Seaming
Welcome to episode 50 of The Ordinary Knitter, the knitting podcast that’s (mostly) about the projects. My name is Heather and I’m @theordknitter on Twitter, @theordinaryknitter on Instagram and @ordinaryknitting on Ravelry.
This week: a podcast milestone, Ravelry’s needle inventory, seaming woes and successes, Of the Sea in action and being serially unfaithful (I’m talking about knitting, just in case anyone had aaaany concerns).
I’ve taken a brief break from clearing up vomit, so yep, neglecting my children to talk about knitting.
Ft knitting patterns:
Ft knitting tutorials:
Seaming
Seaming is often a vital element of a garment. You’ll get away without it if you knit a true raglan that’s knitted in the round and has sleeves knitted in the round, but lots of garments are knitted flat at least in part and the construction will affect how the finished item hangs. Jumpers that are knitted flat and seamed up the sides will hold their shape better than ones that are knit in the round, and the type of seam that you use will depend on a few factors. This page from Vogue Knitting, no less, gives a quick run down of the main methods. There are different methods to use depending whether you’re seaming two bound off edges, two side edges or even two sets of live stitches. Some you work on the right side, some on the wrong side. Some use a crochet hook or a tapestry needle, but many use knitting needles – three needle bind off, as the name suggests, uses three needles.
If you’re seaming two side edges there are few situations where you wouldn’t use mattress stitch, and shoulder seaming uses – you guessed it – shoulder seam grafting. Sometimes though a pattern tells you which method to use, and probably has a good reason for doing so. The Berroco Design Studio had a good reason for stipulating the slip stitch crochet seam for March Basic, namely that it’s a flat seam, but as I made such a horlicks of it I used mattress stitch instead and I can’t see any disadvantage in having done so, so don’t be afraid to make a decision that suits you better. I would say though not to snip the yarn and weave in your ends until you’re sure it’s worked – I do these things so you don’t have to.
Music credit:
“Carpe Diem” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/