How to Seam Garter Stitch

Garter stitch is an unsung (by many people) workhorse of knitting. It’s so easy to knit and quite meditative, and I love the chunky texture of the waves of garter stitch ridges.

But just because it’s easy doesn’t mean everything about it is simple.

Take knitting in the round, for instance. When you knit every stitch of every row flat, you get garter stitch, but knit every stitch of every round in the round? Stockinette stitch.

To make garter stitch when knitting in the round, you have to knit a round and purl a round. Most knitters like to work in the round to avoid purling, so this isn’t a great option.

(It is possible, though. I did this on a big cowl I knit many years ago.)

In addition to the purling being annoying, it’s also not ideal because switching between knits and purls at the beginning of each round makes a jog, much like the jog you get when you change colors knitting in the round. This little blip almost looks like a seam.

So why not just knit a project flat and seam it? That eliminates the problem of having to purl, and at least theoretically your sewn seam could be less visible than the faux seam of a project worked in rounds.

I say theoretically because I feel like people don’t learn how to seam garter stitch as regularly as we teach mattress stitch. Maybe that has to do with people abandoning garter stitch as soon as they learn how to purl? I don’t know.

Seaming garter stitch seems like it might be more difficult, too, because you don’t have those neat little vs to work into. But it’s not difficult once you know what you need to do.

I broke it all down in this tutorial about how to seam garter stitch. Because I used multicolored yarn the seam is more visible than it would be in a solid color, but that lets you see exactly what’s happening. And once you know what you’re doing you’ll have unlocked a whole new world of options for knitting garter stitch.

Do you love garter stitch as much as I do or do you tend to avoid it? I’d love to hear your thoughts. And check out some garter stitch knitting patterns if you’re inspired to knit more garter stitch now.

I love the look of mesh tops for summer, but I don’t know that I would ever actually wear one that’s full of giant holes, even though I admit they look cool (in both senses of the word) on other people.

What I would wear, though, is something that’s still lacy but maybe a little bit more subdued, like this chevron lace knit top from Yarnspirations.

This easy to knit T-shirt style top is worked flat in two pieces from the bottom up, using and easy lace pattern that’s a repeat of 10 stitches and four rows (though the wrong side rows are just purled, so there’s only two rows you need to learn the pattern on).

It has little cap sleeves that are worked as part of the top by casting on stitches where you need them.

If you’re new to lace knitting this is a good one to try because the pattern includes both written and charted instructions, and the only skills you need are yarn over, knit two together, slip slip knit and slip 1 knit 2 together pass the slipped stitch over (which makes a centered decrease).

There are four size options available (which they claim is enough to cover XS to 5XL), with finished chest measurements ranging from 38.5 inches (that’s 98 cm) to 59 inches, or 150 cm. The amount of ease would vary widely depending on your size and the size garment you choose. For example the largest size is said to fit a chest measurement from 5258 inches/132-147.4 cm, which gives you a range of ease from 1-7 inches, or 2.5 to 17.78 cm, depending on your size. Just something to be aware of when you think about how you want it to fit.

The project calls for Red Heart Cotton Breeze yarn, which isn’t a yarn I’ve tried yet, but it’s a DK weight acrylic and cotton blend, which should make a lightweight top that’s great for summer.

Grab the free pattern from Yarnspirations.

[Photo: Yarnspirations]

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