Patchwork Puppy Project - Assembly and Finishing
Be sure to refer to your Layout to know what goes where!
Here is the joining method I recommend as well as the decorative stitching and a simple border!
Patchwork Puppy Project Links
Mattress Stitch Join
You may prefer a different tried-and-true join method, but I found the Mattress Stitch Join to work out best for this project. I really hope you will give it a try!
Advantages:
It uses very little yarn, so you can keep going and going for a while with less ends!
It is a nice invisible join that didn't clash with my plans of decorative stitching!
It's really simple and fast, too!
Here's How
Start with WS's together, lining up the stitches.
NOTE: Those sc in the very corner (the middle of the 3) belongs to both sides. If you are sure to catch it with the next stitch whichever direction you are going, it will help to eliminate gaps ad keep things lined up straight.
Working into the back loops only (the loops facing in when WS's are together)
stitch through one side...
... and the through the other side.
Always go in the same direction!
From above through from the center and out through the side.
Just keep going and going.... one side then the other side over and over.
Leave them loose and just stitch away.
When you get several inches of stitches, hold the starting end so it doesn't pull loose
and pull the working end to draw yarn straight.
This is partway pulled straight...
And this is pulled completely straight. The joining yarn is almost completely invisible.
When you fabric is lying flat you won't be able to see it on the right side of your blanket at all!
Experiment with you yarn to see how much pulling it can tolerate. I was able to stitch all the way across the smaller squares before straightening my stitching out.
Leave that beginning end free with a bit of a tail so you can flatten and shape the blanket before adding the border.
Simple Border
Once you have all your squares and filler sewn together, you will want to add a border. I went with a super simple border as I wanted my Puppy Patches to be the showcase.
Using your Filler color and your J hook, Sc BLO all the way around, placing 3sc in the corners.
I sc'd around 2 more times, placing 3sc in the corners.
And that was it! Easy and fast!
Blanket Stitch
Blanket Stitch is a very simple decorative stitch. I chose it for its simplicity and its well established association with Patches and Patchwork. This stitch is almost always meant to be strong and useful and not necessarily decorative and that was why it appealed to me for this blanket!
I did Blanket Stitch decorative stitching around every colored square AFTER my blanket was assembled. This forced the cross-strands to lie atop the fabric rather than nestle along the edge as it usually does. If you decide to add your Blanket Stitching before assembling the squares and fillers, you will want to leave the back loops free.
You will need a little more than double the perimeter of your square to complete the edging on 1 square without having to join more.
For example: 8 inches square x 4 sides = 32inches
DOUBLE that = 64inches and a bit more to be safe...
so 72 inches would allow you to blanket stitch around an 8 inches square without have to tie off and reload your needle again.
I put a stitch every other stitch or row. You don't have to be exact.
Insert your needle from the top and out past the edge.
Make sure you catch the loop made when you pull through!
Don't pull tight - just neat and even.
It doesn't take long to get into a rhythm and end up with a long line of Blanket Stitches.
Work around the corner with 3 stitches -
sew through the same place and come out on one side
and then right at the corner
and then on the other side
If you carefully plan where you begin your decorative stitching, you can begin and end next to a Filler or the border so you will have an easy place to sew your ends in,
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