male pattern boldness

Come to the Dallas area and you'll encounter a...

2013-06-18T20:20:44.385-04:00

Come to the Dallas area and you'll encounter any number of sewing factorys that use machines that backstitch....my favorites are the ones that are adjusted to back stitch on their own, no lever to press !!

I never back stitch or lock stitch a seam at the e...

2013-06-18T19:41:52.272-04:00

I never back stitch or lock stitch a seam at the ends. 1) I don't see the need and it's a PITA. 2) I use my serger for constructing the majority of most garments.

Where seams are not finished by sewing over with another seam, I use a needle to pull both threads to one side and sew a couple of concealed back stitches by hand. Serger thread tails get passed back through the serging using a tapestry needle.

Sarah @ Sew Drastic

I backstitch. It's so ingrained in my muscle m...

2013-06-18T19:22:12.988-04:00

I backstitch. It's so ingrained in my muscle memory, I don't think I could not do it. I don't think it's a huge issue, though, if you have another seam that crosses it as that tends to anchor it like you said.

That said, when I'm basting things, I don't backstitch and my seams always come apart.

I was curious about this, as well, as I didn't think RTW backstitched, but then I took a higher quality garment apart and lo and behold, there was backstitching. However, the thread they used was noticeably thinner than home sewing thread, and much stronger, so didn't cause lumpiness in the backstitching.

I rarely backstitch, even though I was taught that...

2013-06-18T18:10:52.303-04:00

I rarely backstitch, even though I was taught that by my mother. Why? Because I'm LAZY. That's my motivation for not doing it. I figure that whatever method I use to finish the seam, it covers me, and I've never had any problems with stitching falling out because of that.

Major seams on garments are sewn by machine in cou...

2013-06-18T17:55:25.321-04:00

Major seams on garments are sewn by machine in couture ateliers and bespoke tailoring establishments.

The biggest lesson I learned about backstitching t...

2013-06-18T17:50:22.952-04:00

The biggest lesson I learned about backstitching towards the start was that you only need to do a couple of stitches unless it's performance wear. In my first sewing lesson I wasn't told how many stitches and as someone who naturally engages in overkill I would do six.

It's a matter of the type of sewing and the fa...

2013-06-18T17:46:08.686-04:00

It's a matter of the type of sewing and the fabric. In regular sewing, I back stitch at the beginning and end of normal seams, but not usually on anything that will be sewn in layers, for example, a yoke on a shirt.

For couture, I was taught to leave long threads, to bring the upper thread to the back, to thread the two strands into a needle and sew them by hand. It's less bulky than sewing machine.

The reason for avoiding backstitching in couture, in addition to the thickness is that it disrupts the fabric. With certain fabrics, backstitching will eat the fabric.

I sometimes use the "method" where I start the seam a few stitches ahead of the edge, then tack back then advance forward.

That's really interesting because here in the ...

2013-06-18T16:51:46.117-04:00

That's really interesting because here in the States I've never seen an industrial with a back stitch function (especially on used/vintage machines)....a friend of mine has a Juki D-series industrial that's about 4 years old and there is no back stitch on it either. As usual we Americans think what we see is the way things are everywhere lol.

i tend to start my seams like you--start in a litt...

2013-06-18T14:17:59.351-04:00

i tend to start my seams like you--start in a little then reverse and keep sewing. my mom taught me to pull the threads and knot them (which i did for years!) but lately i've taken the backstitch route unless i'm sewing something fancy!

for darts i've seen in one of the couture book...

2013-06-18T14:14:53.270-04:00

for darts i've seen in one of the couture books that you pull up your bobbin thread and thread it through the needle from back to front, then knot it to your top thread, then wind your top thread back so that the knot is all the way back to the spool. then start your stitching at the dart tip and there's no tying necessary! you have to cut your threads and re-string it all for the next dart. it's a pain, but very cool!

Thank you for all of the research on this post. Yo...

2013-06-18T13:13:10.637-04:00

Thank you for all of the research on this post. Your double layer back-stitching technique sounds good. I might try it, but generally am happier pulling threads through and knotting, especially when sewing lightweight fabrics.

I only backstitch to reinforce a pocket usually or...

2013-06-18T11:28:42.727-04:00

I only backstitch to reinforce a pocket usually or any area that will receive a lot of stress. I will also do a backstitch if a seam is not crossed by another and then I only go 3 stitches.

So the only time I don't backstitch is when I ...

2013-06-18T10:42:40.180-04:00

So the only time I don't backstitch is when I am not coming to a circle, like side seams, shoulder seams. OR when I forget to. Oops

Interesting post, Peter! I kind of came to the no...

2013-06-18T10:26:10.154-04:00

Interesting post, Peter! I kind of came to the non-backstitching revelation myself just recently. My SM has a "fix" in place and a "stop" stitch function that sounds exactly like what Edna Bishop describes. It's very handy and I've never had a seam fail. Plus, my sm's backstitching isn't the prettiest stitch.

Lately, when a fabric is too flimsy to start at the edge or use the fix stitch for fear of it getting drawn into the throat plate, I'll actually start stitching at the crossing seam line, but going toward the edge (so wrong direction), then I stop with the needle down, rotate my fabric to the right direction and stitch the seam as normal. It seems to work better and, as you say, there is then only 2 lines of stitching instead of 3.

Interesting! "Always backstitch when you star...

2013-06-18T10:13:04.625-04:00

Interesting! "Always backstitch when you start a seam" was the first sewing lesson I learned. Sometimes I just don't (out of sheer laziness), but I regret it if the seams come apart.

They are a pain to unpick, though.

Also affordable home sergers take care of a lot of...

2013-06-18T10:02:59.856-04:00

Also affordable home sergers take care of a lot of those raw edges that otherwise would have had to be hidden or finished in some way -- unless you're sewing couture-style and shun sergers.

This is my preferred method and discovered it in t...

2013-06-18T09:52:31.017-04:00

This is my preferred method and discovered it in the same way. I believe it was from pattern instructions published in the 90's. Technique for the household seamstress have changed some since the 60's when I learned from my mom. She was a devout backstitcher, but I've broken myself of it. My mom would never have finished a waistband with bias tape and the "stitch in the ditch" method that I much prefer over folding up the seam allowance and slip stitching.

I find stay stitching useful as a deterrent to cli...

2013-06-18T09:46:06.572-04:00

I find stay stitching useful as a deterrent to clipping too far (as in a neckline that must be stretched a bit to fit a collar) and as a guide for basting (I baste nearly everything except straight side/back seams because I'd rather not stop to pull out pins).

I rarely backstitch any more. When I do need to m...

2013-06-18T09:05:02.360-04:00

I rarely backstitch any more. When I do need to make sure stitches will not start unstitching themselves I do one of several methods -
1. sew a few stitches like normal, lift the presser foot, move the fabric back to where I started and sew the seam
2. short stitches at the ends (usually by holding the fabric, not changing stitch length)
3. start sewing in reverse a few stitches then finish seam
4. sew a few stitches toward the edge, turn the fabric and sew the seam
5. stitch a few stitches, reverse, then stitch the seam. I think this is how I was taught many years ago.

I prefer methods 1 & 2 because it involves less fiddling with fabric or machine. I usually only do the last if I really really want to make sure it doesn't come undone. Methods 3 & 4 I usually use when working with flimsy fabrics that pull into the machine easily

My machine does have the ability to lock the stitches by taking extremely tiny stitches, but it's even worse to remove than the triple stitching if needed.

I was mystified about this issue when I moved from...

2013-06-18T08:56:38.675-04:00

I was mystified about this issue when I moved from an electric to my ~120yr old treadle. What about backstitching? The denizens of the Treadle On list had a lot of useful suggestions, like this batch from Phyllis Rosenwinkel of Iowa:

W&W did design and use reverse on some of their industrial machines, but not on the domestic ones. There are several workarounds for machines lacking reverse.
1- Turn the fabric around and begin to sew back over the seam.
2- Shorten the stitch length for the last half inch.
3- Shorten the stitch length by preventing the fabric to move easily though the dogs and foot
4- Sew to the end, Stop. Pull the fabric back 1/4 - 1/2' and restitch the seam.
The how to do this is determined by the fabric an the perceived need. I've sewed for nearly 60 years and rarely need to reinforce seams in this manner.

Anyway, I've gotten a lot more relaxed too about backstitching (or the other substitutes for it) and most of the time I don't bother, except where it won't be contained in another seam, e.g. hems, as you pointed out above.

One issue I sometimes have with the lack of backstitching is seams coming apart a bit at the edges during the rigors of assembly. I just did some A line dresses for my daughters for instance, and some of the side seams started coming apart a little at the bottom of the scye while I was working on other parts of the dress, before I had put binding around the armhole. Stitching at a tighter pitch at the beginning would probably solve this, as would knotting the threads after putting in the seam, or just being more careful.

Thanks a bunch. I will definitely give this a go ...

2013-06-18T08:41:36.582-04:00

Thanks a bunch. I will definitely give this a go :)

Spud.

My industrial has a reverse lever so I know they d...

2013-06-18T08:20:37.591-04:00

My industrial has a reverse lever so I know they do backstitch. I know I've read on Fashion Incubator that the servo motors often come with an automatic backstitch, so I know it must be done in at least some industrial settings.

I think it's in the realm of 20 stitches per i...

2013-06-18T08:19:17.617-04:00

I think it's in the realm of 20 stitches per inch (or more).

Great post, Peter. I like the tiny stitch idea in...

2013-06-18T08:08:09.506-04:00

Great post, Peter.

I like the tiny stitch idea instead of backstitching. Could you please tell us what a "tiny" stitch length is?

Thanks

Spud.

I usually backstitch, even on the really old singe...

2013-06-18T07:43:44.622-04:00

I usually backstitch, even on the really old singers...I just rotate the garment and then re-rotate it. But maybe now I will think more about it.