The Joys of Finishing--Part 1

One of my favorite parts of making a sweater is putting the pieces together. I don't always get it right the first time, but I don't always knit the pieces themselves right the first time either. But one part of finishing that usually goes smoothly for me is seaming, mostly because I crochet my seams rather than use the mattress stitch. If this is a technique that you haven't tried, I'll show the steps that I use.

This is my brown sweater UFO, soon to be an FO. I used orange for the photos, but the real seams are brown.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Decide which part of the edge stitch you want to use and use that for the entire seam. If you use the inside stitch sometimes or the edge stitch sometimes, the outside row of stitches will look uneven. I selected the very edge of the selvage because this yarn is worsted weight (Rowan Magpie), and I wanted the least bulky seam possible. When you pull the yarn through, do it firmly but gently. If you pull too tightly, the seam will buckle.

Push the crochet hook through the edge stitch on both pieces and pull the seam yarn through, making your first loop on the crochet hook:

Now push the crochet hook through the next edge stitch on both sides of the sweater. The first photo shows me taking the stitch on one seam, and the second photo shows both stitches (one from each side) on the crochet hook. I used every other selvage stitch for the crocheted seam. If you use a slip-stitch selvage, you could take every stitch along the selvage. Just position the stitches close enough so that the seam doesn't buckle, but it makes a firm chain seam.

Wrap the seam yarn around the tip of the crochet hook and pull it through the two edge stitches:

You will now have two stitches on your crochet hook:

Wrap the seam yarn around the tip of the crochet hook and pull it through the two loops already on the crochet hook:

You are now left with one stitch on the crochet hook. Proceed as you did in the second photo--insert the crochet hook in the next seam stitch (if you are taking every other stitch, as I did here, it will be the second stitch on the edge of the sweater front and back), loop the yarn on the crochet hook, pull it through, and then pass the first stitch over the second. Continue this way until you're done, ending with a slip stitch.

This is what the seam looks like if it is loosened:

The seam itself will look like a chain of single crochet:

If this is not clear or you'd like some additional photos, comment or email, and I'll add whatever you'd like to see.

Tonight I put on the buttons, and I'll show in my next post how to make a thread shank so the buttons clear the button band and sit "nicely" when the cardigan front is closed.

Comments

[Robin]

Very clearly explained! I had heard of this technique but had not tried it before or gotten very many specifics. I feel like I could do this now using your post as a reference. I look forward to the rest of the series!

[Lorette]

I've never tried this one, either. I'm a fan of mattress stitch for seams, but mostly because I've never tried anything else! It's always good to have several ways of doing something in your knitting arsenal. I'll try this on my current sweater when the time comes.

[Caroline M]

I avoided making up altogether during my sweater days by stuffing the pieces in a bag and giving them to my mother. Now that I have attained sufficient maturity to do my own sewing I find myself knitting tubes and things with few parts (such as shawls). I may now switch to crochet as a means to overcoming my aversion to sewing knitted items.