Sweater assembly help

#1

morning - new poster here =)
im trying to finish a sweater before the child outgrows it…got the pieces assembled and blocked. the next part of the instructions has me a bit intimidated and i cant find the answer - please help!

“Attach the Live Shoulder using a 3 needle bind off”

I think I have the 3 needle bind off part - but what the heck is a LIVE shoulder?

ack
thanks in advance

#2

Welcome!

Live shoulder–shoulds like a medical problem, doesn’t it! :rofling:

Live stitches are just stitches that haven’t been bound off. Any stitches on the needles are considered ‘live’.

So just have all the stitches of both shoulder sides on needles facing the same way, put the right sides together and do the three needle bind off.

Thre needle bind off is the BEST!!! It makes such a beautifully finished seam!

#3

:waving: Welcome to the forum!! You can also look @ Amy’s video on the 3 needle bind off under “basic techniques” tab @ the top of the page :smiley:

#4

thanks so much!

ok, 3 needle bind off, completed!

but - now im supposed to attach the “shoulder cap” does this mean i start at the top of the shoulder piece? do i use the same type of bind off? my pattern doesnt give me much direction for assembly.

#5

The shoulder cap would be the top of the sleeve. I’m assuming that those are bound off.

What I do for sewing in a seam is this: I tie short lenghts of yarn at the ends of the sleeves to the beginning of the armholes, just in a bow so it comes out easily, then I tie the center of the top of the sleeve to the shoulder seam and halfway down each side.

At this point I sew it together using a type of Mattress Stitch where I pickup the bar as in the video on the sweater side and the two side of the stitches on the sleeve side. Sometimes you might have to pick up more on one side than the other to ease it in, but it makes a nice seam.

After the sleeve tops are in, then use the mattress stitch to sew the sleeve and side seams. I usually start at the edges and work my way up so I’m sure the edges are even. If there’s any kind of mismatch, it ends up in the armpit.