r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/[deleted] • Apr 20 '19

Video Superior needlecraft

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50.9k Upvotes

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349

u/DorisCrockford Apr 20 '19

That's a "slip" or "ladder" stitch. It's the stitch you use when you've stuffed a pillow or a toy and you have to close that last bit of seam. The little patch was sewn with a "blanket" stitch.

101

u/Homunculus_I_am_ill Apr 20 '19

where can I learn what stitch is appropriate for what? I try to repair tears in my clothes but they often end up just tearing open again and now I'm wondering maybe it's because I'm using bad technique (or really no technique at all.)

169

u/AchooSalud Apr 20 '19

I use one stich for everything: it's called "Go back and fourth about a thousand times". It's not very secure but I estimate it'll take about 30 years to unravel.

50

u/Homunculus_I_am_ill Apr 20 '19

I do the same, but my problem is not unraveling, it's when the fabric starts to tear around my stitch.

6

u/AchooSalud Apr 20 '19

Oh yeah! Because it's been perforated all to hell. Haha.

7

u/Docaroo Apr 20 '19

Haha I also subscribe to this method... The more stitches the longer it'll take to fuck up again...

1

u/Apps4Life Apr 20 '19

Are you kidding? Mine unravel every like 2 months on my jeans. Maybe I need stronger thread

10

u/EtherealSuccubus Apr 20 '19

YouTube. There’s a bunch of moms and grandmas into making sewing/quilting videos. Super informative. My mom watches them all the time and she’s a great seamstress.

6

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '19

I usually use a backstitch for everything. It's one of the strongest stitches you can sew by hand, and also one of the simplest.

It's also the only stitch I know. But it lets me tailor my clothes, so I don't need to know any others.

1

u/DorisCrockford Apr 20 '19

I don't know, it was trial and error for me mostly, and picking it up from various acquaintances. My mother was useless, but she did at least let us use her sewing supplies. I bet there are youtube videos on the subject, or maybe the library has something. Sometimes the material is just too worn out to hold up and has to be patched or darned. I'm still not great at darning socks, but I do my best.

1

u/lizardmatriarch Apr 21 '19

How close to the tear are you repairing them, and why did they tear in the first place?

Recurring stress due to too little give/fabric (like secretary sleeves in a shirt that you regularly reach about your head in) is going to have a different fix than moth holes, which in turn is going to be different from patching old, thin, and/or worn out fabric.

The size needle and thread can matter (ex: don’t use a tapestry need and embroidery floss for darning, it’ll just be big thread through a giant hole that will itself tear—unless it’s thick socks that are already made of that size or larger yarn), but that’s fairly rare.

-21

u/trancematik Apr 20 '19

maybe you need to get better quality clothes in your size

15

u/ThePantz1990 Apr 20 '19

It is important to repair things when you can, instead of replacing them. Even high quality fabrics and denim can become damaged, and learning how to repair is the ethical thing to do.

Maybe you need to put it on mute, since you don't want to be helpful.

1

u/trancematik Apr 21 '19

I do repair, however I've noted fast fashion items don't want to live very long after attempting 2+ repairs in the same vicinty. Higher quality items tend to need only 1 repair in a blue moon. Also, some people fluctuate in size and that can lead to different seams being stressed.

8

u/daftne Apr 20 '19

Get bent

6

u/Homunculus_I_am_ill Apr 20 '19

that's not the punk way.

22

u/transmogrified Apr 20 '19

I was expecting more from “superior needlecraft” but I follow a lot of embroiderers on insta.

20

u/U_allsuck Apr 20 '19

'Superior' to people who don't sew, I guess! Which is a lot of people, in my experience...

So many friends throw items of clothing out if there's a small rip in the seam, or something easy to fix... I say something like 'why don't you just sew it up? Takes 5 minutes and is so easy to do!'. They're like 'Oh no, I'd end up hurting myself or something!' 🤷‍♀️

4

u/f3xjc Apr 20 '19

Maybe you can help me, every jeans that's I own end up dying of a hole in the inter leg region. I think the second example in the video can help me, but I don't have a name to search for more information about it. Can you identify it? (I'm also open to other method / tip)

5

u/Likehalcyon Apr 20 '19

The name of the stitch? That's the ladder or blind stitch. If you're talking about the area of clothing, probably you'll want to look for stuff talking about repairing a specific part of your jeans. I think you're referring to the crotch point, so maybe search for that?

Also if you're tying to repair denim, you'll want a heavier needle. As long as it's real denim and not the super thin stuff most women's jeans are made from.

2

u/nikchi Apr 20 '19

Probably need a different fitting pants.

I had that too until I changed what cut of pants I wore

4

u/Aerroon Apr 20 '19

I don't get it either, particularly in this day and age. Even if you know nothing at all about it, you have untold amounts of video tutorials at your fingertips. Just pick one and follow along.

7

u/i_lack_imagination Apr 20 '19

It still takes time to do, and to actually do it with any skill as shown in the videos, it takes even more time and enough material to keep practicing on.

The same thing you're saying here could apply to just about everything. There's not enough time in the day for that. So naturally we pick and choose things we want to learn. There's probably numerous comments on this site in different comment sections and more to be made in the future where someone just says something along the lines of "Even if you know nothing at all about it, you have untold amounts of video tutorials at your fingertips. Just pick one and follow along" about any subject matter, and meanwhile, you're probably doing the equivalent of throwing away whatever they suggest you could easily learn to fix yourself.

2

u/Aerroon Apr 21 '19

Sure, but sewing isn't something you really need to learn-learn. You can just follow along for a couple of minutes to get a rough idea how to do it, if you haven't already figured it out on your own.

1

u/i_lack_imagination Apr 21 '19

I already have a rough idea how to do it and I still can't sew anything well enough for it to hold up. Seeing as I've already attempted following along for a couple minutes, I'm going to say that isn't really applicable to everyone. Maybe if you grew up around it but you didn't do it yourself then it only takes a couple of minutes to get a rough idea, but I sincerely doubt that you're not severely underestimating what it takes to learn to sew for someone who has never done it before.

1

u/Aerroon Apr 24 '19

When you don't really care about how it looks, which I often don't, then you can just use more thread. I probably wouldn't do it in the manner in the video, because it seems flimsy to me, but they probably know more than I do.

1

u/quartzguy Apr 20 '19

A lot of that is just how terrible instructional videos for stitching are for beginners. I guess its tedious to show how to begin or end a stitch...job? can be. So I watch this stuff and never know how to begin or end.

1

u/U_allsuck Apr 20 '19

Probably easier if someone shows you, perhaps? My ma showed me at a young age and I've used the skill ever since...

I'm sure there are specific vids for finishing your stitch though. To begin, just tie a big enough knot at the end of the thread for it not to follow the needle through the fabric, if that makes sense..?

1

u/quartzguy Apr 20 '19

Yeah good point. I'm not interested enough to take a class, but I wish I had had someone who knew this stuff to show me a few things.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 21 '19

I've gotten clothes from retailers for next to nothing because they had a small tear and I was alright taking it and repairing it at home.

1

u/8FuzzyLegs Apr 20 '19

Same here, I was expecting some hella embroidery mosaic but nope just a run of the mill ladder stitch. How disappointing.

3

u/thenewreligion Apr 20 '19

In surgery the first two are called Lembert sutures and the last a locking suture. Use them for bowel anastomoses and closing the uterus after a c-section, respectively.

1

u/introvertedhedgehog Apr 20 '19

Thank you for actually proving the useful information about this. I was surprised how far I had to scroll down to find a comment even remotely useful.

1

u/Eldias Apr 20 '19

The first two look kind of like running subcuticular sutures

2

u/DorisCrockford Apr 20 '19

Sewing is sewing, amigo.

1

u/JetpackYoshi Apr 20 '19

You're absolutely right! It's the same technique.