Creating Neat Seams for Your Crochet Project

First, Brenda shows us how to crochet an edging of single crochet along her row ends. This makes the seaming process a bit clearer, resulting in a tidy seam. She talks about how to make sure the single crochet edging has the right number of stitches. If the edge ruffles, there are too many stitches, if the edge is constricted, there are too few stitches.

Brenda begins seaming her pieces together using a whip-stitch or a ladder stitch. This is a very simple stitch and blends in well if using a matching piece of yarn. Next, she shows us how to weave the yarn back and forth through just the top loops of each edge. This creates a small zig-zag ridge where the pieces come together. To straighten the ridge, Brenda passes the yarn back through the loops in the opposite path.

The third type of seam that Brenda demonstrates is called a mattress stitch or a suture stitch. In this stitch, your needle makes a figure 8 when looking at a cross-section of your work. Brenda likens this process to lacing a shoe. She points out that after stitching an inch or two, you can pull on the sewing strand to make the stitches nearly disappear.

Next, Brenda shows us how to work the invisible mattress stitch. This stitch takes a bit more time and practice, but the results are amazing. She uses green yarn to seam an ecru piece to a golden-orange piece so that we can see just how much the seaming yarn will disappear. Once she pulls her stitching yarn tight, the seam is completely undetectable—there is no green yarn to be seen, and it looks just like the two pieces are just butted up next to each other. This is a great seaming technique to use when you are seaming pieces of two different colors together and you do not want to see the seam.

The last seam that Brenda shows us uses a yarn-over slip stitch to sew two pieces together. This creates a very polished seam with a decorative line of Vs that sit on the surface where the pieces come together. The opposite side of the seam looks very nice as well, so this technique can be used with Right or Wrong Sides facing.

With this collection of seaming techniques under your belt, you will be able to finish your projects with confidence!