Mattress Stitch: A Knitter's Best Friend - Knitting Daily - Knitting Daily

I got this newsletter email today and thought I'd share this, in celebration of our getting our new mattress set tomorrow :)

Mattress Stitch: A Knitter's Best Friend - Knitting Daily Newsletter

Mattress Stitch Made Easy

One of my favorite knitters, Kathy Veeza ( a.k.a "Grumperina"), wrote a wonderful article in the spring 2008 Knitscene (which you can get on CD now!), all about seaming. This is just the mattress stitch portion, so check out the entire article on the Knitscene 2007-2009 Collection CD.

... a good example of how mattress stitch works as well on ribbing and moss stitch as it does on stockinette stitch (and garter stitch, and seed stitch, and whatever stitch you're working with!).

Step 1		Step 2

With the right side of the knitting facing you, use a threaded needle to pick up 1 bar between the first 2 stitches on one piece, then the corresponding bar plus the bar above it on the other piece (Step 1). *Pick up the next 2 bars on the first piece, then the next 2 bars on the other (Step 2). Repeat from * to the end of the seam, finishing by picking up the last bar (or pair of bars) at the top of the first piece.

Finished seam. To bring the seam together, simply pull gently on the yarn and the seam will tighten up and disappear.

The secret to streamlined seams is always working mattress stitch from the same vertical column. Never veer to the right or left of the seaming line—the stitch adjacent to the seam should be fully visible from base to top along the whole seam. If you veer into that stitch or farther away from it as you seam, your seam will zigzag in a distracting way. When seaming a sleeve into an armhole, make sure to follow this rule on the body pieces.