Thanks to some recent discussions, I’ve found out I’m NOT the only person on the planet who loves to Mattress Stitch.
My secret to success?
R.E.L.A.X.
Find a comfortable chair & footstool and it’s easy to strettcccchhh out and get busy. The work lays flat along my lap and legs and it’s a little factory. :)
I’ve finished all the section knitting on my icy light blue heather Camilla Valley Farm Canadian Collection 2-ply Worsted Weight (heh, mouthful) and am now happily seaming it up. It turned out there wasn’t enough yarn for a hood (as suspected) but I’m going to make this a nice crewneck, using the same type of ribbing that’s on the front bands.
Once I get get good and comfy, the seaming goes really fast. I’ve used Corsage Pins (from the florist) to pin the sleeve together, putting one pin in at about every increase made along the side edges of the sleeve. It’s easy to feel the little difference (sort of a bump) in the fabric surface where the increases are, so I match bump to bump along the seam.
Then it’s just like lacing a shoe: back and forth, back and forth.
I left a long tail of yarn when I cast on the sleeve and am now using it to sew it up.
FINI!
From the wrong side, it’s matched up great and the seam has a very low profile…
Now, off to seam the body of the sweater…
Add me to that list, too!! I would WAAAAAY rather take a few speedy minutes to zip up a seam in mattress stitch (which, btw, I just learned this past year :) :)) than battle the dreaded dpns. I still can’t get over the beautiful join it makes on the right side and the neat finish on the inside…..give me more!!
Me, too. I learned to sew before I learned to knit, so it makes sense to me. And once I’ve spent a goodly amount of time knitting sweater pieces, i don’t begrudge those final minutes of seaming–makes me feel like a “modiste.” The thing that makes me salivate in classic literature is the discussions of dressmaking and custom made clothing :)
I like it too, until I get to the end of the seam and the edges don’t quite match up… (despite pinning)… thankfully I don’t have this problem on my current project – it’s your basic chic pulli (knit in the round). Yay! No seaming.
I actually love doing that too. It’s like you’re putting the seams in order and it looks nice and tidy when you’re done!