Garter stitch and me

Garter stitch and me

Garter stitch, that most basic of all knit stitch patterns, is not one of my favorites. It's true that it helps a lot when you want to avoid a rolling edge or when you need a dense, warm fabric. But it's still pretty boring to do. And besides that I always have a hard time when I have to assemble a garment that has garter stitch anywhere in it.

Today I had a new student who needed to put together her granddaughter's garter stitch sweater. Fortunately I had my copy of Nancie Wiseman's The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques with me. I think this is the first time I've ever understood how to use mattress stitching to do this. It's so much simpler than I thought it was. And it looks a lot better than the backstitch seams I usually used on garter stitch.

Garter stitch might just become my new best friend. Umm. Probably not.