How to Seam Your Crochet for Flawless Joins

After you’ve completed your pattern, there’s one thing you’ve got to do: seam your crochet. It’s an essential step for most crochet projects, but can be a little intimidating whether you’re seaming a complex cardigan or joining simple granny squares. Take a deep breath — with these tips, seaming can be way more stress-free.

1. Block Beforehand

You might be tempted to seam your project right after your final stitch, but put that urge on hold. Seaming is so much easier if you block your crochet first. Because blocking helps your crochet fabric relax and even out, it makes lining up the pieces for a garment or blanket oh-so-simple, and spares you from tugging your project. Plus, blocking gives your hands a much-needed rest while the fabric soaks and dries.

2. Get Matchy-Matchy

Sometimes the yarn you use for your project isn’t ideal for seaming — this can happen if it’s too textured or if the yarn breaks easily. For a professional-looking piece, find a yarn for seaming that’s not only sturdy and flexible, but matches whatever it is you’re working on. After all, the seaming strand in crochet is often visible on the finished piece, so you want the yarns to match as much as possible.

3. Know Your Seam Stitches

There are a few different stitches you can use to seam your crochet. While some are decorative and dependent on your fabric pattern, there are two popular choices for everyday seaming: mattress stitch and whip stitch.

Mattress stitch is nearly invisible and therefore very popular. Whip stitch is speedy and, when worked through the seams, nearly as invisible as mattress stitch. But if you’re working around the post of your stitches, it’s much more visible.

Pro Tip: To see video tutorials of whip stitch, mattress stitch and more seaming techniques, check out our class, Seaming Crochet.

4. Work on a Flat Surface

If you crochet while sitting on the couch, you may want to hop up when seaming to avoid getting a crick in your neck. Instead, lay your pieces on a flat surface, where you can spread ’em out and have plenty of room to work. When the fabric is flat, the stitches will be a cinch to line up and seam.