How to: mattress seam stitch

To join two pieces of stocking stitch fabric, a classic backstitch is generally a good option. However, there is an alternative technique called mattress or ladder stitch that works particularly well on straight side seams, and is less bulky than backstitch.

1. If you don't have a piece of tail yarn to work with, cut a piece of matching yarn, thread it onto a darning needle and run the yarn horizontally through five or six stitches along the WS edge of the knitting. If you have a length of tail yarn to work with ignore this step.

2. Turn the work so that the right sides are facing you. Hold the work in the LH with he Vs of each stitch running horizontally from right to left. Insert the darning needle under a stitch on the piece of knitting closest to you (the front piece), as near to the corner of the work as possible.

3. Draw up the yarn and take the thread into the corner of the piece furthest away from you, going from front to back.

4. Draw up the yarn again. As you look at the knitting, the knitted stitches run from right to left. If you look carefully you will see a strand of yarn, almost hidden, at the base of the V of each stitch. Insert the darning needle from right to left under this strand, on the front piece of fabric.

5. At this stage, draw up the yarn but leave it a little loose. Take the bodkin under the strand at the base of the V on the back fabric.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until five or six stitches have been worked. Note how the stitches form a ladder of stitches along the seam.

7. Draw up the yarn so that the edges meet neatly without puckering.

8. Continue in this way until the seam has been completed. Finish with two small stitches as per Step 1. Cut the yarn leaving a short tail for darning in later.