How do I seam raglan sleeves?

#1

Hi! I have now knit the 4 pieces of my baby sweater and the instructions say to ‘join raglan sleeves.’ I am supposed to use ‘top sewing’ to join. But, I don’t understand how to top sew (I’ve gone to numerous sites and it is not clear to me how to do this) and I was wondering if someone had more detailed guidance on how to join these raglan seams. Thanks so much!:inlove: Janie

#2

I’m not sure what top sewing means either, but I usually use mattress stitch for seaming. At any rate, you can find a method that works best for you and use that.

Here are a couple of articles about seaming that might be helpful:

http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring04/mattress.html

http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/FEATspr06TT.html

#3

You could probably use another method, look at the Mattress stitch on the Tips page under Finishing.

#4

Mattress stitch works great.

This has a good up close view of the stitch.

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#5

“Top sewing”, I’ve never heard of that. Mattress stitch is sewn from the top (right sides both facing), maybe that is what they meant.

#6

Thank you all so much! I decided to just try the mattress stitch and see if it would work - and it did! So, just for the record, even if the instructions say to use top sewing, the mattress stitch works great for joining raglan sleeves! Janie

#7

Glad it worked for you Janie-I use mattress stitch for pretty much all seaming because it looks so nice.

And it just goes to show that you don’t always have to do exactly what the pattern says. :slight_smile:

#8

Marria:

Thanks for your kind reply. Yes, you are right: you DON’T always have to go ‘by the book.’ But, I must say, as a fairly new knitter, it is hard to know when you can improvise and when improvising can get you in to trouble. But, this is why it’s so important/helpful to have people like you out there - and the others who responded to my call for help - to bounce ideas off of and to get the support that makes all the difference!
Best, Janie:happydance: