Putting the pieces together
I love knitting, but what I absolutely don’t love is sewing together all the pieces once the knitting is done. I’ve finished the knitting for Otello (by Louisa Harding) and now am just doing the finishing off.
Does anyone else have the same problem? Even though I’m strictly following all the instructions I somehow get the feeling when I’m sewing it together that it all looks…well…how shall I put this? Cobbled together? All professionalism just seems to go out of the window and I’m sure everyone will instantly know that I made this myself. Is there a perfect way to make seams in bulky wool so you don’t feel like you end up with a mountain ridge across the shoulders? I’ve done a lot of pressing, but somehow it still seems lumpy and bumpy and just too bulky. I suppose that it’s actually impossible to sew together using back stitch and get a flat seam.Maybe I’m expecting too much! Any gems of knitting wisdom gratefully received!!
Apart from the sewing together I’m very happy with this cardigan – I haven’t got the side seams done yet, so don’t know if it will fit, but it looks like it will and I’m rather enchanted with the casting on and casting off to draw it in around the waist. Bulky cardigans have a tendency to make me feel like a sack of potatoes and I rather think the shaping may put an end to all that. I hope so anyway.
It does seem a bit mad to be doing all this when it’s a zillion degrees outside and I’m melting into a little puddle on the office floor, but I’m off to England soon and it could really come into its own this little cardie!
It’s also been a delightful yarn stash busting endeavour. Bulky wool takes up tons of room and this has used up 6 great big balls of Lamb’s Pride Bulky. I’m actually feeling very virtuous!
Now I need to embark on the quest for the perfect buttons – it’s a slightly unusual blue, so this could be a challenge….but I think I know just the place to start looking!!
Helen
July 12th, 2011 at 1:43 am
Hi Helen, the almost-finished product looks fantastic. I do share your issue with putting it all together, though. My mum was an amazing knitter, and had the most amazing ability to stitch pieces together so you couldn’t tell where the seams were…unfortunately she’s had a few strokes and cannot use her right arm…she passed on the knitting knowledge to me but I never quite got the hang of stitching pieces together. Good luck! 🙂
July 12th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
I know my mum hates the making-up bit of knitting. She also doesn’t like doing backstitch when she has completed a piece of cross- stitch and so I do it for her (under oath that I will never tell her friends that she didn’t do it herself!). I think basting a quilt probably falls into the same category – one of the reasons I send mine to be long- armed even though one day I’d love how to machine quilt on my home machine. Something else to add to my long list of things I’d love to try!
July 13th, 2011 at 8:29 am
Sewing up always takes ages, doesn’t it. You’re very good – I never bother to press first. My iron rarely sees the light of day! Have fun in England. X
July 13th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
I like to use a 3-needle bind-off for the shoulders, as I think it looks neater. I use mattress stitch for the sides and sleeves and seem to get neater the more I do it, practice makes perfect, I guess (though I am far from perfect!).
The only other solution is top-down or bottom-up raglans, totally seamless hahaha…