Seaming Garter Stitch
Garter stitch may be the first stitch pattern many knitters learn, but it remains one of our favorites! When a pattern requires you to join the selvages of two pieces of garter-stitch fabric, our video tutorial walks you through the ins and outs. A basic whipstitch, the real trick is knowing where to insert your tapestry needle… Watch and learn!
excellent video…the best I’ve seen on grafting garter stitch and the best explanation of the process…thank you ..
Julie
Wonderful video! So helpful and clear.
Thank you for the tutorials and your wonderful patterns. I am wondering what to do about the jog at the beginning of the seam? How do you keep it from being an obvious jog?
Very clear, thank you. Am I right in assuming that the first st was slipped in each swatch? If so, is it better to do that when seaming two garter st pieces? I have heard that when using matress stitch, it is better not to slip the first stitch. Is this right?
Is it better to slip the 1st st when joining garter stitch pieces in this way? I have heard that one shouldn’t slip the 1st stitch when using matress st, for st st fabric, for example.
Great suggestion, Jane! You’re right–if you were to have a cleaner edge created by slipping each stitch on each row of any garter stitch piece, you would be able to create a very clean seam. For stockinette stitch, you already have a smooth surface on the right side to work on, so it’s not necessary to add the slipped stitches to facilitate a clean seam. Happy stitching! -Alyson
Thank you that was very helpful. My problem is I made a Afghan in alternating in stockinette squares and in garter stitch squares. Than I knitted 2 extra panels in the same pattern my problem now is should I use the mattress stitch or another stitch to sew my panels together. I started to sew one panel to the main piece the other night and had to take it apart as it didn’t look right I know I wasn’t using the mattress stitch. Can you advise me. Sincerely, Sandra
Hi Sandra,
Excellent question! If each panel alternates between stockinette and garter, you may want to try alternating between mattress stitch and the seam technique above. If the stockinette sections meet with the garter sections, I would suggest trying just mattress stitch OR a hybrid of mattress stitch on the stockinette side and garter seam on the garter side. With the hybrid option, use the two techniques to figure out where to pick up your stitch to sew the 2 panels together. I would go ahead and try each and see which looks best!
I hope that this helps and happy knitting!
Cassy
Where is the video on seaming garter stitch? All I can see above are the comments! Can yo repost the actual video or a link to it?
Thank you!
Hi Nancy,
Thank you so much for getting in touch and letting us know about the missing video! We are currently experiencing some technical difficulties with a few of our tutorials so they aren’t showing up on our website. They should be back in a few days, but in the meantime, you can see this video on our YouTube channel!
I hope that helps!
Julianna
This video is so helpful! I do have a question, however. I’m currently waiting on my blocked pieces for the Folded Squares Cardigan to dry and wove in my ends before blocking. Is there a way to use this seaming technique with extra yarn or should I try to unweave my tails?
Thank you again for these excellent tutorials and patterns!
-Melanie
Hi Melanie,
Thanks for reaching out and for your kind words! Yes you can use extra yarn to seam the pieces together instead of using the tails!
Happy knitting!
Gianna