5 Tips for Seaming or Sewing Up Knit & Crochet Pieces

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5 Tips for Seaming or Sewing Up Knit & Crochet Pieces

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seamed sweater There comes a time in most knitters’ and crocheters’ lives when you want to tackle a project that has seams to be sewn up, whether it’s a top, a hat, an afghan, or a cardigan.

While many knitters & crocheters are wary of sewing, seams can be an important part of your project’s construction, providing structure and helping it to keep its shape, so it’s an important skill to learn. Some knitters & crocheters also worry that the seam will show, but as you can see from the picture of my partly seamed sweater, you can’t even tell where I’m joining the front and back of the sweater together! (Hint: Follow the V down in a straight line and that’s the seam between the two pieces of fabric.)

Besides, seaming doesn’t have to be difficult. With a little practice you can become a pro. To help, here are a few tips that I’ve picked up along the way.

1. To start, if you’ve never seamed before, click here to see directions from the LionBrand.com FAQ bank on how to seam various knit stitches, click here for crochet directions. You’ll always want to join your pieces by hand-sewing, since this will allow you to create the most invisible seams. Practice with test swatches, since practice makes perfect (or at least very good)!

2. Block your pieces before you start seaming. This will help flatten out your pieces and to control any rolling in a stockinette or single crochet piece.

3. Pin the pieces together with safety pins or small claw hair clips to help you get started. By keeping the fabric together, it will make it easier for you to sew them. Once you get a little further along (like on my two sweater pieces shown here), you can take the pins out.

4. Consider a crochet seam (whether you’re a knitter or a crocheter). A slip stitch seam or a single crochet seam can sometimes be a good option for joining two pieces together. I like them for joining sleeves to a garment.

5. Designing your own pieces? Keep in mind that you’ll lose a stitch on either edge of the fabric when you seam the pieces together. This is especially important when you’re working on a project with ribbing or a patterned stitch (such as on a sleeve cuff), since you don’t want your ribbing not to match up correctly when you seam it up! (I learned this lesson the hard way, so learn from my mistake and think ahead.)

With a little practice and a little patience, you’ll soon be a seaming queen (or king)!

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27 Comments

  • How about seaming a moss or seed stitch sweater? Any recommendations?

  • How about seaming a moss or seed stitch sweater? Any recommendations?

  • How about seaming a moss or seed stitch sweater? Any recommendations?

    •  Hi Laurie, the same general rules are going to apply. Since seed and moss stitch are still made of knits and purls, each stitch will still have a middle bar and can be stitched together using mattress stitch. If you’re worried about the stitches lining up, count ever 20 stitches on both pieces and pin those spots together. Finally, it can be tricky seeing each stitch, since seed and moss are denser stitch patterns, but with good lighting and taking it slow, you’ll be able to get it done.

    •  Hi Laurie, the same general rules are going to apply. Since seed and moss stitch are still made of knits and purls, each stitch will still have a middle bar and can be stitched together using mattress stitch. If you’re worried about the stitches lining up, count ever 20 stitches on both pieces and pin those spots together. Finally, it can be tricky seeing each stitch, since seed and moss are denser stitch patterns, but with good lighting and taking it slow, you’ll be able to get it done.

    •  Hi Laurie, the same general rules are going to apply. Since seed and moss stitch are still made of knits and purls, each stitch will still have a middle bar and can be stitched together using mattress stitch. If you’re worried about the stitches lining up, count ever 20 stitches on both pieces and pin those spots together. Finally, it can be tricky seeing each stitch, since seed and moss are denser stitch patterns, but with good lighting and taking it slow, you’ll be able to get it done.

  • word press is totally driving me crazy. for weeks it say i have wrong this, or wrong that…. someone should complain…I can’t get into many sites/to comment!
     

  • word press is totally driving me crazy. for weeks it say i have wrong this, or wrong that…. someone should complain…I can’t get into many sites/to comment!
     

    •  Hi Cynthia, since we’re using the Disqus plugin to run our comments, if you’re having issues, please visit Disqus.com for help. Otherwise, you may want to check WordPress.com for more advice.

    •  Hi Cynthia, since we’re using the Disqus plugin to run our comments, if you’re having issues, please visit Disqus.com for help. Otherwise, you may want to check WordPress.com for more advice.

    •  Hi Cynthia, since we’re using the Disqus plugin to run our comments, if you’re having issues, please visit Disqus.com for help. Otherwise, you may want to check WordPress.com for more advice.

    •  Hi Cynthia, since we’re using the Disqus plugin to run our comments, if you’re having issues, please visit Disqus.com for help. Otherwise, you may want to check WordPress.com for more advice.

  • word press is totally driving me crazy. for weeks it say i have wrong this, or wrong that…. someone should complain…I can’t get into many sites/to comment!
     

  •  Wish these were videos……easier to learn.

    • There are a ton of great videos on YouTube for just about any seaming skill. Just type “mattress stitch” or “seaming knitting” or “seaming crochet” into the search box at YouTube.com to find the right video for you.

  •  Wish these were videos……easier to learn.

  • I was not happy with the mattress stitch when I stitched together my last knitted afghan, it was too bulky. I think I’m going to try crocheting the edges together next time. Unlike some of my friends, I actually can crochet, I just prefer knitting. 

  • That’s how I sew mine together Lisa. I think it is a tidy way to do it.

  •  Sometimes I’ll run a scrap yarn of a different color all the way down the edge, one stitch in.  Then, while I’m sewing, I am sure to keep even distance from the raw edge without turning it over and checking a hundred times.

  • The last afghan I knitted was in strips.  If I sewed it together I would lose the edge decoration.  It was 2 colors and I crocheted it together with the brightest color and made the crochet edges part of the focal point.  Worked out really great.

  • […] 5 Tips for Seaming or Sewing Up Knit & Crochet Pieces […]

  • I want to no whether 14 stitches is too many to join a new ball of yarn of the same color what is the right amount of stitches

  • I want to no whether 14 stitches is too many to join a new ball of yarn of the same color what is the right amount of stitches

  • […] Ingredient two: Join together! The best way to attach knit or crochet pieces together is to use seaming, or sewing up. If you haven’t seamed pieces together before, don’t be afraid to jump right in! Seaming yarncrafts is to sewing as paint-by-numbers is to painting with watercolors; the stitches act as a guide for where to go next, so you won’t have to worry about whether your sewing looks even. For an illustrated guide on how to seam knit pieces, click here. For a guide on how to seam crochet pieces, click here. (Need some extra guidance? Check out Zontee’s top 5 tips for seaming by clicking here.) […]

  • Let me illustrate the power of their technology:::
    The gods create the perception of global warming by beeming heat into (cold out) of the polar icepacks, ultimately causing rising sea levels. As they can listen to your thoughts and affect your behavior so can they the animal kingdom, which is behind the changing migrating patterns of hundreds of millions of birds all at once, changing growth patterns for foliage as well as the changing weathern patterns we all experience.
    Similarly, the gods can do this with food. They can beem sugar out of fruit, flavor out of shrimp.
    I suspect like the biotechnology issue they use genetic engineering to accomplish the goal of bland produce to eliminate their culpability, but they are far too much of control freak rapist fuck degenerate shit to paint with such a broad brush. Rather it occurrs on an individual-by-individual basis. This way they can maintain conditioning/reinforcement and denial at the same dinner table.
    Realize they can also affect taste, so their options are open. As with the retard, military draft and other examples from earlier, expect it boils down to an issue of culpability::If the gods don’t accept blame they won’t “make it up to us” and the decay we experience accelerates.

    The gods are in possession of absolute power and take total control over proceedings on Planet Earth using the tools at their disposal to manage and achieve the desired perception and results in society. One of these tools is clone “clone host” fake people.
    As people age the gods bestow wisdom according to their level of favor. All people, from the gutter-dwelling homeless to the chairman of the board, would achieve this wisdom at some level, and some would change their path in life. Because of the importance of the upper eschelons in Earth’s decay the gods used this tool of clone hosts to ensure nothing changes as would when their “reals” learned::A constant turnover of eager 20 year-old preditors ensures a fresh new supply of young people eager to “earn”. Ironic it is the youth who ensures Planet Earth’s stagnation, whereas society says something quite opposite.
    Only through a historical event like this Situation is large-scale change possible. It’s not only an issue of the 20 year-olds learning they made a mistake with their choice but also of the gods still being willing to allow this macro change.

    The gods used Christainity as temptation to repel people away from themselves. The pentagram is charecterized by xtianity as a symbol of Satan but ironically the reality is the opposite:::The god’s holy symbol. Similarly, the penticle, the reverse pentagram, is the real symbol of hatred of the gods. If those foolish enough to behave in this manner hate the gods then they should have the real thing, which will cost them in the end.
    Don’t forget::::It is not a house of Jesus.
    Christianity is evil. It is responsible for slavery of Africans. It is responsible for this wicked reject dumping ground known as the United States which was used to destroy the Old World around the globe.
    There is a major difference between how Europe and the rest of the world were inflicted with xtianity:::Push vs. pull strategy. As a result, expect the “1000 years with Jesus on Earth” may be reserved for the Europeans and few others who were forced into this evil religion:::The god’s management of culpability defines the level of compensation everyone receives.
    The god’s primary goal with this Situation was their minimization of culpability arising from inflicting us with the 20th century and/or liberal counter-culture. Everything I have taught is true. Now that this Situation is complete the disfavored have been taught. The gods are no longer/minimally responsible from this point forward, pitiful “reach around” compensation for ruining your Planet Earth. Their empty promise to me “We’ll make it up to him.” has been met with similar inadequate compensation in your case, and the gods will find a way to wash their hands of this obligation to me as well.
    If they were honest how little they ultimately intended to grant us our sacrifice would have ended long ago, but they used this lie “We’ll make it up to them.” to further our misery, with absolution of obligation on the agenda for the future.
    My experience is obscene. I paid everything. But at least the gods got what they wanted. Imagine how fucked up their behavior if they didn’t.

    The gods offered Clues about my importance, who I am. They occurr on a weekly, even a DAILY basis. The tip of the iceberg is listed below::
    Air France’s Concorde
    Christa McAuliffe, Concord, NH
    Carnaval’s Costa Concordia
    Concord:::In the “eye of The Beast”
    Downey Savings
    1998:: “He gets 4 years.”, “(His chance is OVER!!)”:::2.1.03 (SS Columbia) & 11.26.03 (Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde).
    My miracle of Ocean Beach, witnessed by MILLIONS on the West Coast
    Mt. Zion:::Slowly being eaten away until one day paradise is gone forever
    Carry That Weight
    Unit 731::TSUSHOGO
    Zastava Koral

  • […] 5 Tips for Seaming or Sewing Up Knit & Crochet Pieces […]

  • My mom really loves to crochet and sew. This Christmas, I am thinking of getting her a bunch of fabric so she can make stuff. How much fabric would be needed to make about 20 shirts? Thanks for the article.

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