Ripping out seams in dark fabrics

You have a great idea of pulling a thread until it breaks, etc. I hadn't thought of doing that. And I also never use a seam ripper to cut through stitches - it's way to dangerous! Thanks for the extra tip!

------------------------------------- Sarah Doyle

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I hope I remember that, thanks,

Mary

Dear Sarah,

Here's another tip for ripping seams--dark or light. Grasp the thread end, and pull it until it breaks. Turn the work over and do the same with the other thread. You don't have any thread whiskers to pull out when you're done. And if you're working on delicate or vintage fabric, use a seam ripper at right angles to the seam, and clip one thread. Then proceed as above. I learned that when doing museum conservation work on historic clothing. Clipping the thread every two or three inches makes it very easy to pull out with no damage to the fabric.

I NEVER use a seam ripper to cut through stitches--it's much too dangerous.

Oh, and another thing. If you try this technique and the stitches are too hard to pull out, your stitch count is smaller than it needs to be. Make the stitches larger, so they're easier to pull out.

Teri

If you're getting up into the 40's or older, consider a pair of low power reading glasses... it's amazing how much you can see that way. Drugstore glasses usually start at about +1.50, but if you're nearsighted or you don't need much in the way of magnification, there are some +0.50,

0.75, and 1.0 available on the web for pretty cheap.

Two other things that can help: decreasing the contrast between what you're trying to rip and what's behind it (it's actually harder to see black stitching on a black garment on a white worktable than black stitching on a black garment on a medium grey table), and side-lighting.

Kay

Haha...I have prescription progressive lenses and I still can't see some things worth beans!

Trisha in MO

Well, I will tell you what I do. You can use it or not. :)

I press open the seam. Then I put the end of the seam under the presser foot of my sewing machine with it still open. Drop the presser foot down and it will hold the work in place. Then I use a razor blade and just zip through the seam. It's fast. You do have to be careful. But between the presser foot holding the work in place, and the bright light from the sewing machine shining right on it, it's pretty easy to see what I'm doing.

Sharon

PS.

I try to never pull and break threads. I work on a lot of poly satins (bridesmaid dresses, prom dresses, etc.) I have found out the hard way that pulling threads on those type of seams can actually catch the thread of the fabric and snag it. Not good.

Sharon

While working on the hand sewn kilt, I used a lamp like:

It helped a great deal, not only threw lots of light exactly where I needed it, but the magnification was very focused, and about 5-to-1 IIRC. I could not have done the kilt without it.

NAYY, (the skuzzy one I used was dragged home from work by DH)

Beverly

I agree. For fragile fabrics, I carefully snip every 5-7th thread on one side, then pull the other side out. This leaves short threads on one side which I have to pull out by hand, but it works.

And I do use the pull-one-side-then-the-other-ripping-out method on almost everything else.

Also, the only time I ever used a "seam ripper" I managed to make a small cut in the fabric. On the seam line. Aaargh! I threw the danged thing away and never looked back.

Beverly

Beverly, do you use those small scissors with a notch to snip the stitches? I do use them, with a magnifying glass; I don't like seam rippers. Next time, I'll try Sharon's idea of putting it under the presser foot of the machine. On two of my machines, I have a small magnifier attached just above the presser feet. Emily

Emily Bengston wrote: >

"Littauer" ;-)

I use the Littauer scissors sometimes, and my fine-point 3" Ginghers other times. Whichever works best on the combination of fabric and thread. I bought several pairs of the Littauers, I keep a few in the sewing room and the others in the embroidery room. ;-) The Littauers have a bright orange ribbon on them, the Gingers and a few other pair of small scissors have bright yellow ribbons. I "wear" them when I'm sewing, and I can always find them.

Beverly

Jump straight to +3.5. Once you've unpicked a seam sewn with rope on burlap, you'll never again be happy cutting threads you can't see.

Joy Beeson

I have a mini Anglepoise style lamp that uses a small halogen reflector bulb (35w), gives a very bright light, and has the added benefit that it's also quite warming for the hands! I also have a pair of old prescription reading glasses which I use with a clip-on magnifying lens. It means I have to move everything up close to focus sharply, but I can't stitch or do any detail work without them.

I doubt it. I've been hard-of-seeing since I was a little yipper anyhow.

Trisha in MO