PurlbedGarment making › Seams and linking
Linking trims and seams on the knitting machine (no linker)
A neat, stretchy seam or trim join that looks like a chain of loops along the edge, the same as a linker seam. A knitted neck trim sits on a cut-and-sewn neckline with the raw edge hidden inside. The knitting machine works as a linker.
- Single bed
Machine types that can knit it
Demo swatch
Drawn for: Single bed, no patterningApproximate preview worked out from the bed chart, not a photo.The join itself is made when the pieces are put together; the demo shows the loops along the edge.
Steps
- Trim onto a cut-and-sewn neckline:
- Stitch or overlock the cut neckline so it cannot ladder.
- Knit the trim; leave it on waste yarn or with its last row live.
- Hang the trim's open loops on the needles, then hang the neckline edge on the same needles, picking it up evenly.
- Knit one row through both, or pull the trim loops through the neckline with the latch tool.
- Cast off with the latch tool. Seam to seam:
- Hang the edge of one piece on the needles, wrong side facing you.
- Hang the matching edge of the second piece on the same needles.
- Pull the back loop through the front loop on each needle, or knit one row.
- Cast off with the latch tool, loosely.
The full card
- What it looks like
- A neat, stretchy seam or trim join that looks like a chain of loops along the edge, the same as a linker seam. A knitted neck trim sits on a cut-and-sewn neckline with the raw edge hidden inside.
- How it behaves
- Flat. The join stretches with the knitting instead of making a stiff ridge like a sewn seam [inference].
- How it works
- The knitting machine works as a linker. The pieces are hung on the same needles, edge to edge or edge to trim, with the right sides together (or as the trim needs). Then the loops are joined, either by knitting one row through all of them and casting off, or by a latch-tool cast-off that pulls each stitch through the one before, so every needle's loops are chained together.
- Machines
- Any single-bed machine with a latch tool. No linking machine needed. A ribber machine can link on the main bed with the ribber lowered.
- Parameters
- Tension: one row knitted loose (often the largest tension) before casting off, so the seam stretches like the fabric [unverified]. Needles: one loop of each piece per needle; on a cut edge, hang the fabric just inside the overlocked or stitched line[inference].
- Steps
- Trim onto a cut-and-sewn neckline: 1) Stitch or overlock the cut neckline so it cannot ladder. 2) Knit the trim; leave it on waste yarn or with its last row live. 3) Hang the trim's open loops on the needles, then hang the neckline edge on the same needles, picking it up evenly. 4) Knit one row through both, or pull the trim loops through the neckline with the latch tool. 5) Cast off with the latch tool. Seam to seam: 1) Hang the edge of one piece on the needles, wrong side facing you. 2) Hang the matching edge of the second piece on the same needles. 3) Pull the back loop through the front loop on each needle, or knit one row. 4) Cast off with the latch tool, loosely.
- Charting
- Not a pattern. Write it as a finishing step under the bed chart: which edges are hung, on how many needles, and which way the right sides face.
- Limits and common problems
- Uneven pickup along a cut edge → a wavy seam; mark both edges at quarters first [inference]. Cast-off too tight → the seam will not stretch and may crack. Raw cut edges must be secured before hanging, or they ladder.
- Combines with
- button-stand-folded, v-neck-holding, neckline-waste-yarn, piped-edge, machine-icord. Hand finishing from the same handout list: mattress stitch, grafting, sewing a set-in sleeve or a square armhole, weaving in ends with a latch tool. Decorative machine joins: cable join, zigzag join.
- Pieces and assembly
- Joining garment panels at home when there is no linker; attaching neck trims, plackets and pockets.
Written in our own words from machine manuals, knitting references and swatching. Knit a test swatch before a whole piece.