Finishing a knitted or crocheted project brings a huge sense
of achievement whether it is a small pair of gloves or a large blanket. But for me one of the projects I most dread
finishing is one that needs to be sewn up.
I have a couple of projects languishing in my craft basket. One of them is an intricate Fair Isle project
that I spent ages knitting and the other is a mass of small granny squares. They
won’t take long to put together, not compared to the amount of time they took
to make. It’s very common for knitters and crocheters not to look forward to
putting a project together because they aren’t confident of their making up
skills. I have seen many beautiful pieces of knitting ruined by poor finishing
and sewing up. But there are a few
simple steps that will really help.
Before you even think about sewing your pieces together we
recommend that you block them. Many of
you will be familiar with blocking for lace shawls, but it is also very
important for garments. If your tension
means that your knitted piece is not quite the same measurements as the
pattern, you can use blocking to ease it to the correct dimensions, making the
fit so much better. When making squares for blankets, some might not be the
uniform size. By blocking them you can
make sure they are all identical making sewing up so much easier. We recommend that you don’t put your iron
directly on your piece of knitting but rather pin it into the shape you want,
hold the iron above it and press steam.
Jane Crowfoot, who wrote the book Finishing
Techniques for Hand Knitting recommends one technique very highly when it
comes to sewing two pieces of knitting together. It’s mattress stitch or ladder stitch and it
is really easy to pick up. Your two pieces of knitting face you with the right
side of your work facing and you zig zag your sewing between one piece and the
other. The reason it is so revered is
that when you pull the yarn that you’ve been sewing with tight, the seam that
is created is almost invisible.
Have a look at this video.
For a really neat finish on a shoulder or to finish a pair
of socks, grafting or Kitchener stitch is a really valuable technique to learn,
giving you a really neat finish. The formula for Kitchener stitch takes a
little memorising but once you get in to the rhythm it’s great fun to see your
project looking so good.
So when you put so much time into practising and perfecting
your craft or into creating a beautiful garment or project, isn’t it worth
spending a little bit of time to learn how to finesse your knitting or crochet and
make your project something you can be really proud of.
What is your favourite tip? Leave a comment and one of you will win a prize.
