How to sew live stitches to an edge?

[catownedanna]

I'm working on a baby sweater for my cousin's newborn. The pattern calls for knitting three pieces plus the two sleeaves. All peices are supposed to be bound off before they're sewn together.

Now, I'm not particularly fond of seaming... And the tries I've done so far aren't as neat as I'd like them to be.

I know I've seen instructions on how to attach sleeves with live stitches to the side of a piece and it looked way better than my tries with seaming. Does anyone know where I can find pictures on how to attach live stitches to a side?

Also, is there a reason not to use a three needle bind off on a baby sweater? That would mean two less seams to do for me but I'm wondering if the "edge" on the inside will be uncomfortable in any way for a small baby.

Thanks for your help! :D

[Ingrid]

I would definitely go with three needle bind off for the shoulders. I do it on all sweaters.

If you try to attach the live stitches of the sleeves to the side of the sweater, you're still going to have to sew them. A way to avoid seams is to pick up and knit stitches on the armhole and then knit the sleeve down.

I hated my seams, too, until I learned Mattress Stitch. It makes all the difference in seaming.

[catownedanna]

Thanks for your answers, Ingrid! :D

Ok, then I'll go for the three needle bind off on the shoulders. I couldn't really figure out why the pattern didn't call for it, but then again, not everyone seems to hate seaming...

Picking up stitches from the armhole and knitting the sleeve "upside down".... Yeh, that'd work. But...

To avoid having a seam in the sleeves I think I'll go with DPNS. I'm comfortable with them. But if I'm to pick up stitches from the armhole, would the best thing be to knit front and back, three needle the shoulders, put mattress stitches along the sides up to the armholes and then pick up stitches for the sleeves?

Or would it be too much hassle doing it that way? :thinking:

I've tried Mattress Stitches but only on the "wonky" pieces that was my first sweater ever. I hated it. But since, I've learnt to slip the first stitch on every row to make a nice edge and I hope that will make a big difference.

[Ingrid]

Yes, you're right, it would be best to do the body and have a round opening for the sleeve to knit it down. When I do mattress on vertical pieces like the sides, I use the first 'real' stitch rather than the edge. Looks so good!