Seams to me

Leslie Stahlhut

Much of my fiber work that past week has been focused on unraveling large tangles of yarn that include partial skeins, pieces of projects that were never completed, and various crochet experiments that worked or didn’t.

Here is some of the yarn that I reclaimed as a result of these efforts:

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Two multi-color scrap yarn balls

After I had started on the multi-hued yarn ball on the left, I decided that the longer yarn scraps might be easier to use if future yarn balls were organized by color. This was the result:

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A rainbow of balls of yarn scraps

But I didn’t just discover varying lengths of yarn bits. I also found a number of crocheted pieces that I began with the best of intentions and for which I have, as yet, found no specific purpose.

Such was the case with these Nana squares:

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Eight Nana Squares discovered while sorting through various yarn tangles

Since several people have asked me how I joined the Nana Squares I used in the Little Boy Blue blanket, I decided that a photo tutorial of the whip stitch I used to join them would be a good use of the squares. (There colors of the squares changes based on which had the best photo of the instruction described in the text).

Step 1. Place the two pieces to be joined with right sides together:

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Place the two pieces to be joined with the right (aka front) sides together

Thread the yarn through your yarn needle of choice (Clover yarn needles are my favorite):

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Yarn needle threaded with yarn for making the whip stitch

Next, insert the threaded needle under both loops of the corresponding stitches of the two pieces being joined:

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Yarn needle inserted under both loops of both corresponding stitches

Pull through and because this is the first stitch of the row, repeat the process to firmly anchor your join at the corner:

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Yarn needle inserted under both loops of both corresponding stitchesYarn needle inserted under both loops of both corresponding stitches

Continue working whip stitches across the edge being joined by inserting the needle through both loops of both squares:

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To make the next stitch, insert the yarn needle through both loops of the stitch on the first square

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and then through both loops of the corresponding stitch of the second square

Continue in this manner until you reach the last stitch of the row. As you did with the first stitch, run the yarn through a second time to create a secure join.

The whip stitch is a joining technique that works best when the pieces are of similar gauge and the when there is a one-to-one correspondence in the number of stitches being joined; the resulting seam will be relatively flat, and if you use a joining yarn that is the color of one of the elements being joined, the whip stitch seam can appear to be seamless

While many crocheters try to avoid this kind of piece work and look for short cuts or out right evasions, I find the the time and focus the whip stitch requires only adds to the charm of my beloved craft.