HOW TO JOIN KNITTED PIECES WITH THE MATTRESS STITCH

Mattress stitch makes a practically invisible and nicely flexible seam for joining pieces side to side. You can’t use mattress stitch successfully, however, on pieces that don’t have the same number of rows or a difference of only 1 or 2 rows.

1. LAY OUT YOUR PIECES NEXT TO EACH OTHER, RIGHT SIDES FACING UP, BOTTOM EDGES TOWARD YOU. You seam from the bottom edge up. If you’ve left a tail of yarn at the cast-on edge, you can use it to get started.

2. LOCATE THE RUNNING THREAD BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND STITCHES ON THE BOTTOM ROW OF ONE PIECE. Gently pull apart the first 2 edge stitches to see the series of little horizontal — running — threads connecting them.

3. THREAD THE TAIL OF YARN OR A FRESH PIECE ON A TAPESTRY NEEDLE. Make sure your tapestry needle is blunt to avoid piercing the yarn.

4. JOIN THE BOTTOM EDGES OF THE PIECES, USING A FIGURE EIGHT. Work through the two threads on the cast-on row.

5. BRING YOUR NEEDLE UNDER THE THREAD; THEN PICK UP THE RUNNING THREAD BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND STITCHES ON THE OPPOSING PIECE. This step begins your mattress stitch pattern.

6. WORK BACK AND FORTH FROM RUNNING THREAD TO RUNNING THREAD TO RUNNING THREAD, KEEPING THE TENSION EASY BUT FIRM.

HOW TO JOIN KNITTED PIECES BY SEWING WITH BACKSTITCH When you join knitted pieces by using backstitch, you sew them together in the conventional manner. Backstitch involves placing the right sides of your pieces together and moving your tapestry needle in and out along the seam line. 1. PIN THE PIECES RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER. If you haven’t counted rows and one piece is slightly longer or wider than the other, you have to ease in the extra fabric so the pieces begin and end in the same place. 2. WITH A TAPESTRY NEEDLE AND YARN, BRING THE NEEDLE FROM THE BOTTOM UP THROUGH BOTH LAYERS 1 STITCH IN FROM THE EDGE. Pass the needle between the strands of yarn, not through strands. 3. GO AROUND THE EDGE, COME OUT IN THE SAME SPOT TO SECURE THE END OF THE YARN, AND BRING THE BOTTOM EDGES OF THE PIECES TOGETHER. This step begins to form the binding stitch

4. GO AROUND AGAIN AND COME OUT 1 STITCH FARTHER UP FROM THE INITIAL STITCH. You can begin to see the way that the backstitch joins the knit pieces.

5. INSERT THE NEEDLE BACK THROUGH THE INITIAL STITCH AND BRING THE TIP OUT THROUGH BOTH LAYERS AGAIN Bring the tip out a few stitches from where it last came out. 6. CONTINUE IN THIS MANNER — GOING FORWARD, COMING BACK — AND KEEP AN EVEN TENSION. Bring your needle in and out in the spaces between stitches and avoid splitting the working yarn. Also, give your knitting a gentle stretch while you work to keep it flexible.