Now How Do I Finish? class

Seams can bedevil even the best knitter and make a great project merely good. Tame the beast now! In this class students will seam stockinette stitch, garter stitch, and ribbing in pattern. We’ll practice grafting for sock toes, and end with two different versions of three-needle bind off. If you have unfinished projects waiting to be seamed, this is the class to put those UFOs into the FOs pile.

Skill level is late beginner.
Prerequisites: Students should be able to knit, purl, and work in the round.

garter seam in progress

garter seam completed

What you will learn:
how to plan for success before you start
how to seam garter stitch
how to seam stockinette stitch (i.e. using mattress stitch)
how to seam 2×2 ribbing to stay in pattern
how to graft stockinette (Kitchener stitch)
how to work three-needle bind-off
how to work flat (Japanese) three-needle bind-off

Maximum 20 students.

½ day workshop

Students receive a handout in booklet form. There is no special project for this class.

No materials fee.

Homework: a swatch to be seamed (directions here).

mattress stitch seam in progress

mattress stitch seam completed

Supplies:

• homework swatch still on the needles
• blunt tapestry needle for sewing seams
• contrasting waste yarn
• crochet hook (optional but possibly helpful)
• optional: a UFO that needs to be seamed (the class might view it as an example)

I bring a stack of swatches showing what happens depending on pattern stitch or selvedge. I have sock toe swatches to comparing grafting over equal stitches, grafting over +/- 1 stitch, and using three-needle bind-off. Some of these are likely to surprise you. (Well, these experiments surprised me!)

No special needs for the room set up. A whiteboard or flip chart is nice to have but not need to have. I have a projector if the facilities can accommodate it. Room set-up should be tables and chairs either facing forward or in a U-shape.

rib seam in the ditch in progress

rib seam in the ditch completed

This class has been taught at
The Whole Nine Yarns, Woodstock GA;
South Carolina Knit Inn 2013, Greenville SC;
Atlanta Knitting Guild, November 2013, Atlanta GA;
Georgia Alpaca FiberFest 2014, Columbus GA;
Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair 2014, Fletcher NC;
Georgia FiberFest 2017, Columbus GA;
Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair 2018, Fletcher NC;
Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair 2021, Fletcher NC;
Carolina Fiber Fest 2022, Raleigh NC;
Dallas Fort-Worth Fiber Fest 2022;
Carolina Fiber Fest 2023, Raleigh NC;
Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival 2023, Berryville VA;
New York State Sheep and Wool Festival 2023, Rhinebeck NY (sold out).