joining

what to use

Using the yarn ends, mattress stitch together the sides of the squares using:

• Homelea Happy 10ply or a yarn that’s smaller than super chunky: a darning needle
• Homelea Bliss or a super chunky yarn: use fingers

If the yarn end isn’t long enough to do the full length of the join, cut a length of yarn the same colour and continue the join with the new piece of yarn.

how to do mattress stitch

Mattress stitch can feel a bit strange to start with, but its rhythmic movements soon become soothing. Doing the join somewhere flat (like on a table) is the easiest way to create a flat and even join.

How to do mattress stitch:

• starting from the centre of the join and going away from the join, put the needle or yarn end under a loop on one side of the join
• then starting from the centre of the join again and going away from the join in the opposite direction, put the needle or yarn end under a loop on the other side of the join

Helpful hint: alternate the needle between different hands when going from one side to the other.

Where to put the needle or yarn:

• if joining along the end of the rows: put the needle under 2 or 3 loops for each row (this is for treble (UK) / double (US) rows
• if joining along the foundation chain or last row: put the needle under the loop or leg of the V that’s facing up

Want the outside edge to be straight? When starting or finishing on the outside, loop the yarn through the corners of both squares so there isn’t a gap at the corners and the outside edge appears to be continuous.

join the sides of the squares together

join the top and bottoms of the squares together