I’ve been thinking a lot about seams lately.
I know exactly what you’re thinking: “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about them too. About how much I HATE THEM and how I have 17 million gorgeous sweaters I could be wearing RIGHT NOW if only I didn’t have to sew up their damn seams.”
And I’ve been there. Ohhh have I. But a few things have changed my mind recently, and they mostly have to do with Anne Hanson. Well, sort of. I took her Finishing Series class at Knit Nation last summer and it changed my life. Seriously. The method I’d been using for seaming up to that point was the “stab the needle somewhere near the edge of the fabric, pull the yarn through and repeat” method, which DOES NOT WORK. I’m sure you all know that already, but I’m also sure that some of you are still using some variation of this method and calling it mattress stitch. I’m totally convinced that the reason so many people hate seaming is that they’re doing it wrong. Seams do not have to be stressful! Once you learn the right way to do it, it’s not that hard and it’s actually even a little bit fun. I kind of get into it.
Anyway, once you know you’re doing it right, THEN you’re allowed to decide whether you hate sewing them as much, and you can be objective about where they might actually improve a piece of knitwear. For one thing, they can do wonders for garments with a tendency to sag. Cotton, for example, we all know tends to lose its shape over time, and side seams can mitigate the saggage. Shoulder seams give a sweater a much more polished, crisp feeling and can be a good marker for determining how something fits you. Setting in sleeves is a bitch, but you have to admit they look good.
Don’t get me wrong though, seamless knitting is still great for accessories like mittens, hats and legwarmers (they haven’t exactly “come back,” but they aren’t just for ballerinas and 80’s refugees). Baby sweaters! Perfectly good sans seams.
What are YOUR thoughts? (You can leave a comment if you click the title.) I’m curious. And I’m lonely. (What about a blogwarming party? Do people do that? Let’s do that.)
Toby, you are hilarious! This is awesome! Good luck. Spin some good yarns.
Everything you say is true- maybe you want to teach a finishing class?
As a matter of fact, I’m teaching a seaming class at The Blue Purl! There’s still one session with open spots.
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My thoughts are not that the seaming, itself, is stressful. For me, it’s the stress of wondering if my pieces are going to fit together. Ive fudged a stitch or two, hated doing it, but that’s hardly noticeable. I’ve had nightmares about whole pieces not fitting together, like sleeves…. I love the simplicity of raglan but live the fitted look of seaming….