The next set of articles for the Skill Building series is about finishing. The first article is how to work a Figure 8 start for a seam. As I was thinking about what to design, vertical stripes came to mind. I love vertical stripes, but intarsia isn’t my favorite technique (although I’ve done my share of intarsia over the years). Seaming the pieces is an alternative. This baby/child sweater will give you lots of practice with Figure 8 joins and other seaming techniques. The pieces for the front and back use the mattress stitch and the sleeves are joined to the body using a horizontal-to-vertical edge seam. Since the articles for these topics are not yet part of the Skill Building series, the pattern will include links to articles in Cast On. There can NEVER be too many articles on seaming!

The bottom and neck bands are worked as part of the body. No bands are picked up. Seaming is the only finishing required.