Hi all,
I’m just about to put together a very cute tank top from Oneskein (Leigh Radford). This tank is made up of 2 pieces that are seamed up the middle front and back with the seam showing front & back. Each of the 2 pieces is 1/2 of the front & 1/2 of the back. The shoulder seams are done on the inside of the garment. Can anyone offer me some guidance for seaming to ensure that these seams look great. I’ve sewn knitted garments together before but never with the inside-out look. I want to know the best way to line up the pieces, pin them and any tips on the actual sewing. The pattern says to use a backstitch. I really hate to pay $30 to attend a class on this. Thanks!!
Look up youtube videos of backstitch… much cheaper then paying for a class and you can look at it over and over again until you get it right
Maybe a 3 needle bind off or a crocheted seam would be good for this.
I wanted to provide a link to the pattern:
I did a search on ravelry for Leigh Radford, and recognized some of the projects I’ve done, the Knitted Bath Puffy and the Spiral Rib Bag.
Vogue Knitting illustrates a back stitch here, also shown is a slip stitch crochet seam that could work nicely for your top.
http://www.vogueknitting.com/pattern_help/how-to/beyond_the_basics/seaming.aspx
And this is a link to an embroidery page. It has an illustration of the back stitch that shows concisely how the stitch is to be worked. I think it is a little difficult to see that in the knitted pieces.
http://www.hemmadesign.com/the-embroidered-backstitch.html
The back stitch is a very easy stitch to work.
HTH
I was wondering if mattress stitch might be suitable?
I just viewed the video for the mattress stitch:
David, excellent suggestion 
OP would be able to determine how wide she would like these inside out seams to be, depending on how far inside of the edge she does her stitching, very clearly illustrated in the video. Although I’ve never used this stitch before, it looks to be a very simple and neat way to finish a seam.
mattress stitch is ‘invisible’ and doesn’t leave a ridge. (but you all know that).
The front of mattress stitch doesn’t show, doesn’t have a ridge, but there is a ridge on the back. If the point is to have that ridge on the RS, then seaming the WS will accomplish the goal.
http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/howto/archive/2009/04/10/mattress-stitch-tutorial-vertical-seams.aspx The back is shown in Step 11.
Claire thanks for the link showing the backstitch done on a knitted piece. The pattern calls for the backstitch because we want the seam allowance to show at both the front and the back center seams. What I’d love to know is how to ensure that you are going in a straight line. I tend to wobble off just a bit here and there as I seam and wouldn’t ordinarily want anyone seeing the seam job I’ve done. This time I’ve no choice so want to do a very good job at this. Thanks for all the suggestions.
Hello DB – I completely understand your concern about wobbling. One of the reasons I learned to knit in the round was to avoid this very thing, no seaming, no wobbling. I have used a miner’s lamp (headlamp) to be able to see my yarn better, also, I use reading glasses and will double them up to get the magnification that I need. It is important to be able to see your yarn clearly while you are seaming.
Have you thought about using some swatches to practice? You could try out the back stitch, and the mattress stitch. After a bit of practice you will find out which technique works better for you and you will have the confidence to move forward with your project.
Happy :knitting:
Those are good ideas to help out with the wobble. It is a concern but if you watch the column of sts that you’re backstitching into, it’ll help keep the seam straight. This may also be a reason to use mattress stitch since you can see the columns of sts a little more easily and make a straight seam.
Is there some way to run a contrasting color thread along the line of stitches to be used in the back stitch? I’ve tried to do back stitch and gave it up as a lost cause, for me it wasn’t easy. I’d still like to learn to do it.
The pattern actually calls for the center (center front & center back) to show. So I will attempt the backstitch for this but hoped to get some sort of knitters secret on how to ensure the line is straight. Maybe I’ll baste it first rather than pin.
Basting along the seamline is a very good idea. I don’t think following a line of sts will be such a problem once you get started.