Sewing Pieces Together

#1

Should I wash the pieces together first or should I sew then wash?

#2

That’s entirely up to you. Some folks swear by washing the pieces first, pinning each piece into it’s dimensions according to the pattern, letting them dry, then sewing them together. Others sew first, then wash and pin into shape to let dry. It’s a trial and error thing and entirely up to you, but there is no “set” way for it to be done.

#3

Just make sure that if you sew, then wash, that your sewing is secure- otherwise the stitches will come apart and you’ll have to start over again.

#4

I avoid seaming if at all possible but you will get a better result by washing and blocking first. The work will look crisper but also if you block to measurements you can confirm ahead of time that you have knitted each sleeve the same instead of finding out after the fact when it’s already sewn on and then blocked.

#5

I have been doing some recent research into the best way to sew in sleeves for my curren project. I found this great article on sewing pieces together. Hope it is some help

http://www.mariegracedesigns.com/marie_grace/2008/01/blocking-and-se.html

Irishmam

#6

Irishmam, that was a fantastic blog site! Thanks for the link. I immediately copied and saved to file for future reference.

#7

A trick I use is to pin the two pieces on my blocking board so they are opposite each other. That way they stay put until I release parts of each piece as I come to it when joining.