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How to Sew a Mattress Stitch Seam

July 11, 2017 By Jennifer Renaud 4 Comments

The first seaming technique that most crocheters learn is the whipstitch. While whipstitching has a time and a place, the Mattress Stitch Seam has become my go-to technique when seaming panels of crocheted fabric together. Below, I’ll share with you why!

 

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Here are a few of the reasons I love the mattress stitch seam:

  • The seam is nearly invisible!
  • The seam is flat (as opposed to a slip stitch seam which creates a ridge).
  • You can seam two pieces of crocheted fabric that may not be the same exact length simply by evenly distributing the slack over the length of the seam. The result is a seam without a pucker (as long as there isn’t a huge difference in length between the two pieces). This is the main reason I used this technique for my Urban Crossover Pullover (click here to see the design).
  • The edges you seam do not have to be the bottom or tops of stitches. You can seam raw edges of the sides of rows.

 

While there are many tutorials out there for the mattress stitch seam, I wanted to share with you my version. It differs a little from most others you’ll find in that I work on the Right Side of the fabric and I insert my yarn needle differently. This is a personal preference, and in my opinion, makes the most invisible seam.

 

The most recent design that I used the mattress stitch seam on is my Cool Stripes Bag, shown below. You can find the Free Crochet Pattern here: Cool Stripes Bag

 

Free Crochet Pattern - Cool Stripes Bag by A Crocheted Simplicity

 

Mattress Stitch Seam Tutorial

The mattress stitch is the most common technique used to sew panels together. It’s a simple technique and I’ll give you a couple of tips to help make it easier. This is my favorite technique to use to seam crocheted pieces together because the finished seam is nearly invisible!

TIP #1: As you’re sewing your seams, make sure to stop every couple inches and pull both ends of your yarn to tighten the seam. If you wait until you’re done sewing and then try to pull the ends through the entire length of the seam, you may end up with gaps or puckers.

TIP #2: Use several stitch markers when suggested. The stitch markers not only hold pieces together temporarily, they also help guide you to seam things, such as sleeves, evenly.

Tip #3: The most important thing to remember about this technique is to insert your yarn needle the same direction on both panels that you’re seaming. If you insert from bottom to top on the left side, make sure to insert bottom to top on the right side and vice versa (I prefer to insert my yarn needle from bottom to top). See photos and instructions below.

Tip #4: Insert your yarn needle through the middle of the stitch, not around it. By working in the middle of stitches, you can conceal the seam much more than working around stitches. Working around stitches may create small gaps.

 

Let’s Try working a Mattress Stitch Seam!

Using a piece of yarn, 2 – 3 times the length of the seam to be made, and a yarn needle, use the mattress stitch technique to sew a seam in your next crocheted project!

How to: Mattress Stitch Seam Tutorial for your crocheted items - by A Crocheted Simplicity

Insert your yarn needle from bottom to top, through a stitch on the left. Insert your yarn needle from bottom to top, through a stitch on the right. Insert your yarn needle from bottom to top, through a stitch on the left.

How to: Mattress Stitch Seam Tutorial for your crocheted items - by A Crocheted Simplicity

Continue working back and forth creating a zig zag with the yarn between the panels. After you’ve created a zig zag about an inch long, pull on both ends of your yarn to tighten the seam.

Once you have worked the entire length of the seam to be made, pull both ends of the yarn to make sure your seam is tight, fasten off, and weave in all ends.

Voila, your seam is complete!

 

Seaming, no matter which technique you are using, takes a little practice and maybe a tad more patience, but this skill is an excellent one to add to your crochet toolbox! And I hope it quickly becomes your favorite. 😉

 

Find all of my FREE crochet patterns HERE


Are you intimidated by crocheted cables? Would you love to learn more? Take an Annies Video Class with me and let me ease your fears of crocheted cables! Click on the photo below to watch a free preview. You can also see the other 2 classes I have available! (affiliate link)

Modern Classic Cabled Afghan Online Video Class with Instructor Jennifer Pionk of A Crocheted Simplicity


Please share your finished ACS projects with me in the A Crocheted Simplicity Crochet Community Group on Facebook!

Happy Crocheting!

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© Copyright 2021 Jennifer Renaud aka A Crocheted Simplicity. All Rights Reserved. All designs, posts, videos and images are property of Jennifer Renaud and are my own original work. No parts may be reproduced, altered, or distributed in any form, or by any means, without express written permission from Jennifer Renaud. If you want to share this information with someone, share the link to this post. If you want to share on your own blog / website, then you may use the first photo in this post and link back to this post. You may not give away printed copies of this post. Thank you.

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Comments

  1. Heather Navarro

    April 7, 2018 at 10:52 am

    I was so excited to see you had a tutorial but I cannot tell what you are doing in the pictures. A video tutorial would be so helpful.

    Reply

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