Seams can be a divisive topic in the hand knitting world. Many knitters avoid them because, if they’d wanted to hand sew, they’d embroider or do dressmaking instead. Still more enjoy seamless knitting patterns because they’re familiar. Others aren’t keen because they’ve yet to master the technique. And many other knitters enjoy the ease and mindfulness of hand finishing, or the satisfaction of pulling up the yarn on several mattress stitches. (I love it too!)
This perceived division is a shame, and unnecessary. Seams exist to do an important job in the world of apparel. They’re given a lot of credit for structure and stability, but it’s equally important to consider why — and what constitutes a seam. Not all of them are hand sewn. And for me, this “why” has a lot to do with what it takes for a design to work — both aesthetically and structurally. Whatever form they take, seams are architectural support beams to place where needed.
A Designer’s Manifesto: Why I Keep Seams in My Patterns
There’s a time and a place for seams. I will eliminate or substitute them for other techniques, e.g., three-needle cast-off, picking up stitches along an edge, if doing so makes the design equitable and accessible without compromising on beauty. This is as far as my standards are concerned, though.
There are five reasons why I often keep them:
I love texture and lace. The vast majority of these patterns are either strongly directional or look much better when knitted bottom-up.
My approach to knitwear design is a fusion of two apparel specialisms. I love tailoring, and this is far easier to do — in many cases only possible — when a garment is in pieces. My pattern cutting and dressmaking background means it’s much easier and more intuitive to recontextualise existing or tried-and-true techniques.
Seams often make my designs more accessible to different body shapes. If I need to give more specific fitting advice and direction, it’s much easier to do this piece by piece. It’s also less overwhelming for knitters who NEED tailoring, are new to it, or have several alterations or complex fitting needs.
I want 100% creative freedom and power. That involves not stifling myself or cutting myself off from ideas or designs that could be a knitter’s dream come true.
I can’t please everyone, nor do I want to. This means that many knitters will automatically pass on my work. But it also means that knitters who have identified themselves as seam lovers, willing to take on any type of construction, open to learning how to seam, or have learned through experience that one-piece is not for them, will find a home with me. Maybe even occasional visits from knitters willing to make an exception for one or two of my pieces! But regardless of which camp they fall into, I avoid a trap. Not trying to suit everyone in the first place means that I can do even better for my community of customers.
The Fit Standpoint: When Seamless Methods Just Aren’t Enough
I’ve noticed a couple of general misbeliefs here. The first is that a good fit can be achieved entirely through seamless methods, and that seams don’t contribute much to the design’s success. The second is that seams are non-negotiable for providing structure and stability, especially in set-in sleeve designs. They offer the most tailored and flattering silhouette.
My personal take is that this depends entirely on your body shape and knowledge of your personal measurements. Mapping is crucial, because some bodies need more tailoring than others. That’s it. If you suit draped designs or items knitted in one piece with relatively little shaping, you’ll be able to take or leave seams, depending on your styling preferences and what you want to learn. But if your shape is more nuanced, e.g.,
- You find it difficult to to fit your breasts/stomach and shoulders, or breasts and waist without adapting the pattern.
- Your trousers gape at the waist, strain at the thighs, or do both simultaneously.
- You often find yourself blending sizes and wondering where on earth to put the stitch markers (never mind how many) when knitting seamless garments.
…Then bodies like yours are the reason why tailoring techniques and seams exist.
Draping: The Unexpected Imposter
The Illusion of ‘Try-As-You-Go’ and the Reality of Draping
There are simply too few opportunities to work meaningful or targeted shaping into a relatively unstructured piece of fabric that’s being constructed in situ. That’s what you’re doing when you work from seamless knitting patterns. When you take a length of cloth, fling it over a mannequin, and sculpt organically, things change. You can create pleats, cascades, waterfalls, and other wonderful fabric manipulations via draping. This doesn’t work for knitting because you can’t do this on the fly. You need both form and material in quantity.
Being able to try things on as you go also fails in this context, and for the same reason. You can’t fit with draping-inspired construction methods unless the fabric is already there to work with. You need a large quantity of fabric to fully judge how it responds to the body within it. And if not that, then patience, trial, and error. That’s the case regardless of whether there are seams or not.
Conclusion: Empower Your Knitting with Structural Skills
There are sound reasons for seamed knitting patterns, seamless knitting patterns, and equally valid reasons why some knitters dislike them. They’re not a hill to die on either way. But if you’re a seam avoidant, make sure that you’re not making a disempowering decision. Learn the skills you need to learn for YOU. If the evidence shows that being good at seaming is to your long-term advantage, don’t let frustration and fear keep you from knitting the garments of your dreams.
Yes yes yes yes 😀
I have questions about seams vs 3 needle BO and applied icords re structure, but I’ll need to wait for a better brain day to formulate them 😅