I’m trying to seam a jumper and it says to do the shoulder seams in runnign stitch but I can’t find an explaination of what this is or how to do it in any books or online. Can anyone help?
i did a quick google search for "running stitch."
it looks like a running stitch is a simple stitch used for basting.
Knitty.com says that it isn’t usually used for a real seam (do a search for “running” once the page is up).
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring04/mattress.html
Unless there’s some special reason for doing so,* I wouldn’t use a running stitch for shoulder seams, regardless of what the pattern says. It isn’t very strong, since there is space between each stitch, and in my opinion, might not give enough support to keep the shoulders from sagging. It also leaves a ridge inside the seam.
Try mattress stitch – it’s stronger and pretty much invisible.
Or use a 3-needle bind-off.
Don’t worry about diverging from the pattern instructions.
Designers sometimes specify a technique because it’s what they’ve always used, not because it’s necessarily the best.
*Having said all that, there MAY be a special reason for using running stitches. Could you tell us a little more about the jumper/sweater you are making?