Seam ripper is a great tool that every sewist is very well familiar with. Undoing the stitches is not always the sign of a mistake, we often use temporary stitches to hold something in place, test the fit, creating gathers etc. Seam ripper is our best friend when we want to salvage parts of the garment, for instance functional zippers, elastic, buttons or appliqué.

Tools that can help me with this tedious tasks are seam ripper, single edge razor blade, embroidery scissors and fabric scissors. 

Seam ripper

Also, know as unpicker can be different sizes. Once, I heard an advice to buy big seam ripper, because if it’s big, you can find it more easily, make sense right? Some seam rippers come with covers, as a safety feature, which I like especially if carrying it on a strap around my neck. Some seam rippers comes with rubber on their handle, this is for removing cut threads from the stitch line, genius!

Did you know that you can sharpen your seam ripper? Yes, that’s right, with a bit of steel wool, your seam ripper will be good as new. No more frustration with dull tools.

How to seam rip sewing machine stitch

There are many ways how to do this, I prefer to seam rip from the wrong side of the fabric, just because the stitches tend to be more visible.

Slide point of a seam ripper under a seam and cut the thread, repeat every few stitches. Pull on the thread on other side of the fabric.

Or

Open layers of fabric, pull them apart and use ball-tip point part of the seam ripper to slide and cut threads.

How to remove overlocking seam

Overlocker seam can look intimidating, but I promise you, it’s easier than you think.

Cut and pull out the needle threads – needle thread looks like dash line that goes parallel with edge of the fabric. If you are using 3-thread overlock stitch it will be just one thread, for 4-thread overlock stitch it will be 2 needle threads. Once the needle threads are removed, the looper thread will just fall off.

How to remove chain stitch

Work from the end you chain off (end of the seam, not beginning). If you didn’t sew the seam just try both sides, one of them will work. Separate top and bottom thread, it helps if you pull them away from each other and whole seam will unravel.

How to remove cover locker seam

Work from the end you chain off (end of the seam, not beginning)

Separate needle and looper stitches, then pull on looper stitches and watch it unravel.

Single edge razor blade

You’ll find single edge razor blade especially useful for undoing stitch on heavier fabrics, such as denim or upholstery, because the thread in thicker than on regular garments. This tool can be handy for removing bar tacks too. 

You won’t find single edge razor blade in sewing shops, rather in a hardware store.

How I use it: Open fabric layers, stretch layers away from each other and cut stitches, few at a time and repeat. Or watch my instagram reel here.

Scissors

Do you remember what I said about getting a BIG seam ripper? Well, you didn’t, did you? When you can’t find your seam ripper anywhere, small and sharp embroidery scissors will do.

Fabric scissors 

Sometimes is not worthy to spend time by seam-ripping. It seems obvious to me now, but as a beginner I forgot that I have this option. 

This is especially true for upcycling older garments, because the item was washed and worn, seam allowance can have different colour than rest of the garment. Cutting seams off is also much quicker process than seam ripping, but you have to consider that you’ll end up with less material to play with. I leave it to your judgement!

Stitch length

Bigger stitch length is easier to seam rip, as stitches are spaced further from each other. When you sew temporary stitches, make your life easier and prolong your stitches.

Type of fabric will also influence how easy you can undo the stitches, for instance fabric with nap, such as corduroy, makes very hard to see the seam. And some fabric can be fraying so much, that as you taking seams apart, your are losing the seam allowance.

Test Test Test

The biggest difference in my sewing experience made sample sewing. When I’m preparing my machine for a project, I take off cut of fashion fabric and test stitch type, stitch length, colour of the thread, tension, presser foot, seam finish, new technique etc. This will prevent frustration and unpicking right on the beginning of your project.

Time is the essence 

When you undoing stitches, you have sharp object in your hands. Cut away from you and be fully conscious of what you’re doing. Most importantly, do not rush, you can hurt your self or make holes in your fabric.

If you like a bit of entertainment while you working, I highly recommend audio, such as music, podcast or audiobooks, because you won’t be tempted to move your gaze away from your project. 

Happy sewing time, folks!