When we need to seam knitted panels or squares to make a blanket, a poncho, a cowl or any other reversible project, the basic mattress stitch is not a good option. It is bulky and it looks rather unattractive on the other side of the work. For projects that don’t have a wrong side, we’d better choose a flat seam that looks the same on both sides.
We’ve already discussed a perfect way to seam pieces knitted in garter stitch. But what to do if the panels or squares we plan to join are made in other stitch patterns? In this case, we can get help from baseball stitch – a stitch commonly used to make, well, baseballs.
It is easy to do and it creates a flat stretchy join that looks identical on both sides of the work. Another benefit of this seam is its strength. If it is secure enough to keep a baseball from falling apart, it will definitely hold our blankets, ponchos and sweaters together no matter what.
The only drawback of this seam is the fact that it is not invisible. This feature can also become its benefit if you decide to use yarn in a contrasting colour to add a lovely finishing touch to the project.
If you don’t want to turn the seam into a decorative element, use the yarn in the same colour as the yarn used to make the project and the seam will blend nicely with the fabric.
Another great thing about this way of seaming is that there is no need to worry about the look of the edges. This seam will conceal even the ugliest of edges. Of course, it doesn’t mean that we should be careless when we knit those panels or squares, but please, don’t beat yourself up if the edges are not perfectly even.
Now, that we know how amazingly helpful baseball stitch is, let’s see how we can use it to join knitted panels together (watch the video below or download a Quick Reference Card from the Library of Free Knitting Resources).
This seam also works well for fixing small holes and rips in any type of fabric – knitted or woven. I use it all the time to mend socks and t-shirts.
Read the full step-by-step version of this tutorial:
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