How to sew up outer loops on WS seam please

#1

Hello
I finished knitting up slippers a couple of days ago and ready to seam them up the back and upper foot.
My pattern says to sew together in the outer loops of stitches. I’m not sure what type of sewing I do. Can you suggest what is suitable please?

Currently I’m sewing together the knit side of stocking stitch but the slippers are turned inside out before felting so actually the knit side is my WS.
I only know mattress stitch but happy to learn another way, I think mattress will create too much bulk on the inside seam or is it possible to do mattress on the outside loops?
If I use mattress stitch shouldn’t I be looking at my RS rather than WS so that the seam is created inside?
I’m not even sure what it means by outer loops so if you can help I would be grateful.

I thought this pattern was so basic and simple that I couldn’t possibly have questions over it but its thrown up a few. I’m so inexperienced!

#2


You could use a backstitch (a sewing technique) but it’s still going to leave a seam. A Bickford seam is flat but perhaps not as sturdy as you want in a piece to be felted.
You can use mattress stitch from the purl side if you decide to go that way.

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#3

Thank you.
I’ll have a look at the different things you’ve suggested.

Do you know what outer loop of the stitch means? Is it the leg of a stitch rather than picking up bars a column across like in mattress stitch?

#4

Maybe but it doesn’t sound very sturdy to me. You might knit up a swatch and try out the various seams then felt to see which you prefer.

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#5

Hmm… not keen on knitting up more trials after all the trials I did to get the cuffs to match.
I think I’ll just go for the mattress stitch on the reverse st st which you suggested. The video is a great help, thanks, and I think your idea is better than sewing into a leg of the stitch. I saw on the video she didn’t pull it as tight as I did when I seamed the sweaters and I think if I do that the inside will not be so bulky.
I’ll give it a go anyway.
I’ll have to trial a few things at the heel part where the two sides don’t butt join because of the fold, I think that’s one of the reasons it says to seam on the ws and then turn inside out, because the heel part will be a bit weird seaming on the rs.
I also need to think about how to switch from rs to ws seaming where the cuff is folding over so I don’t end up with it seamed on the rs.
So, I do have a few bits to work out.
I’m sure it will be fine.

Thanks again

#6

Hi
The video you posted for me with the mattress stitch for rev st st is working great on the straight fabric. Has gone together really nicely even though I’m not likely to be doing it 100% correctly. I didn’t manage to keep the sewing looser to reduce the bulk on the inside but it’s far far less bulky than a normal st st seam so I’m super happy.

However
I’m really struggling to get this right where the foot is shaped, I’m working on edges which have decreases. Everything is lined up well but I can’t find where I’m supposed to sew and keep running out of row (looking for a loop above where my seam was last worked) which makes sense to me logically, it’s an edge with decreases so of course there is no loop above.
I don’t know where to go, many times I seam up and end up with a hole and pull it out to try again. If I shift over one to the next stitch along I seem to get a vertical line of yarn, or double yarn interrupting the purl bump pattern. It doesn’t look right.

I did finally manage one slipper seaming I don’t know how many times. It’s not perfect but it has no holes. The second though, I have undone many times.
Do you have any suggestions please?

#7

I find mattress stitch on curves is a matter of guesswork too. It’s worth trying to get it the best way possible but I bet that felting these slippers is going to cover a multitude of small holes.

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