Finishing Class Teaser!

Hello everybody! We just had our new class schedule come out as you saw on last week’s blog. This week I thought I would treat you all to a free demo on mattress stitch. This is just one of the awesome techniques you would learn in our Finishing Class. Mattress Stitch is the perfect way to sew your seams. It makes your work look, well, seamless! I use this technique for all my seaming. It’s like magic! So here we go....

Here we have 2 stockinette stitch pieces. You want to lay your pieces on a flat surface side by side, with the right sides facing you. Take a darning needle and thread with a piece of yarn. Normally you would use the same yarn you knitted with or a yarn that matches. I’m using the bright orange so you can see what’s going on better.

You want to work in the first full stitch on the edge of the fabric. Notice that the stitches look like little V’s. In the middle of these V’s are horizontal bars. Take your darning needle and poke into the first two stitches (or V’s) on one side, going underneath two horizontal bars. Pull the yarn through to the right side (make sure you leave a bit of a tail for securing later)....

Now go to the other piece of fabric and poke in the same way into the first two stiches and under two bars like this. Notice that you are working always with the right side facing you....

Keep repeating the same process up the fabric going back and forth on the two pieces. Think of it like a mirror image. Always poke in where you came out last and go underneath the next two bars up. Make sure you stay in the same line of stiches. Always the first full stitch in from the edge. It should look like this...

Every in or so stop and take the tail in one hand and the working yarn in the other, and pull them in opposite directions...

The fabric will pull together and look seamless! Like magic...

Now keep going, repeating the same process as I described above. You will get a perfect seam...

Hey! That’s pretty okey dokey ;) Even on the wrong side the seam looks good and not too bulky..

Not too bad huh? Not hard! Just takes a little time and some patience. Garter stitch is also quite simple to sew together. In fact it’s even easier than the stockinette seaming I just showed you! Here we have 2 garter stitch pieces. You want to lay them on a flat surface as before. Both the right side and the wrong side of the fabric look the same so you don’t need to worry about that. Just pick the side that look good to you and go for it! 

Thread your darning needle with matching yarn. I used the orange again for your visibility. Garter stich is a bit different on where you poke. Notice that there are edge bumps on each ridge...

Poke your darning needle under the first one on one side, then in the first one on the other side (make sure you leave a bit of a tail at the beginning)...

Keep on going back and forth poking under the next edge bump up. Like a mirror image on each side. It should look like this....

Now take the tail end and the working end and pull in opposite directions...

The fabric pull together and the little edge bumps seem to interlock and fit together. Like a puzzle!

Keep on going poking under each edge bump. Stop every inch or so to pull the fabric together. Look how great this looks! You will feel like a genious!

Even the wrong side of the fabric stays pretty flat!

Pretty cool huh?! We get very hands on with both of these techniques in our Finishing Class. Plus we learn how to pick up stiches, block finished items, and how to 3 needle bind off for a nearly perfect seam! Lots of great tips and tricks in this class, and in all our other wonderful classes we have to offer!  

** Just a quick reminder! We still have 1 2:00 space left in our Beginning Knitting class this Saturday (Jan 12th). There is also a Fixing Your Boo-Boo's class this Saturday (Jan. 12th) at 11:00 - 1:00 with 5 spaces available!! Sign up now or the class might be cancelled! It's too good of a class to miss! It will help you gain confidence in your knitting!

Thursday Jan. 17th our pal Diane will be doing a free demo on another great finishing technique that IS practically seamless! It’s called Kitchener Stitch or Grafting. This technique is used mostly to seam a toe of a sock (Hey, don’t forget about our Sock Class!). Kitchener Stitch is also used to seamlessley put cowls together. Like Our ever popular Churchmouse Mohair Bias Loop...

and our new pattern by Swan’s Island called “Olivia Cowl”...

made from just on skein of beautiful Swan’s Island Worsted (free pattern with yarn purchase!). 

So come on in this Thursday (Jan. 17th) at 2:00 to watch a free demo!! Thanks Diane!!!

That’s it for this week pals! Hope you enjoy the free demos! We all want you to be happy and successful with your knitting. We are here to help! Enjoy the weekend and happy knitting.