Hi,
It’s been a while since I’ve been here to ask for help, but I’ve been knitting like the wind!
Can I ask the experts what stitch is best to use for sewing up a hat? The yarn I’ve used is British doubleknit (I think this is sport weight in the US), the main body of the hat is stocking stitch and there’s a lacey panel around the brim so I don’t want the seam to be too bulky.
I’m not sure if backstitch is best (as I’ve used for chunky knit hats) or if it’s even possible to use the mattress stitch on a piece that doesn’t lie flat.
Help as always is really appreciated.
thanks to all, Jan 
Mattress stitch is definitely possible, even though it doesn’t lie flat. Just go stitch by stitch, it should line up perfectly and would probably be the best bet as far as not being too bulky.
Thank you KnitQueen!
Now that I have you here, can I ask another question that will seem probably patently obvious but has had me wondering :??
Which end of a hat do you start stitching up - the hem or the crown? I’ve tried it both ways and always feel it should have been the other way…
:wall:
I bow to your wisdom!
thanks again, Jan
Well, I’ll be honest and say that I’ve only ever knit one hat that needed to be seamed so I’m no expert (knitting hats in the round is definitely the way to go, you should try it!!!), but the one hat that I did this way, which was knit from the bottom up, suggested that at the top of the hat to cut the yarn long enough so that the same yarn that is pulled through the last few stitches at the top, is used to seam from the crown down to the lower edge. Does that help?
I’ve done it knitqueen’s way when I did a knit hat. I do it that way for mittens, too. Makes sense, you’ve already got the loose end for seaming…
sue
Thanks very much gals.
Sorry for the late reply but it got too late over here in Scotland so I’ve had to wait until this morning to read your posts.
I’ve just finished the hat and did it with mattress stitch which worked a treat - the result was tidy and the seam really works. I sometimes lack the confidence to do something new and a little nudge from Knitting Help seems to do the trick!
I didn’t have a tail long enough so ended up from the top down. Thankfully everything matched up ok. The lacy border was the hardest to match up well, but it’s fussy enough that I can’t even tell myself if I made a mistake! :happydance:
I would like to try doing a hat on circulars but haven’t master dpns yet - another nudge might do it…
Again, many thanks for your help - my head will be warm this autumn!