Perfect mattress stitch

The desire of every knitter is to make her product so high quality that it does not differ from the factory one. Everything is important: smooth loops, error-free pattern, processing of edge sections, perfect fit. And of course, a quality connection of parts. How to achieve that the seam holds its shape and is elastic at the same time? The most commonly used joining method is the mattress stitch.

Necessary materials

There are special needles for wool: a thick rod with a blunt end that easily slips between the loops without damaging the thread itself.

The yarn for stitching is usually taken the same from which the thing is made. But there are exceptions: the product is knitted from a long-pile yarn or the yarn has an uneven structure. In such cases, it is better to choose another yarn that matches the color. It is also worth choosing a thinner thread, if the fabric is knitted from thick bulk yarn - the seam will be neat and invisible.

The technique of the mattress seam

To get the perfect connecting seam, you need to take care of smooth edge loops during the knitting process:

• At the end of the row, knit with the front or wrong loop, and at the beginning of the row, shoot as the wrong (thread before work) or facial (thread at work), respectively. With this method, one edge corresponds to two rows.
• In the front rows at the beginning and end, knit with facial loops, and in the wrong rows - purl. One row - one edge.

In any case, edge loops never participate in the pattern and cuts (additions). If you plan to staple the details with the main thread, then in order not to hide the knot, even with a set of loops, you can leave a free end longer than required, and make a seam with this thread:

1. Parts are stacked side by side up.
2. The first stitch can be done from the inside, creating a kind of tack.
3. Then the thread is displayed on the front side under the broach between the edge loop and the following one.
4. The second stitch captures one broach of the corresponding hem on the other part, thus, the stitching frequency is equal to one row. To make the seam more elastic, you can grab two broaches edge, opposite on different parts.
5. The working thread should not be tightened, but, having sewn 3-4 cm, the connected section should be pulled lightly: the thread will be evenly distributed throughout the length.

With this connection, the edge ones are turned inside out, forming a neat pigtail.

Connection of knitting parts

When knitting, a mattress seam is the main type of connection of parts, it is used in most cases. The peculiarity of the seam is the displacement of the loops on one row, and this must be taken into account in some cases:

1. Connection of vertical seams - side and on the sleeve. When stitching parts connected by front stitch, the seam is invisible. With the wrong surface, the situation is different: here, the displacement of the loops is clearly noticeable; This is uncritical, but if you want absolute symmetry, you need to grab the edge not with the needle, but opposite, but shifting one row (half the edge).
   
2. Shoulder seams and side seams with transverse knitting. The seam is dense and less elastic, which is very good in the case of shoulders. The loops are connected so that the knit closure loops are on the wrong side.
3. Attaching the sleeve and strap to the product. It is used if it is important that the beginning of the part is typed on the knitting needles. The sewing algorithm is the same as when sewing over the edge: three loops correspond to two edge ones. The hinges of the sleeve or strap can be connected to the product by removing them from the knitting needle: the wrong seam will be more accurate.

Joining Crocheted Parts

Crocheted fabric is more dense, so the connection of parts should be such that there is no additional thickening on the wrong side. Crochet a mattress stitch is also called a knit stitch. It is carried out by the main thread or finer: you can unwind the main thread and split off part of it. In this way, vertical and horizontal seams are connected:

• With a vertical connection, work is performed on the front side. The thread is inserted into the base of the first edge column, then into the same column on another part. All the posts are evenly connected, similar to making a mattress seam on a knitted fabric. The thread is pulled every 3-4 stitches.
  
• Horizontal seams are also performed on the front side. To connect the parts, the bases of the columns are captured so that the pigtail is on the wrong side.

Preparing the product for assembly

Before stitching, the details of the product must be prepared, regardless of whether they are knitted or crocheted. It is convenient to carry out a mattress seam on a plain cloth which does not twist inward. To do this, the connected fragments must be subjected to wet-heat treatment: steam through an iron or wash. Using an iron, it is very important to just lightly touch the surface of the iron - the yarn will still absorb moisture so that all the loops straighten out.

After that, the details are impaled on the pattern and left to dry completely. It is very convenient to use a special rug for tattoos - it is possible to transfer the contours of the pattern with chalk and already knit fragments on them.