Mattress stitch joins for straight-edge motifs

There are more kinds of mattress stitch (q.G.) join than one. The kind I learned goes like this: face motifs e.g. granny squares right side together. The stitches always go at right angles to the seam under the outside loops of the stitches facing each other. Works great for motifs having exactly the same number of side stitches, and can be adjusted if they are off a bit. Goes very fast!

Sew all the squares in each row to each other to make a strip. Then sew the strips together. Easier.

See pictures for how it works. I used some old squares in white and sewed them with mint green yarn. Even being so different in color it is hard to see from either side when tightened. You sew these stitches and tighten when you're done or a bit at a time as you work.

How the stitches go

This method works fine, but is not the mattress stitch join described in the distinguished Tamara Kelly's Moogly video and photo tutorial. Visit http://www.mooglyblog.com/mattress-stitch-seaming/ to see it.

Here're some views of the way I did it. Note the barely visible green yarn in the tightened view of the front. Using the same color, you wouldn't see anything at all.

Back before tightening

Front after tightening

No green showing

Back after tightening

Don't learn in black

I just learned the excellent mattress stitch (q.G.). However, I learned it using black yarn to unite black motifs. Don't do this. Make a few motifs in a light color and use a medium or dark color for the joining. Really. The stitch worked great for me, but as I made them, the stitches disappeared instantly into the deep-space-like darkness of the motifs. So when I had to undo a stitch or so, I had to peer at it using bright light. Learning anything with a dark yarn is a bad idea because you can't see the 3-D effects of shadows.