It is important when you are sewing to secure the ends of your seams so they are durable and don’t split later after you have put an enormous amount of effort into your project. Learn how to stop and start a seam with your sewing machine in 2 different ways.
How to Start and Stop a seam
There are 2 main ways you can start a seam and stop a seam and prevent your threads from unraveling – back stitch and tying or knotting the ends.
How to Back Stitch a Seam
The first is using a simple machine back stitch or reverse stitch.
Put your fabric under your presser foot at the end of the seam and take 3 stitches forwards.
Then press reverse and take 3 stitches back on top of your original stitching line.
Release the reverse lever and just stitch forwards normally.
This 3 layers of stitching will secure your ends and stop them from unraveling.
Back stitching is fast and easy once you get the hang of it and is the most commonly used method of starting and stopping seams.
Tying Knots at the End of Seams
Another way of starting and ending your seams is to straight stitch from beginning to end leaving long tails of thread either end.
Use a pin or the end of your seam ripper to pull all threads to the wrong side and then knot off the tails before clipping them shorter.
This method is commonly used in sewing darts and delicate fabrics where back stitching would add unsightly bulk to the ends of seams.
What is your favorite method of stopping and starting seam? Share below.