Could someone help me with sewing seams?

How-to Questions
1

Hello! I’m new to knitting (I taught myself over the Memorial Day weekend). One of the projects I’m working on is a simple purse.

The pattern basically produces a 9" x 20.5" rectangle. The instructions call for you to fold the rectangle in half and sew the side seams.

Basic. Easy. No problem, right?

Well, I have a dilemma. I don’t know what stitch to use for the side seam. I searched on google for answer but I didn’t find any helpful ideas. I looked at the videos for stitches on this site, but I can’t figure out which one would be the best to use.

Also, even though the pattern does not specify state so, I would assume that I should sew the seam on the wrong side of the work. Therefore, when I turn the work right side out, the seam would be invisible.

I realize that my questions are elementary, but I’m at a standstill with this simple project. I just need some direction from you smarter, more experienced folk. Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer me.

2

Unlike sewing with fabric, you do not put the right sides together when you sew the pieces together. That would give you a thick, bulky seam.

One of the videos on this site shows how to do the mattress stitch, a good basic seam that is almost invisible. With mattress stitch, you butt the edges together, matching the rows, and work from the right side.
The needle goes in one edge and out the other (it’s slightly more complicated than that, but not much). When the yarn or thread is pulled tightly, it disappears into the seam.

3

Do check the videos here on finishing techniques. If you need a graphic explanation here’s a good one. They have lots of other good tutorials as well.

http://community.knitpicks.com/notes/Seaming_-_Mattress_Stitch