Joining and seams · Easy
Joining squares
To join crochet squares, lay them out in their final order, then join one pair of edges at a time, stitch for stitch. Three common joins are the whip stitch, sewn with a yarn needle, and the slip stitch and single crochet (UK double crochet) joins, worked with the hook.
How to work it
Lay out and line up
Arrange all the squares flat in the order you want. Then take two neighbors and line up the edges that meet, so that every stitch on one edge has a partner on the other. Join the squares into rows first, then join the rows to each other. Steps 2 to 4 are three different joins: choose one of them and use it for every seam.
Way 1: whip stitch join
Thread a yarn needle. Hold the two edges together, pass the needle through the first stitch of both squares, and pull the yarn through. Do the same in every pair of stitches, with the needle always going the same way. Seen flat, the join is a row of short slanting stitches. It adds very little bulk.
Way 2: slip stitch join
Put a slip knot on the hook. Push the hook through the first stitch of both squares, yarn over, and pull through both squares and the loop on the hook. Repeat in each pair of stitches. The join is a chain-like line on the side that faces you as you work. On the other side it lies flatter and shows far less.
Way 3: single crochet join
Work as for the slip stitch join, but make a single crochet in each pair of stitches. The stitches stand on the join as a ridge, taller and wider than a slip stitch line. Makers choose it when the ridge is wanted, as a frame round every square.
At a glance
- Used for
- granny square blankets; pillows, bags and garments made of squares; any piece built from motifs with straight edges
- Which faces go together
- A crocheted join forms its ridge on the side that faces you as you work. With the wrong sides of the squares together, the ridge ends up on the front of the blanket. With the right sides together, it ends up on the back. The pattern says which is meant.
- Which loops
- The plain way is under both loops of each stitch. Some joins take one loop of each stitch only, which makes a flatter join. The pattern says which.
- Yarn
- A join in the color of the squares hardly shows. A join in another color is there to be seen.
- How flat it lies
- A sewn join lies flat. A slip stitch join is slightly raised. A single crochet join is a clear ridge.
- Join as you go
- A fourth way joins each square to its neighbors while its own last round is being worked. It depends on the pattern of the square and is not shown here.
Squares join most readily when they have the same number of stitches along each edge, so that every stitch has a partner. Blocking the squares first brings them to one size and makes the edges easier to line up.
Each join has its own look: a sewn join that sits flat, a slip stitch line, or a single crochet ridge that turns the seams into a grid. A sewn join needs a needle. A crocheted join never puts the hook down.
Tips
- Work a crocheted join loosely. Slip stitches are easy to pull too tight, and a slip stitch seam has little give.
- On a long edge, clip the two squares together at both ends and in the middle before you join.
When it goes wrong
- My seam puckers.
- The stitches of the join are too tight. Work them more loosely, or sew the seam with a whip stitch, pulled snug and no tighter.
- One square runs out of stitches before the other.
- Count the stitches along both edges before you start. Where the counts differ a little, hold the edges together at both ends and in the middle, and ease the longer edge in between.
Questions
- How do I join granny squares with single crochet?
- Hold two squares with their wrong sides together, put the hook through a stitch of both, and work a single crochet. Repeat in every pair of stitches along the edge. The ridge stands on the front.
- Do I join squares with the right sides or the wrong sides together?
- It depends on where the join should show. A crocheted join shows on the side that faces you as you work it, so wrong sides together puts it on the front and right sides together hides it on the back.
- Which join lies flattest?
- A sewn one. Whip stitch and mattress stitch add the least bulk, while crocheted joins are raised.
- Do I need a needle?
- Not for a slip stitch or single crochet join, which are worked with the hook. A whip stitch and a mattress stitch are sewn.
- Can I join hexagons the same way?
- Yes. The same joins work for shapes that are not square. Hexagons are joined side to side just as squares are: sewn, joined with slip stitches, or joined as you go while the last round is worked.