TO SEW OR NOT TO SEW

Q I know that mattress stitch is the neatest way to sew up a garment to give it a professional finish where your seams are barely visible, but I find this technique really fiddly and time consuming. Is there another method that is just as good but easier and quicker? Evelyn Underwood, via post

You are right – mattress stitch is the most popular way to join knitted pieces together because it provides such a seamless looking finish, but there is an alternative. The crochet slip stitch seam gives almost the same e ect, and in some cases can even be preferable to a sewn seam. Sturdy yet flexible, a crochet seam gives the same look on the right side of your work as mattress stitch (1) while on the wrong side you can see a chain of crochet stitches running up the seam (2). This does add a bit more bulk to the seam which isn’t appropriate for all projects, but this method is much quicker and can even be worked on the right side of the fabric to add an interesting visible, decorative seam (3). Don’t worry if you’re not an experienced crocheter, you can still give it a try! First, you need to find a crochet hook that’s the same size or slightly smaller than the knitting needles you used for your project. Hold the two pieces with the right sides together and wrong sides facing out. You’ll be working slip stitches into the last column of stitches on the edge of each piece. Make a slip knot on your crochet hook and push the hook from the front to the back under both ‘legs’ of one edge stitch, then through both ‘legs’ of the other edge stitch. Wrap the yarn around the hook and draw the loop through both edge pieces, then pull this through the loop on your hook so you just have one. Repeat as set, moving one stitch to the left each time, continuing until the entire edge has been seamed.