The Mattress Stitch – Invisible Seam

In this Crochet 101 article, we’re going to go through a quick tutorial on how to use the Mattress Stitch to make an invisible seam on your crochet (and knitting) projects. 

There are a few different methods for the Mattress Stitch, but this is the one that works best for us! It’s a little fiddly, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be cruising along. 

We’ll be seaming a beanie along the edge of the first and final row. You’ll need a metal tapestry needle with a bit of a point to pierce the stitches. 

In this tutorial, the Mattress Stitch is worked right to left.

If you look at the edge of the crocheted piece, you will see that the stitches look like little V’s on their side (crocheters usually think of them as the front and back loops).

The point or the tip of the V is where 1 stitch connects to the next.

In the photo, we have labelled the V’s and the arrows point to the ‘tips’.

To create an invisible seam, we will be inserting our tapestry needle through the tip of the V rather than under one of the loops of the stitch.

Think of putting the needle into the middle of the 1st stitch, and then out the middle of the next stitch. This hides the seam! 

Thread your tail onto a tapestry needle. We’d suggest using a metal needle with a bit of a point on it. 

Hold your work with the wrong sides together.

Carefully line up the stitches.

In our example (The Rind Beanie), the tail is already attached to the bottom piece.

Insert the needle under BOTH loops of the first stitch piece on the top (the side without the tail).

Pull the yarn through.

Locate the tip of the V for the 1st / last stitch on the bottom piece.

Insert the needle right to left, piercing the tip of the V.

The needle will be entering the 1st stitch (right) and exiting the 2nd stitch (left).

Pull through, but leave a little slack (i.e. don’t pull your stitch tight yet).

Repeat into the tip of the V of the 1st stitch on the top.

Insert the needle right to left, piercing the tip of the V.

The needle will be entering the 1st stitch (right) and exiting the 2nd stitch (left).

Pull through, but leave a little slack (i.e. don’t pull your stitch tight yet).

Continue sewing in the same way: piecing the tip of the V on the bottom piece and then the top piece, alternating between the two.

Make sure that you keep your edges lined up and that you’re careful to work into the next stitch all the way along (i.e. 1st stitch on bottom to first stitch on top, 2nd stitch on bottom to 2nd stitch on top, etc).

After 5 or so stitches, pull your yarn tight, and the stitches will disappear!

If you’ve lined everything up properly, the seam will be practically invisible!

Don’t forget to weave in the end on the wrong side. 

This seam works great for granny squares or anything where you need to join two sides with visible stitches.

You can also use it to seam the sides of pieces, but you need to carefully line up your rows and work into the edges rather than through the V’s.

If you want get your needle into a project, why not try The Rind Beanie?

This beanie is crocheted in rounds and rows – starting with the crown and working in rows of Lemon Peel stitch. The ribbed brim is also worked at the same time as the rest of the body. There’s only 1 seam in this bad boy. But be warned: this is an Intermediate+ design and requires you to check gauge to make sure your beanie will fit.

Available on Ravelry and Etsy.