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08.11

sewing 101: perfect topstitching

Welcome to See Kate Sew! If you’re new here, sign up for my email newsletter for access to free patterns, tutorials and all the latest sewing news! Tour my sewing room HERE!

I have a few extra special pleating sewing 101 posts lined up to help us get perfect pleats! Here is the very first, enjoy!
a topstitching secret

Pleats are so fun because there is a lot you can do with them. You can leave them as it, just pressing them down in the seam, or you can sew part way or all the way down it for an extra decorative touch. One problem I sometimes run into is horrible topstitching.


Topstitching is hard! Sometimes it’s just not straight. It is supposed to make the garment look better, but uneven topstitching just makes it look worse. So here is a secret for perfect topstitching. 


(I’m using white thread on a pink dress so you can see it really well!) 


So imagine this: you’re topstitching along and all the sudden you hear a loud noise. You turn your head while continuing to stitch and….

And you’re thinking “Dang, now I have to start over!!.” But instead, just start again, making sure to overlap where you messed up.

Then unpick the overlap until your stitches meet.

Now, thread each strand through to the back with a hand sewing needle.

And tie the strands together on the back.

You can do this as many times as you need to do get the perfect topstitch! 


And when you get to the bottom of your pleat, don’t backstitch! Instead, leave some extra thread and pull it to the back, too.

The arrow points to the backstitched version. Ugly, right?


This technique can be used anywhere you use topstitching, including hems and pockets. Until you are perfect at topstitching every time (hah! is that possible?) you can use this method to pretend like you are without pulling too many hairs (and threads) with your seam ripper!





6 Comments | Sewing 101

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6 Comments

  1. dana @ wonder forest

    08/11 at 8:31 PM

    awesome tip!!! i wouldn’t have thought to work with it haha, i would probably have just started over *hides*
    xo dana
    thewonderforest.com

  2. Cherished Bliss

    08/12 at 3:12 AM

    Thanks for the tips! I make a lot of those kind of mistakes as my kids run up to me and pull the fabric or somehow got my coffee cup and is “bringing it to me” somehow in the midst of that I loose all focus : )

  3. Alexis @ persia lou

    09/06 at 4:39 PM

    I totally did backstitching the other day, and didn’t like it. Duh! Thanks for the tip!

  4. meg

    10/29 at 12:28 AM

    awesome! I try so hard to make my topstitching look good but then the backstitching makes it look like crapola. no more!!

  5. shardaunei

    11/27 at 12:29 AM

    *phew* What a relief I won’t have to start over. Thanks for the great tip.

  6. RaeAnna

    11/05 at 5:03 AM

    Great tip!!! I don’t usually take the time to be this detailed but I think I should! :)

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