbon dated to 1599, +/- 37 years.  The piece has several separate pieces of fabric joined together with scattered buttonhole wheels.  It is currently held by the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.