I’m an active member of the Yarniacs Podcast group on Ravelry and lately we’ve had some discussions about sewing seams in sweaters versus knitting sweaters in the round without seams. Some new knitters have never knit a sweater in pieces. I feel so old when I tell them that this is how I learned to knit! We used straight needles and knit back and forth and then sewed the pieces together. I’m not saying that one method is better than the other – each have their place depending on the garment you are making.

This is not a new discussion. In 2013 I designed a sweater that was designed to be knit in pieces and seamed. I realized then that this might be a stumbling block for knitters so I created a how-to document to teach people how to make beautiful and strong seams. In my previous blog (now retired) I had this document available for readers to download so it’s about time I put it back up there for anyone to use.

You can find the document here.

I explain how to sew vertical seams, horizontal seams and mixed vertical to horizontal seams (sewing in sleeves for example). I also show how to pick up stitches for necklines (or for sleeves in some patterns).

I had intended to use this document as a teaching guide but I never ended up teaching this class. Now, 8 years on, there are YouTube videos and online classes that will show you these techniques and my little document is just one of thousands of resources out there. But everyone learns differently and maybe this will be helpful to you.

Let me know if you have questions about sewing seams in your knitwear. I’m happy to help. I don’t want this technique to become a dying art! Seams have a function that can’t be replaced by any other method of knitting (see the document to find out more!).

Enjoy!