Terrible light so rubbish photos I’m afraid….
I’m determined to conquer mattress stitch. I’ve heard it’s one of the trickiest sewing-up methods but I’m persevering. It’s also not straightforward when the Rowan Tweed breaks off because of the weaker, thinner parts of the strand. Argh!
The Knitting Answer book (see link on the sidebar) diagram has made sense of the method. There are a few different ways to use mattress stitch, depending on what you’re sewing up, and I’ve chosen this one. It seems like a good choice as the seam isn’t too thick or uncomfortable when you’re wearing the mitt.
I found I really got into a rhythm and ended up enjoying the sewing up. I’ve always liked hand sewing but the little voice in your head that says you’re going to find a new thing hard (especially when other people say how hard it is) needs to be silenced at times. Or stamped on. Then covered with a good layer of something.
I’ve sewn up both mitts now. Hurrah! The light’s gone now so no more (awful) photos. I will be wearing the mitts, they’re fine, but if you do own a copy of Cute and Easy Knitting and want to knit them I’d suggest trying a tension swatch. I know, I’ve never done one in my life either but they did come out fairly small. I have little hands but I reckon the mitts might be a little snug for others.
Can’t wait to have a sip of G&T and a glass of wine Saturday, after doing Dry January. I reckon I’m going to be a very cheap date!
Which method(s) of sewing up do you use for knitting?
The Little Room of Rachell 
I love your mitts and the colour is lovely – I have tried and failed to master mattress stitch so I must give it another try x
It’s worth persevering, I’m so impressed with the feel of the seam inside the mitts, though I need to practise lining up the stitches perfectly.
Sewing up was so much of a pet hate of mine ….I used to give anything I’d made to my Mum for her to sew up for me :D. Since moving away, I’ve had to do it for myself and found that mattress stitch wasn’t so bad though I ,too ,was intimidated at first.
Well done on your dry January ! I’m sure that first mouthful of G&T will be delicious.I’m doing dry Feb ….shorter month :) Have a great weekend x
This made me laugh Carole! Why oh why didn’t I think of February!??!
I really like mattress stitch, its what I use to sew up virtually all my knitting, I cannot bear thick ropey touch seams.
Honestly you should never listen to people online that say something crafty is hard to do. I believe we’re all ham-fisted in one way or another and its the ham-fisted sewers that are moping about mattress stitch.
I’m going to a grafting and Kitchener stitch tutorial on Tuesday evening, I tried to teach myself Kitchener stitch from an online guide and a magazine article but I made a bit of a hash of it, so it will be great to see it done live.
cute mitts, but too hot here for me to think about things that one needs to wear to stay warm…. I dream of COLD !!!!
When I was living in Australia and visited the Northern Territory, I used to dream of being cooler and went to the cinema because the air con was so fierce. I remember being up in Darwin and going to see Little Women which had a snow scene. It felt really bizarre at the time!
My friends have made me persevere with mattress stitch but I now mostly knit in the round to avoid the sewing up :) Enjoy your wine!