It's All in the Details - A hat seaming tip tutorial from SICK 'LIL MONKEYS

It's All in the Details - A hat seaming tip tutorial from SICK 'LIL MONKEYS

By: Kelli Wohlgemuth

Cold weather is here!  I usually find myself amidst a flurry of hat orders rather than snowflakes!  When I get these requests the "seams" down the side of the hats always drive me insane.  I like a really smooth finished product!

AT some point along your crocheting journey, I am sure you have learned several ways of seaming hats.  This tutorial will discuss four seaming methods, and give you photos to compare each.  

The photo above shows you four newborn hats made with the same number of stitches, the same size hook, and from the same skein of yarn.  The bottom two photos are my favorite ways to seam, I think they are the least noticeable.  (Updated 3/10/2016: There is a fifth method I learned after writing this post called a "standing DC".  My favorite tutorial for that is here by Moogly Blog:  http://www.mooglyblog.com/standing-double-crochet-joining/) No one wants their beautiful work detracted from with a bulky or noticeable seam.

1. Using the beginning chain as a stitch:

This is method that has been around forever.  In this old fashion method you join each round to the top of the beginning Chain in your round.  For example:

R1: In a magic circle, Ch 3, 9 dc, pull circle closed, join to the top of the beginning ch 3 with a SL ST (1o ST)

R2: Ch 3, dc in same st as ch3, 9 dc inc, join to the top of the beginning ch 3 with sl st (20 ST)

As you can see this method leaves a noticeable gap between the seam.

2. Ignoring the beginning chain.

This is a newer method of seaming.  When seaming like this, you always place your first stitch in the same stitch as your beginning chain.  Then at the end of the round, you join to the first stitch you made instead of joining to the chain.  So essentially, you are not counting the chain at all, you use it get "step" you hook up to the height of your first stitch and then forget it ever existed.  Ignore it completely.  Do not even use it for your stitch counts.  For example:

R1: In a magic circle, Ch 3, 10 dc, pull circle closed, join to 1st dc with a sl st (1o ST)

R2: Ch 3, 10 dc inc, join to 1st dc with a sl st (20 ST)

This at least eliminates the hole that our first method created, BUT it also creates a new problem.....a bulky noticeable seem.  So though it looks better than our first try, let's check out a few more.

3. Working in the round continuously with no join

This method is just something I never thought to do until I picked up a free pattern a little while back.  In this method you leave out the slip stitch and join, and just continuously crochet around, there for eliminating any seam at all.  The drawback to this method id you must keep with stitch markers, or count every stitch in each round to keep track of where you are.  For example:

R1: In a magic circle, Ch 3, 10 dc, pull circle closed, use st marker after last st of each round , join to first dc with a tight dc (10 ST)

R2: dc in same st as joining dc, dc inc in each st around, (20 ST)

4. Decreasing the chain, then ignoring it. 

This is very similar to method #2 (Ignoring the chain).  The one difference is you will decrease the regular number of starting chains.  So, for a DC round you would chain 2 rather than chaining 3.  .  The reason for lessening the number of beginning chains is that the beginning chain is used to "step" the hook up to the same height as the first stitch you will be doing.  When you are making a hat and working in the round, the "slope" of the hat decreases the height that chain needs to be.  Therefore, when you use a chain 3 for example with a double crochet, you wind up with a bulky stitch that sticks out awkwardly along the side.  A chain 2 with a double crochet will look much smoother. 

I hope these tips help get you started to flawlessly seamed hats this fall and winter. 

Happy Hookin'!

Kelli XOXO

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