Sewing up knitting or crochet with an invisible stitch.

Hello! Would you like to know how I join all the seams of my knitting and crochet?

You would?! That's great. I hope the following instructions are clear enough, and that they help you. The invisible stitch I am using, is also known as the 'ladder stitch', because the line of yarn joining your work, looks like a ladder, before it has been pulled taught.

In these instructions, I'm joining up the squares of my 'Little Squares Scarf'. (The instructions for making the squares are in a seperate tutorial).

Right, here goes!

Having lined up your middle squares of the first row ready to be sewn up, thread your needle with some yarn.  Use yarn that is thinner than the yarn used to make your square. I used DK yarn to make my square, so, to sew the squares together, I'm using 4-ply yarn.

Although I have four squares in each row of my scarf, I am going to start by sewing up the centre of the middle two rows of squares.

Make sure your squares are all lying with the right side, (the front), facing up. Then take up the right hand square of your first row.

1. Now I'd like you to put your needle  up and through the bar, on the edge of the BOTTOM LEFT hand side of that square, as I've done in the photo above.

Above is another photo, to try and make it extra clear.

In the photo above, you can see what I've just done.

2. Now take hold of the next square in this row, the one to the left of your first square.

This time, you will be taking your needle up and through the bar, in the chain that is at bottom RIGHT hand side of your square.

You can see what I've just done, in the picture above.

Now I'd like you to keep your squares flat on your work surface for the rest of your joining up.

3. Take your needle through and up the side of the chain, as before, on the edge of the next stitch, of your RIGHT hand square. The square you worked into first.

Sometimes it's difficult to find that 'bar' on the edge of your crochet, so as you can see in the photo above, I have just gone through and up, the outer edge of the next chain up, in that square.

Above you can see how your stitch is starting to look. It won't be 'invisible' yet, that comes soon!

4. Next I'd like you to take your yarn up and through the edge of the chain stitch, above the last one you went through, in your second square.

Perhaps the above picture will make what you've just done, clearer.

5. Now carry on repeating the instructions I've just given you, all the way up the sides of your squares, till you reach the top of each side.

Now for the fun bit, making your stitches invisible!

Take hold of the yarn hanging out the bottom of your 'ladder', running up the middle of your two squares. Hold that firmly.

Now you can start pulling gently on the yarn emerging from the top of your ladder.

Like above!

Ta-da! That ladder has disappeared! Well, you can see a bit of the yarn I'm using to sew up, if you peer closely, but I think it's largely invisible.

I love this bit, when the stitch goes 'invisible'.

Anyway, lets carry on joining squares shall we?!

I'd like you to repeat stages 1 to 5.

Do exactly as you did with the first two squares.

Till you get to the top of your next set of squares, as above.

Now do your 'making the stitches invisible' bit, by pulling. Just make sure the bottom part of the yarn is held firmly in place.

You can always hold your squares as above, so that when you pull the top stitches, you don't runkle up the stitches below.

And there we have it, another row formed! Well done, you're doing brilliantly! You've mastered the 'invisible stitch'!

For the purposes of this tutorial, I'm just going to demonstrate how to put together a small section of the 'Little Squares Scarf'.

So now we're going to do the outer two rows of the scarf.

Basically, just follow stages 1 to 5, exactly as you did with the middle row.

My scarf consists of four squares wide. And in my scarf, all the outer squares are only sewn on one side, to allow them to be flappy.

Like above.

So when you come to sew up the horizontal lines, make sure you start and finish with the middle two squares only, otherwise your outer squares won't flap.

As with the vertical rows, repeat stages 1 to 5, remembering to start at the edge of the second square in, as above.

Carry on to the edge of the next square, and finish at the edge of that square.

Do your pulling of the yarn thingamy-bob, where you make the stitches invisible.

And there you have it! One section of your scarf is complete! Well done.

Here's a picture of me in my scarf, just to give you an idea of how it looks on, with its 'flappy' edges.

I hope you enjoy making and joining up your scarf, working with all that colour is a joy! And of course, it's great to wear it too!

Comments

[Mary Grace McNamara]

Wow! The colors on this scarf are fantastic! And I love that you used just the tiny middle of a granny for your blocks! Fabulous tutorial on sewing them together too...much better finished look than the typical whip stitch. Nice job!

MGM

[Helen]

Love your tutorials ... so helpful, and so pretty! thank you ;o)

[frances]

Another fabulous tutorial extravaganza! I bet that there are already lots of colorful little squares being crocheted all over the world.

And...that Valentine's Day celebrating also looked pretty fabulous. A man who knows how to cook and to bake. WoW.

I also wanted to let you know I finally finished the pom pom trim for the slippers I made using your pattern. I am going to post a picture, and tell everyone where to find the easy to follow pattern ... over here at your place.

Cheers. xo

[Belisa]

Thank you very much for this tutorial... and I love your beatiful scarf... :)

Grate blog!

[Louise(woolfish)]

love the blog and scarf and everything you do. you are an inspiration

[Jenni]

Beautiful tutorial and very easy to follow, love the look of the scaft....it is on my list of things to make! Thank you :-)

[Vicky]

I wish I'd read this post before I started making up my 'circle in a square' blanket! What a gorgeous scarf as well! x

[ilsa]

I love your scarf. I also love the invisible stitching! I also love your illustrations. Your blog is fabulous!

[Alice Best]

fantastic! thankyou for that tutorial! I'm so excited by this scarf I think I'm going to have to make one... but perhaps for next winter as I have about 10 WIPs for now!!!

[Susanne]

Oh how cute is this pattern! It is a great way to use up all of those bits of yarn. I love patchwork. Another great thing about this is that you can take it in your purse and work on it just about anywhere. Thank you for sharing.

[n janane]

(((((BRILLIANT)))) I'm learning sooo much. Thank you.

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[me.yahoo.com/a/6Wao7fhxkodKoGWvIt9ZlMuRyiGt5do-]

hi :) i just started working up this pattern! but before i get too far i wanted to make sure i understood this correctly. when sewing up all the little squares at the end do you make a bunch of sections and stitch all those together? or is it somehow possible to use one single piece of string all the way up?

[MeredithJean]

Great tutorial and lovely finished scarf. It so appeals to my inner child - I would have stared and marvelled for ages if you had been on my bus wearing it when I was 7. Thank you for sharing.

[hickory]

great photos! I've always done this type of seam for knitting, but never quite knew what to do with crochet and so it always looked sloppy. Can't wait to try this :-)

[Asha Lewis]

This site is great! I am a beginner to crochet, although I have been knitting since childhood. I was thinking about joining squares, say for a blanket, by crocheting them, perhaps with a contrasting colour. Is this usually done, or is it always sewn. What stich would be best for crocheting together? Thanks for your advice and your great site.

[Leticia]

Oh my This is waonderful!

[Nike Jordan]

I'm not concerned about all hell breaking loose, but that a PART of hell will break loose... it'll be much harder to detect.

[Esther]

I just love this scarf and it's so nifty how you joined the squares up. Thanx so much for explaining this.
Esther.

[Warpspeedlinda]

Wow I love your scarf...maybe one day I will make one...very nice. I love the way you sew them together! Great idea!

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Serious fan of the website, lots of your articles have truly helped me out. Awaiting up-dates!

[Claudia]

Thanks, I am making a granny-blanket for my baby and I did not know how to join the squares! I works perfect!

[keylogger Mac]

oh, I am not good at that

[Sara]

This is so super helpful! And I adore your little squares scarf. It must have took some patients joining all those little square. I think this would be helpful to lots of readers at Tangled Happy. Linking up tomorrow. Thanks for sharing this fabulous tutorial!

[Sandi]

I crocheted some blocks last year for a blanket for my granddaughter. I forgot how to stitch them together without all the extra yard showing. I will give this a try and hope I can finally put this project on the completed list. Thanks so much!

[Spunkyaviatrix]

That is very cool! I love that scarf, too! I'm going to have to try the technique and that cute scarf!

[Taylor]

This is much harder than you make it look. I gave up. I'm left with about 100 little colored squares.

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[wendy]

thank you for the tip and your scarf is stunning and so easy and moust try thank you for sharing... Hugs wendy

[Leanda]

I've been looking for a perfectly invisible join for ages! Thank you for sharing :)

[Hedwig]

Hi Vannessa,

Thank you so much for this pattern and all the "how-to's" that go with it!!!!
My mom just passed away and I got all her yarn,..and then I came on your blog (some how) and found your pattern!!
So now i am really working on all the little squares and making the scarf in memory of her..

So,.. thank you so much for sharing your scarf !!!!

Hedwig

[Nicole E Szabo]

I have a question about the very last step. How do you secure the invisible stitch one all the squares are joined?

Thanks!

[knitknitfrog]

I was gifted a scarf knit using your pattern and joined using your amazing tutorial. I am in awe both of the one who gifted me the scarf and of you, with the idea and the detailed clever tutorial. I'm a knitter and spinner ... so my awe is informed.
Thank you for making this available and I love my scarf. It was knitted by ShoeboxSally and featured on her blog.

[annie]

I love this scarf i just started one. For my little girl thanks for the inspiration

[خياطة وتفصيل]

very nice thank you so much

[celiabe]

Me encanto.Muchas gracias.celiabe de uruguay

[Law]

Very detailed illustration which made it easy to understand. Thanking for sharing!

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[Donna short]

Love your scarf pattern and the joining method. I'm thinking of using the pattern for making a preemie sized blanket.
I am making a few to donate.
Thanks
Donna Short