The Kitchener stitch is a popular way to seamlessly graft knitwear. It is most often used with stockinette stitch, but can be modified for other stitch patterns. In this tutorial, I’ll teach you the basic Kitchener stitch used to graft 2 pieces (or 2 ends of the same piece) of stockinette stitch fabric together.
This method of seaming is used for horizontal seams when you have live stitches on each piece, such as for seaming the 2 ends of a scarf to make a cowl.
A similar method of seaming when you do not have live stitches is covered in my How to Seam Stockinette Stitch Horizontally tutorial.
For vertical seams, such as the side seams of a sweater, I like to use the mattress stitch.
How to Kitchener Stitch
The Kitchener stitch creates a row of knit stitches using a darning needle. With this stitch, you seamlessly connect 2 pieces of stockinette stitch by sewing a row of knit stitches between them.
Below this Kitchener stitch video is a cheat sheet that you can download and print to keep in your knitting bag. Once you’ve done the Kitchener stitch a time or two, you will probably be able to do it by just using the cheat sheet. However, the cheat sheet also has this web site address in case you need to refer to the video again.
The Cheat Sheet
Click this link to download and print the cheat sheet. Keep it in your knitting bag as a handy reference.
I created this tutorial as part of the free Basic Brioche Headband Knit Along. It includes written, photo, and video lessons to guide you step-by-step through the pattern. It’s all online, and you can access it at your convenience. Learn the basic brioche stitches, the crochet provisional cast on, and kitchener stitch in this quick-to-knit project. Click here to join now!
