Last revised July 25, 2005

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<h2>    SECURING THE ENDS OF YOUR THREAD   </h2> 

    There are many ways to keep your threads from 
coming undone at the ends.  Several of them are 
discussed below: 


Knot the threads near the end of the stitching: 
==============================================      
    For machine stitching.  Securing the tip of a 
dart is the only use I know of for this knot.  
    After stitching the dart, sew along for an  
inch or so with one side of the presser foot on 
the fold and the needle stitching air, so that you 
twist the two threads into a cord.  Cut off from 
the machine and form the cord into a loop about a 
quarter inch in diameter at the tip of the dart, 
with the end underneath.  Hold this loop against 
the dart with your left hand while you pick the 
end through the loop with a pin.  Then put the pin 
through the loop into the very tip of the dart and 
pull the end of the cord to tighten the loop 
around the pin, causing a knot to form close to 
the fabric.  Trim the cord to half an inch.  
    Books often say to backtack the end of a dart, 
but this puts a little lump exactly where lumps 
show the most, unless you stitch back 
<em>precisely</em> 
through the holes of the first pass, and I can't 
think of any way to guarantee this except to leave 
the ends long enough to thread into a needle and 
work back in double running stitch, using one end 
for the first pass and the other end for the 
second.  I can't imagine going to that much work, 
and I don't recall ever having had a knot wear off 
the tip of a dart.   
    

Knot the very end of the thread:  
================================
    For hand sewing. 
    Wrap the end of the thread around the end of 
your finger, roll the loop off, pull the thread 
between your fingertips to tighten the loop. 
    Knots are intrinsically weak -- if you tie a 
knot in a piece of thread, string, or rope and 
pull on it until it breaks, it invariably breaks 
at the knot -- and this sort of knot sticks up 
above the fabric surface to catch wear, so when 
put to rough-sewing uses, it tends to wear off.  
There are, therefore, only a few uses for it.   
    A knotted end is useful for marking the wrong 
side in thread marking, and for marking the 
beginning of the row when working an embroidery 
sampler for reference.  I use this knot to mark a 
double-wound bobbin. 
    I used to use the end knot in basting, but now 
eschew it for the convenience of being able to 
pull out the basting from either end.  
    If thread is slippery -- and for a beginner, 
all thread is slippery -- you can knot the end of 
a thread, slip the needle between layers to the 
place where you intend to begin stitching, then 
shear the knot off after you have made enough back 
stitches to keep the thread from pulling out when 
you tighten a stitch.  A nineteenth-century 
grade-school textbook I came across 
<http://vintagesewing.info> suggested "burying" 
the knot to keep it from wearing off. 

    If you want to leave a long piece of thread on 
the wrong side of embroidery, to be used or woven 
in later, you can tie a knot in the end of the 
thread, and leave this knot on the right side of 
the work the desired distance from the beginning 
of the embroidery, in a harmless direction.  But I 
prefer to leave part of the tail on the right 
side, or to take a couple of short running 
stitches, so I can retrieve the tail without 
having to shear off the knot.  If the tail tends 
to snag and pull out prematurely, you can put a 
sharp change in direction into your running 
stitches, or divide the float into two shorter 
floats with a running stitch between. 
     

Do nothing at all: 
==================
    The default for machine stitching.  A seam end 
inside a hem, or crossed by another seam, isn't 
going to come undone.  
    

Take shorter stitches at the beginning and end: 
===============================================     
    Machine stitching:  reduce the stitch length 
for the first and last half inch of the seam, or 
perhaps reduce twice, for a total of an inch, if 
you're going to wool the seam around a lot before 
you get the ends inside hems or other seams.  Good 
because it firms up the stitching without making 
lumps or tear-starters.  But don't make the 
stitches so short that they weaken the fabric. 
    Short stitches are a good way to secure 
basting, but little use for other hand stitching.  
One needleful of short stitches is usually enough.  
You may also need to shorten basting stitches at 
points of strain.  
    An extra-short stitch before and after any 
point of difficulty often helps.  For example, 
when basting a fold with a mitered corner, a very 
short stitch that comes up in the fold of the 
miter, followed by a very short stitch that enters 
the fold of the other miter, may eliminate the 
need to sew the folds of the miter together. 


Overlap the beginning and end: 
==============================
    Chiefly used in machine stitching, but may be 
used in hand basting.  The default way to secure 
machine stitching that ends where it begins.  
    Often used in mending -- you can secure the 
broken ends by beginning to sew, whether by hand 
or machine, about an inch before the break, and 
continuing for an inch after it. 
        

Begin before the seam, and end afterward:  
=========================================
    Useful in basting.  If you begin and end your 
basting in places where there is no strain, the 
ends won't come out until you pull on them 
deliberately. 
    

Leave a tag of thread hanging at each end:
==========================================
    Basting only.  The extra thread guards against 
a stitch coming out entirely, and if it loosens, 
you can tighten the stitch again with a quick tug 
on the tag.  The tag also makes it easier to pull 
out the thread when you are done with it. 
          

Back Stitches:  
==============
    Seldom used in machine stitching -- but you 
<em>can</em> leave the ends long enough to thread into a 
needle and secure with back stitches. 
    Hand sewing nearly always begins and ends with 
a few back stitches -- perhaps only one in fuzzy 
wool, an inch or more in slippery nylon.  
    When the entire seam is backstitched, you 
don't have to do anything special at the ends. 


Hide the ends between layers:
=============================
    When layers are available, one nearly always 
takes advantage of them to hide the ends of the 
threads.  This is usually in addition to some 
other means of securing the ends, but sometimes 
suffices by itself. 
    In hand sewing, slip the needle between layers 
to the place where you want to begin sewing, pull 
the thread almost through, until only a speck of 
the end shows, then take a backstitch.  The speck 
usually pulls inside while you are tightening the 
backstitch.  A slippery thread may pull out all 
the way at this time; in that case, make the end 
between the layers long enough that you can hold 
it by squeezing the layers with one hand while you 
make the first back stitches. 
    At the end, slip the needle between layers for 
the desired distance, pull through, snip the 
thread close to the fabric while it's under 
tension, so that the end pulls back inside.  If it 
turns out that you didn't use quite enough 
tension, stretching the fabric may pop it in; if 
that doesn't work, poke the needle between the 
layers and wave the end back and forth until it 
catches the thread and pulls the end in.
    Slipping the ends under dense stitching on the 
back is a variation of this technique.    
                           

Machine backstitching:
======================
    Run the machine in reverse for half an inch.  
This weakens the fabric, the sharp turn is a 
good place for a tear to start, and if you can't 
hit the original holes <em>precisely</em>, it makes a wide 
spot in the stitching.  I've found uses for 
machine backstitching, but can't offhand remember 
what they were.  Probably harmless if the 
backstitches end up entirely inside a hem or seam, 
or get sheared off when you trim a seam allowance. 


Weaving into stitches on the back:
==================================
    Primarily for hand embroidery.  You can weave 
the thread back and forth under the stitches, slip 
the needle under from the same side every time to 
overcast the stitches, or (when you have suitable 
stitches) slip it under the stitches to hide the 
end between layers.  And sometimes all three; you 
have to examine the stitches and determine how 
they want to hold the thread.  Sometimes hiding a 
thread under its own color is a consideration.  
Other times, securing it in stitches that won't 
later be wanted for securing another end is a 
consideration -- you don't want to pile up a bunch 
of ends in the same place.

  
&& [buttonhole stitches, bar tacks] 
    
EOF