Knitting Seams

The feeling of accomplishment when you finally cast-off the last stitch on the last piece of a sweater is immense...until you realize that you know need to seam it all together. This can deflate you just a bit but chin- up; seaming is a breeze and in it own way relaxing and methodically therapeutic.

While I detest finishing (weaving in ends and casting off) I delight in seaming. It is much like I love embroidery, it is just a simple movement with instant gratification. It is the last step towards a finished project. It always feels like the last few days of senior year. I become nostalgic and remember the moments of each project. When my daughter grabbed my ball of yarn and ran all the way to the other side of the house. When I tripped on my own needles or which movies my husband and I watched together while I knit and he mumbled that I couldn't possibly be paying any real attention to the story. I don't usually go over these moments once I start wearing the sweater so I always cherish the seaming.

Like I said, seaming is easy; it is the placement that's tricky. The trick is to meld the 2 sides together so you can not see the seaming. I do this by making sure and tuck my tapestry needle under 2 strands on each side. This makes sure that the seam is not joining half a row on each side and ensure a strength that one strand can't be trusted with. You want to start at either the top of the bottom and hold your sides together with some sort of temporary binding. You can use bobby pins, bigger hair clips with teeth or chip clips. Use as many as you are comfortable with to hold the seam together as you stitch. This will also make sure the seam stays aligned so your seam will be straight. It is a simple mattress stitch you will be using and there is no need to make each stitch tight as you go. You can zip it up when you finish by pulling on either tail. You want to go from the outside through one side and the next and out the back and repeat. This will create a definite seam on the wrong side of your project but a seamless effect on the right. I have used a contrasting yarn on my Minimalist Cardigan to demonstrate. When you are seaming you can start with a bright yarn so you can see your stitches and then stitch over it with a blending yarn. Then simply pull out the bright yarn and leave the blended yarn and no one is the wiser!