Hahaha, your reaction to the chain stitch was so endearingly hilarious but I was right there with you when I watched online, too! The chain stitch trick and that flat felled seam were worth the price of admission alone; thank you, so much!
Regarding the taking in by hand; while for most of us who own a sewing machine it makes more sense to use the machine. However, there’s so many young viewers on tic-toc or people who want to take in a seam and don’t know how to sew or don’t own a machine. Seems like a practical alternative for people. Now off to dig into my sock drawer 😂!
I agree completely! It’s amazing how these techniques were probably once common knowledge/techniques but have been long been forgotten with the advent of the sewing machine,and fast fashion for that matter. There was a time when you made clothing and you wanted to preserve them for as long as possible or pass along to another person or the next generation. With this custom in mind you don’t want to remove or cut fabric away so it could be possible to alter the fit for the next owner of the garment.
Honestly, I think the hemming techniques with the long stitches are meant to be temporary. If you are borrowing your friends jeans, you can sort of tailor them for the use.
Unless the jeans are super tight, taking it in with those long stitches won't bother you. If you wear your jeans super tight then, yes you will feel it, and chances are it won't hold anyway.
I've used the giant stitches to take in the waist trick to make some shorts wearable until I could get back home to my machine. It's basically the mattress stitch we use to sew up hand knit sweaters, and the trick of it is to pull up very few stitches and tighten the seam as you go. It does let you get right up to the original seam by doing it from the outside like that, which conceals the alteration.
I think the best thing about those almost useless stitches that take up a garment or shorten sleeves would be for a costumer to temporarily alter for petite actors. I wish I had known that when I altered one in the past... This was so fun to watch!
Sorry, don't have time to read everyone's comments. Someone may have said the same thing I am about to. I don't have a sewing machine, so I cannot do as much sewing as I would like, but in the first skeptical one you did, your thread broke, well I can tell you I have done this on almost all of my pants as I have lost weight and everything was too big. I found if you start at the bottom and work your way up to the waist band and you use upholstery thread, you can buy right at Walmart for not that much, it works wonderful every time. Hope this helps someone.
Back in 1966, I worked in a factory that made jeans. They had special machines that made the flat fold seams. The really hard seam to make was the inseam from opening to opening (between the legs) on a machine that had a small curved table shaped a little like a narrow metal saddle. After the inseam was finished, both legs were hemmed on another special sewing machine. Each bundle of jeans had 80 pairs of jeans in them; and, they were cut, sewed, finished, inspected and ready to ship in a very short time. To make the waistband smaller I cut two small slits inside the waistband and run a piece of No Roll elastic through the waistband to the other slit. I then hand stitch the elastic on both ends over the waistband to cover the two openings. The fullness is now spread out more evenly and are more comfortable. That chain stitch is a back stitch. You don't have to make the chain stitch to do the back stitch. Sewing on an orange, I can;t figure out why anyone would want to.
I have used that elastic waistband trick. It is helpful when you have to buy pants to fit your hips but the waist is too big. My daughter calls them toddler pants.....she is 31 yo
@@vanessalumbra9409you still can in this elastic example, because the small slits are on the inside of the band, so if u gain weight just cut stitches & remove elastic.
Loved this video- specially the last bit :). It blew my mind too- for a different reason! Now here is a piece of information that may not have been thought about! Guess where else sewing & stitches are used..in Surgery! Surgeons-in-training were known to practice their suturing techniques with an orange before sewing up actual patients (easily available & portable + the texture) .Granted, better training mechanisms may exist in modern times. The ladder stitch is a surgical suturing technique. Chain stitch may be too (Precise, evenly spaced invisible suturing with absorbable thread). The Orange is the key here:). Thank you for all the awesome videos !
The stitch they’re trying to show you, I believe, is the mattress stitch. I use it all the time to join hand knitted pieces of sweater together, and also closing stuffed animal, doll bodies, pillows shut after stuffing. It’s an invisible closure and join. The chain stitch is just running stitches on the back to get to the next loop you’re going to make on the front. You can’t undo the running stitches, but you can undo the loops. You’re sliding the thread, thus tightening the back’s running stitches.
I think the "giant stiches" ones are for people who don't have a sewing machine, or don't know how to sew. There are so many people who can't sew. We should be happy that maybe the "long stitch" alterations that kind of work, might give people the joy of achieving something with a needle and thread, which could lead to them learning more about sewing. 😊
The giant stitches look to me like ladder stitch. I use this to invisibly close a seam opening inteddy bear making, using dental floss, no breaking of thread. I have used ladderstitch for other repairs where it is very difficult to use a machine or in lieu of machine. Agree, the bulk of the fold would be uncomfortable.
It's used for tailoring of rental clothes because it's non-permanent. The same garment can be tailored over and over again in up to three sizes. The customer brings it back, the temporary stiches are removed, it is dry-cleaned, and it is ready for tailoring to another size for the next customer.
Also, this normalizes altering clothes rather than simply buying more. Less waste, less to the thrift stores or landfill, and young people gain some skills. Good first steps!
I agree. However, for those of us who have a machine, and wonder about the TikTok videos, I appreciate her testing these techniques and making them known.
Most of “lost for 500 years” hacks are just a longer way to do a stitch or a stitch by another name. The back and forth one is a ladder stitch that you use for closing plushes (as you don’t have access to the inside) and the chain loop one is a long way to do a pick stitch.
Yes, I was thinking it was just a long way to do a pick stitch! Might be easier to have consistent even spacing between the little stitches like this though. Also could be good if you can’t access the inside for some reason…
Ok Catherine. I HAVE SEEN those on RUclips shorts and couldn't figure out how they made them disappear so THANK YOU for demonstrating the blow by blow even though some didn't really make sense. Your last one IS amazing and I DO do that because most coat sleeves are too short for me (I add fleece) and always look for an invisible way, I'll try that next time!! Wow. Looks very UNdoable too!! Ps: you remain adorable and SUCH a teacher!
I laughed as much as you when you did the chain stitch. The unravelled chain stitch would not completely unravel bec you don't push the needle exactly through the same previous hole. I love to use it when I do blind hem by hand as I feel that it gives me more visibility and control 😊
The first seam you did we used in a sewing factory (when there were still sewing factories in the US). It was used for a company that had some really cool clothes. I still do this stitch today in my home sewing. The stitch to change the waistband size I’ve used for theater costumes for short run performances, that way you’re not harming the costumes and unpicking is much easier.
The chain stitch 'magic' works only if you put the needle back in just adjacent to where you popped it out. It's that tiny adjacent stitch that stys behind
This was fun and surprising that some of these ideas actually worked! The only reason I can think of for sewing on an orange would be to using yarn to make the orange a little sweater 😂😂. Thanks, Catherine.
You can skip the whole chaining bit and just do a tiny -invisible- stitch on the outside and a bigger one on the inside. Same result, less hassle (and not nearly as satisfying to watch, of course).
Okay - that last one blew my mind too! I never thought that was going to work until it did. As someone with short arms, I may have to make something and shorten the arms even more just to see this work for myself! I’ve often seen some of these videos and wondered if any of them worked well so thanks for trying them out! I do lots of garment construction by hand (even though I love machine sewing) and I find sewing by hand helps manage difficult fabrics (bulky, slinky, stretchy, super-fine fabrics) so hand sewing the denim makes perfect sense to me. After all, I wouldn’t want to use my pliers near my sewing machine but wouldn’t hesitate to use them to pull a handsewing needle, if necessary!
Hi Catherine Regarding the zipper, I think the use of this zipper is more made for small bags like pencil cases. Thank you for the video. I enjoyed it ❤
Catherine, My reactions perfectly mirrored yours, and the chain stitch technique is now stored in my memory bank of sewist solutions. We can't have too many of those!
I didn't really understand that last technique, so i hope you do a longer segment teaching us how to do it 🙏 I've been sharing your videos with my adult son who is on his 3rd sewing machine! He's very popular lol!😉
Such an interesting video! I don't do TikTok so I appreciate your sharing some of the ideas out there! Love that denim seam technique - looks less bulky too. Your astonished reaction at the embroidered attachment of the sleeve at the end had me in stitches... No pun intended! 😂 Thank you for making my day! 😊
The chain stitch is crazy. I just used it on embroidering a knitted blanket and was very skeptical. That one is crazy. I don’t know that I want to lengthen any sweater arms, but blew my mind anyway.
"Wait a second!!!!" 🤣🤣🤣 Love it made me laugh out loud for real. I would love if you tried that sewing hack that uses folded cardboard for a rolled hem. It didn't work for me. I didn't have a "wait a second" result :(
My son in college asked me to teach him how to hand mend his stuff. He took to it. He even asked my for a regular sewing machine to make his own stuff for his diabetes supplies to carry more discreet.
The "giant stitches" are actually mattress stitches. They are used in upholstery, where you don't have ACCESS to the inside. They're also commonly used to sew up handknit sweaters from the right side so that the seam appears invisible. They do make quite bulky seams, and I would rather knit my garment in the round and avoid seaming it altogether, but there are some times when it's the best choice.
I don’t knit - I crochet, but that “ladder stitch” or “mattress stitch” is ESSENTIAL in joining things like “Granny Squares” together to make a blanket, or a sweater! Sometimes having visible stitches can ruin your color scheme: By adding an additional color, or thanking away the focus from the squares to the joins in between. Sometimes you just don’t have enough matching yarn left to blend the seams in with the rest of the project.
When we do chainstitch by hand, rarely do we get our needle back through exactly where it came out. (As someone who has fixed a lot of student chain stitch, it's unfortunately not that easy to undo.) Essentially it's getting you do what I would call a picked stitch. Just, doing it as a chain stitch first makes it look so much more impressive. Kind of like how in these videos they never pull their ladder stitches tight until the end.
I’m really surprised that people don’t believe that one! I’d rather do a prick stitch though. (I think prick stitch might be the British name for picked/pick stitch, but they are the same)
That chain stitch makes it easier for less experienced people to make those evenly spread very small stitches because you can see what you are doing, and of course it looks impressive when you pull out all of those loops. But you can leave them out completely and just go from stitch to stitch.
The first one you showed, I’m surprised by this. It’s one of the first machine seams I was taught by my professional seamstress Grandmother who trained me. It’s a French seam; it was used for many years prior to what we seee now on jeans and prior to Sergers.
About the red yarn running stitch. As a knitter it made more sense when I saw it. It just works much better in hand knitwear. You join two pieces (or sleeve edges) together and when you "zip up" the yarn it is like magic cause two pieces are now one and it's almost like there's no seam at all.
The stitch used to take the jeans in is mattress stitch. It is a favourite of knitters where it gives an almost invisible seam. The looseness of transmitting makes it easier to pull as long as you haven't caught the knitted stitches. It is also easier if you stitch a lot of stitches but only pull a few at a time.
The “taking in” stitch is what I use to mend tears in my quilts. I’m not a pro sewer, not by any means, but it does make stitches invisible from the top.
13:27 that’s called a ladder stitch, it’s more meant for repairing holes as well as finishing parts where you don’t want a visible seam and can’t access the inside. The way used in the tiktok seems like a VERY temporary solution to tailoring clothes. I would not see those holding under regular use. (I use it all the time in my business, and I know I’m commenting from my music channel. Not logged into my business account on this phone lol)
When handwork was part of the curriculum in school, you learned hand sewing seams, buttons and buttonholes, mending, various stitches and their applications. Clothes you bought had wider seam allowances so that you could let them out, fabrics lasted longer. Nowadays, it is funny to see basic techniques rediscovered. Certainly, not 500 years old, they didn't have zippers then. Furthermore, I wouldn't sew a visible zipper that way except maybe for a pouch and even then... You can make the hole first with the clippings and ironing so that it looks finished from the right side and then position the zipper underneath and glue it in place, open the zipper, and sew around it. Take a longer zipper than the opening. You won't have any problems with the stopper and the pull, sewing over the teeth will act as stops.
The way you said, "How the bloody hell .... ?!" sounded so very English it was hilarious 🤣 With love and laughs on this occasion for a very Merry Christmas to you and yours, Catherine. From me across the pond 🥳🎄🇬🇧❤🇨🇦🎄🥳
Oh my glob oh my glob oh my glob in Lumpy Space Princess vocals! That first one flat, overlapping stichy thing you demonstrated! Now can take in legs on jeans that are wsy too big for my thin legs! Thank you❤
Loved this video. You made it so much fun to watch. On the last one, if you just do super small stitches to begin with you save time on looping and removing the loops.🤯
What every one here seems to be missing about that “chain stitch” trick at the end: It’s VERY DIFFICULT to hand sew knitted objects, like socks, sweaters and jersey knit fabrics, and KEEP THE STRETCH intact! 🎉 that’s the real breakthrough!
6:00 this zipper, i don't think it's meant to have the pouch / backing. I recently started making some mini backpacks and at the bottom of the front is a tiny pouch. You would do your zipper like this, round all the corner edges of the fabric you sewed it to (making this panel stick out about an inch all around, and then tuck your edges and sew all four sides down onto the front panel of your backpack... the fabric you stitch it onto is your backing/pocket.
I was thinking about how to attach the pocket lining during this process and I think there is a way that would work. You could attach the lining when you topstitch the lower side of the zip, with the lining hanging down straight behind the fabric (you could hem one end of the lining before attaching it for a neater finish). Then go over to the top side of the zip, fold the lining up behind and stitch the other end of the lining along with the top side of the opening/zip. Then you’d just need to sew the sides of the lining closed which should be doable, you might need to snip a little in places to get things laying flat (I haven’t tried anything like this but I think it would work, I’m going to try it when I start my next project). Heck, I might even try to film/photograph what I’m doing and upload it…
(Linda) love the last one, i too had to try it and it works! What is even better is if you are stuck somewhere to fix a pant hem (lets say pant is white and thread is black) it works, on the inside it will be black but who cares right. As long as you can fix it for the time being until you get home. it is magical only because doesn't matter what color thread! :)
Late to the party but what a fun and useful video. As the woman who has the arm length not seen since the link between man and ape- that last one is a game changer for me! I might need 2 or 3 socks to lengthen some shirts but if would do it to be able to wear for another 23 years!
I’m fairly sure they said another 2-3 years, not 23. It would be useful for children’s clothes as they grow so fast and sleeves not being long enough is the most noticeable visual and tactile issue. Depending on how fast the child is growing, this could keep an item usable for longer and this would be especially useful for low income families who might not be able to replace clothing as frequently as they’d like.
Oh my! I was flabbergasted (which I hope means what I think it means - French second language English speaker here) ! For the flat felt seam, I wonder how large a seam allowance you need and how you'd measure that 🤔 I wan imagine attaching a lace trim to a hem with the last trick, that's so neat ! I CANNOT believe it would work, yet I DO believe you !! Well done ! I was looking forward for the polo neck trick but I guess I'll have to test it myself ! Subscribed !
Catherine’s I did the intake of the waist with that method and was happy with it. I also stitched down the margin. Jeans are nice and loose around my hips and perfect at the waist. 🇨🇦
The giant stitches is called a ladder stitch. It's super useful for when you are closing the turning hole invisibly on something like a blanket, a stuffed animal after stuffing, a fully lined jacket. The pull closed back on Build a Bear stuffed animal is a big loose ladder stitch.
Exactly, also works if you need a temporary fix (used to work in a famous rental prom dresses' atelier in my hometown), but if you do smaller stitches, following the same steps, you can adjust almost anything and even fix some of them.
I laughed out loud with you at the sock/sleeve stitch!! But Catherine, how DO you sew without a thimble--especially on denim?!? I can barely pick up a needle without also having a thimble. So (or SEW!) much easier! 😊
🤣This was fun to watch! I believe the stitching to bring waist in works better if it’s to the back of the seam keeping stitches even on one side and at an angle on other side. Maybe picture a right triangle would help. Knitters use this stitch called the mattress stitch to seam together pieces of knitting. It should work. (None of this probably made sense.) The stitch thing on fruit reminded me of my daughter practicing stitches during nursing school. Shots were practiced on an orange🤣
What a great vid! Fun and enjoyable. Thank you so much for testing these techniques out. Have no idea when I would use them. Perhaps the French seam technique in a tote bag. Thanks you again. Your are inspirational.
All very interesting, especially the last one. The wide red stitches is just a ladder stitch used in a different way, but as you say, much more straightforward to sew in a regular way.
Love it. Good to have those techniques gone through like that. Every time I've seen the chain stitch one I've been so sceptical too. Thanks Catherine. Enjoyed that.. I think with ladder stitch techniques, for non sewers it could be more simple because your doing everything on one side of the work and not going "round the back" to do anything. Especially on something thats in the round like a sleeve ( just a thought) It would also be quite satisfying and encouraging for a newby, even if in the 3nd, you end up with what's basically a running stitch. 👍🏻🧵🪡
Now, That was fun. I loved that you blew your own mind. Guess I need to try the sleeve thing because I still, after re-watching you do it, can't comprehend it. LOL
Could the two holes next to each other at the base of the chain stitch end up being a vertical stitch that is lost in the ribbing after the chain is unraveled?
The big stitches are great for people without machines, with limited hand strength, with vision impairments since the big stitches are easier to see, or with other mobility issues that make fine stitches hard to create.
About the hemming from the outside, I know you can fold and hem from the inside but there’s one use case where this saved my life. My son’s favorite stuffy had ripped its seam and in this case hemming from the outside is the only way and I was able to do it with hidden stitches. I felt like a voodoo Dr. when i saw my son’s reaction. 😂. And I have been wanting to test out the chain stitch, so thank you for blowing your mind on my behalf. Glad it works. 🎉
Thanks for trying these! I want to try the one for knit cuffs…instead of one long seam and then fold over (bulky), they fold it before stitching so there is only one short seam.
I've always been curious about that chain stitch, and was also skeptical. I can't really sew by hand because of arthritis, so i never tried it. That is awesome
Can confirm that the bright red thread (aka ladder stitch) does work very well when you don't have a sewing machine and do have nice strong thread to use. Not as good on jeans or thick material, but lighter knits and cotton/linen? Works great! The logic behind it is mainly in tricking your non-sewist brain into understanding darts and hems.
The flat felded seam in its original form, in my opinion is a much stronger seam , but if the seam is more decorational than being used for strength, that is a much quicker way ❤
I've seen the chain stitch one before demonstrated on a beauty blender sponge and thought it was a trick but now you've demonstrated it I get it. If you were to try to take tiny, evenly spaced stitches that would effectively disappear into a squishy knit fabric, it would be a fiddly job. By doing this chain stitch, however, you aren't worrying about how big a bite of the fabric the needle is taking and it is easy to evenly space the stitches. As for the other tips, I think I'll use the easy flat felled seam on my next set of curtains. It looks like a pojagi seam.
I have used the "take it in with the giant ladder stitch" method a couple of times. My daughter has wanted to wear a skirt that was too big on occasion and I quickly hand stitches and pulled for a quick alteration and then did a proper one later. Also have been saving sock cuffs since I stumbled on a back issue of Threads magazine from the 80s on cuffs from your sock drawer
Most of these videos that you're trying out are what seamstress to do in factories they are throwing on industrial machines this is the reason why the feet are much more narrow etcetera and some of them have worked in factories for years and the tricks do work I've been saying over 20 years and actually used to do competitive sewing competitions and when you know these types of tricks you're able to complete garments extremely fast
The thread they used was much thicker than the thread you are using. I had wondered about that last technique. I have long arms and I have so many off the rack shirts that I want the sleeves to be longer. I will now fix my off the rack stuff. Thank you.
Hahaha, your reaction to the chain stitch was so endearingly hilarious but I was right there with you when I watched online, too! The chain stitch trick and that flat felled seam were worth the price of admission alone; thank you, so much!
I was always of that chain stitch as well! Thanks for the proof that it works!!
That chain stitch is the same technique use for opening large potato bags. You have to grab that one thread, pull it and then it rips open.
@@belindaf4584 not really. The bag stitch is a double thread stitch more like what a sewing machine does.
“I just blew my own mind “😂😂my daughter just came in to see what I was laughing so hard at!! I’m going to have to try that!
What????
I was convinced that chain stitch was going to unravel when you unlooped the individual stitches. It does work 😂 I too was blown away
Regarding the taking in by hand; while for most of us who own a sewing machine it makes more sense to use the machine. However, there’s so many young viewers on tic-toc or people who want to take in a seam and don’t know how to sew or don’t own a machine. Seems like a practical alternative for people. Now off to dig into my sock drawer 😂!
👍
I agree completely! It’s amazing how these techniques were probably once common knowledge/techniques but have been long been forgotten with the advent of the sewing machine,and fast fashion for that matter. There was a time when you made clothing and you wanted to preserve them for as long as possible or pass along to another person or the next generation. With this custom in mind you don’t want to remove or cut fabric away so it could be possible to alter the fit for the next owner of the garment.
Honestly, I think the hemming techniques with the long stitches are meant to be temporary. If you are borrowing your friends jeans, you can sort of tailor them for the use.
Unless the jeans are super tight, taking it in with those long stitches won't bother you. If you wear your jeans super tight then, yes you will feel it, and chances are it won't hold anyway.
Seems like they use more of a yarn than a thread to do the taking in trick. Maybe then it wouldn’t break…?
I've used the giant stitches to take in the waist trick to make some shorts wearable until I could get back home to my machine. It's basically the mattress stitch we use to sew up hand knit sweaters, and the trick of it is to pull up very few stitches and tighten the seam as you go. It does let you get right up to the original seam by doing it from the outside like that, which conceals the alteration.
I think the best thing about those almost useless stitches that take up a garment or shorten sleeves would be for a costumer to temporarily alter for petite actors. I wish I had known that when I altered one in the past... This was so fun to watch!
Yep! That’s exactly what we did when I worked wardrobe in theater!
Oh that’s hilarious!! Your reaction to the chain stitch trick had me in stitches…..?? 😂😂😂
I use the “giant stitches” to baste bust darts in silk thread- and then sew them by machine. It works so much better for me than pinning!
@andreaflory1703 That's a great tip; thank you!
That's such a great idea! Thank you! I how I remember that one the next time I sew dart!
Sorry, don't have time to read everyone's comments. Someone may have said the same thing I am about to. I don't have a sewing machine, so I cannot do as much sewing as I would like, but in the first skeptical one you did, your thread broke, well I can tell you I have done this on almost all of my pants as I have lost weight and everything was too big. I found if you start at the bottom and work your way up to the waist band and you use upholstery thread, you can buy right at Walmart for not that much, it works wonderful every time. Hope this helps someone.
@mainecreations , thank you for the tip. Congratulations on the weight loss.
I wondered if it would work better starting at the bottom. Thanks for sharing that tip.
Why do people pick music with clicking sounds?
The sweater sleeve one would be great for growing children!
Back in 1966, I worked in a factory that made jeans. They had special machines that made the flat fold seams. The really hard seam to make was the inseam from opening to opening (between the legs) on a machine that had a small curved table shaped a little like a narrow metal saddle. After the inseam was finished, both legs were hemmed on another special sewing machine. Each bundle of jeans had 80 pairs of jeans in them; and, they were cut, sewed, finished, inspected and ready to ship in a very short time.
To make the waistband smaller I cut two small slits inside the waistband and run a piece of No Roll elastic through the waistband to the other slit. I then hand stitch the elastic on both ends over the waistband to cover the two openings. The fullness is now spread out more evenly and are more comfortable.
That chain stitch is a back stitch. You don't have to make the chain stitch to do the back stitch. Sewing on an orange, I can;t figure out why anyone would want to.
"Why would you sew on an orange?" .... because it's easier to see than an apple or a grape. Haha.
I have used that elastic waistband trick. It is helpful when you have to buy pants to fit your hips but the waist is too big. My daughter calls them toddler pants.....she is 31 yo
But the deal is not to cut the jeans in the waist so when you get older and wider, you can undo the stitching to its original size.
@@vanessalumbra9409you still can in this elastic example, because the small slits are on the inside of the band, so if u gain weight just cut stitches & remove elastic.
The elastic waistband trick sounds like adjustable waist pants I buy for my kids.
Loved this video- specially the last bit :). It blew my mind too- for a different reason! Now here is a piece of information that may not have been thought about! Guess where else sewing & stitches are used..in Surgery!
Surgeons-in-training were known to practice their suturing techniques with an orange before sewing up actual patients (easily available & portable + the texture) .Granted, better training mechanisms may exist in modern times.
The ladder stitch is a surgical suturing technique. Chain stitch may be too (Precise, evenly spaced invisible suturing with absorbable thread).
The Orange is the key here:).
Thank you for all the awesome videos !
I know a surgeon and she practised suturing on bananas when in med school!
You are hilarious.........I think you are going to keep the sleeve sample for 23 years hahahahahaha
The stitch they’re trying to show you, I believe, is the mattress stitch. I use it all the time to join hand knitted pieces of sweater together, and also closing stuffed animal, doll bodies, pillows shut after stuffing. It’s an invisible closure and join.
The chain stitch is just running stitches on the back to get to the next loop you’re going to make on the front. You can’t undo the running stitches, but you can undo the loops. You’re sliding the thread, thus tightening the back’s running stitches.
I think the "giant stiches" ones are for people who don't have a sewing machine, or don't know how to sew.
There are so many people who can't sew. We should be happy that maybe the "long stitch" alterations that kind of work, might give people the joy of achieving something with a needle and thread, which could lead to them learning more about sewing. 😊
Exactly. Besides, with the giant stiches, you can undo it super easily later if you're after a temporary alteration.
The giant stitches look to me like ladder stitch. I use this to invisibly close a seam opening inteddy bear making, using dental floss, no breaking of thread. I have used ladderstitch for other repairs where it is very difficult to use a machine or in lieu of machine. Agree, the bulk of the fold would be uncomfortable.
It's used for tailoring of rental clothes because it's non-permanent. The same garment can be tailored over and over again in up to three sizes.
The customer brings it back, the temporary stiches are removed, it is dry-cleaned, and it is ready for tailoring to another size for the next customer.
Also, this normalizes altering clothes rather than simply buying more. Less waste, less to the thrift stores or landfill, and young people gain some skills. Good first steps!
I agree. However, for those of us who have a machine, and wonder about the TikTok videos, I appreciate her testing these techniques and making them known.
They actually stitched ladies into their gowns. The taking in hack is truely ment as a temporary dart. I love that you are putting these to the test.
Now that actually makes sense!! Thanks for that insight.
Most of “lost for 500 years” hacks are just a longer way to do a stitch or a stitch by another name. The back and forth one is a ladder stitch that you use for closing plushes (as you don’t have access to the inside) and the chain loop one is a long way to do a pick stitch.
Exactly what I was going to say!
Yes, I was thinking it was just a long way to do a pick stitch! Might be easier to have consistent even spacing between the little stitches like this though. Also could be good if you can’t access the inside for some reason…
in knitting, the 500 years one is called mattress stitch and it's a way to invisibly join two knitted pannels.
Ok Catherine. I HAVE SEEN those on RUclips shorts and couldn't figure out how they made them disappear so THANK YOU for demonstrating the blow by blow even though some didn't really make sense. Your last one IS amazing and I DO do that because most coat sleeves are too short for me (I add fleece) and always look for an invisible way, I'll try that next time!! Wow. Looks very UNdoable too!! Ps: you remain adorable and SUCH a teacher!
I like the fake flat felled seam. That's pretty cool!
I laughed as much as you when you did the chain stitch. The unravelled chain stitch would not completely unravel bec you don't push the needle exactly through the same previous hole. I love to use it when I do blind hem by hand as I feel that it gives me more visibility and control 😊
The first seam you did we used in a sewing factory (when there were still sewing factories in the US). It was used for a company that had some really cool clothes. I still do this stitch today in my home sewing. The stitch to change the waistband size I’ve used for theater costumes for short run performances, that way you’re not harming the costumes and unpicking is much easier.
It's a Christmas miracle! Wut!?!?! I had to watch that over and over😂. I laughed and swore right along with you. ❤❤❤
The chain stitch 'magic' works only if you put the needle back in just adjacent to where you popped it out. It's that tiny adjacent stitch that stys behind
This was fun and surprising that some of these ideas actually worked! The only reason I can think of for sewing on an orange would be to using yarn to make the orange a little sweater 😂😂. Thanks, Catherine.
I love how you laugh at yourself. Fun video to watch .
I always doubted it when I watched a "chain-stitch" seam. Now I know it really works!!
You can skip the whole chaining bit and just do a tiny -invisible- stitch on the outside and a bigger one on the inside. Same result, less hassle (and not nearly as satisfying to watch, of course).
Okay - that last one blew my mind too! I never thought that was going to work until it did. As someone with short arms, I may have to make something and shorten the arms even more just to see this work for myself! I’ve often seen some of these videos and wondered if any of them worked well so thanks for trying them out! I do lots of garment construction by hand (even though I love machine sewing) and I find sewing by hand helps manage difficult fabrics (bulky, slinky, stretchy, super-fine fabrics) so hand sewing the denim makes perfect sense to me. After all, I wouldn’t want to use my pliers near my sewing machine but wouldn’t hesitate to use them to pull a handsewing needle, if necessary!
Loved the flat-felled section. I've been doing half-flat-felled for neat interiors, but this one guarantees a much stronger seam!
Catherine I howled with you on the last hack.
Hi Catherine
Regarding the zipper, I think the use of this zipper is more made for small bags like pencil cases. Thank you for the video. I enjoyed it ❤
I was thinking the same thing, so the trick would be to use a zippered bag as the pocket 🎉😂
Catherine, My reactions perfectly mirrored yours, and the chain stitch technique is now stored in my memory bank of sewist solutions. We can't have too many of those!
I didn't really understand that last technique, so i hope you do a longer segment teaching us how to do it 🙏 I've been sharing your videos with my adult son who is on his 3rd sewing machine! He's very popular lol!😉
Such an interesting video! I don't do TikTok so I appreciate your sharing some of the ideas out there! Love that denim seam technique - looks less bulky too. Your astonished reaction at the embroidered attachment of the sleeve at the end had me in stitches... No pun intended! 😂 Thank you for making my day! 😊
I refuse to watch Tik Tok
The chain stitch is crazy. I just used it on embroidering a knitted blanket and was very skeptical. That one is crazy. I don’t know that I want to lengthen any sweater arms, but blew my mind anyway.
"Wait a second!!!!" 🤣🤣🤣 Love it made me laugh out loud for real. I would love if you tried that sewing hack that uses folded cardboard for a rolled hem. It didn't work for me. I didn't have a "wait a second" result :(
My son in college asked me to teach him how to hand mend his stuff. He took to it. He even asked my for a regular sewing machine to make his own stuff for his diabetes supplies to carry more discreet.
The "giant stitches" are actually mattress stitches. They are used in upholstery, where you don't have ACCESS to the inside. They're also commonly used to sew up handknit sweaters from the right side so that the seam appears invisible. They do make quite bulky seams, and I would rather knit my garment in the round and avoid seaming it altogether, but there are some times when it's the best choice.
@@thezaftigwendy thanks! I’ve never heard of mattress stitches. Makes sense for when you don’t have access to the inside!
I don’t knit - I crochet, but that “ladder stitch” or “mattress stitch” is ESSENTIAL in joining things like “Granny Squares” together to make a blanket, or a sweater! Sometimes having visible stitches can ruin your color scheme: By adding an additional color, or thanking away the focus from the squares to the joins in between. Sometimes you just don’t have enough matching yarn left to blend the seams in with the rest of the project.
@@CatherineSews I don't actually like mattress stitch for sewing knits or anything else, much, cuz it creates so much daggone BULK!
When we do chainstitch by hand, rarely do we get our needle back through exactly where it came out. (As someone who has fixed a lot of student chain stitch, it's unfortunately not that easy to undo.) Essentially it's getting you do what I would call a picked stitch. Just, doing it as a chain stitch first makes it look so much more impressive. Kind of like how in these videos they never pull their ladder stitches tight until the end.
I’m really surprised that people don’t believe that one! I’d rather do a prick stitch though. (I think prick stitch might be the British name for picked/pick stitch, but they are the same)
@@jaybee4118yes and it would save having to undo all the chains.
That chain stitch makes it easier for less experienced people to make those evenly spread very small stitches because you can see what you are doing, and of course it looks impressive when you pull out all of those loops. But you can leave them out completely and just go from stitch to stitch.
The first one you showed, I’m surprised by this. It’s one of the first machine seams I was taught by my professional seamstress Grandmother who trained me. It’s a French seam; it was used for many years prior to what we seee now on jeans and prior to Sergers.
I love the chain stitch! Long arms always end up with short sleeves --- magic chain stitch is in my future!!
About the red yarn running stitch. As a knitter it made more sense when I saw it. It just works much better in hand knitwear. You join two pieces (or sleeve edges) together and when you "zip up" the yarn it is like magic cause two pieces are now one and it's almost like there's no seam at all.
I hadn't thought of that! I hate seeming knitting projects - especially where the Kirchner (?) technique can't be used. I'm going to give this a try!😊
Best line of the whole video - Maybe you can wear this for another 23 years! Love it! I was right there with ya, totally blown away😂
The stitch used to take the jeans in is mattress stitch. It is a favourite of knitters where it gives an almost invisible seam. The looseness of transmitting makes it easier to pull as long as you haven't caught the knitted stitches. It is also easier if you stitch a lot of stitches but only pull a few at a time.
The “taking in” stitch is what I use to mend tears in my quilts. I’m not a pro sewer, not by any means, but it does make stitches invisible from the top.
13:27 that’s called a ladder stitch, it’s more meant for repairing holes as well as finishing parts where you don’t want a visible seam and can’t access the inside. The way used in the tiktok seems like a VERY temporary solution to tailoring clothes. I would not see those holding under regular use. (I use it all the time in my business, and I know I’m commenting from my music channel. Not logged into my business account on this phone lol)
I always wanted to do the last one. Glad you did. AWSOME
Holy cow. I'm gonna have to try that chain stitch now. Because no way!
Whoa! That last one blew my mind, too! Now I have to go find something I can try it on.
When handwork was part of the curriculum in school, you learned hand sewing seams, buttons and buttonholes, mending, various stitches and their applications. Clothes you bought had wider seam allowances so that you could let them out, fabrics lasted longer. Nowadays, it is funny to see basic techniques rediscovered. Certainly, not 500 years old, they didn't have zippers then. Furthermore, I wouldn't sew a visible zipper that way except maybe for a pouch and even then... You can make the hole first with the clippings and ironing so that it looks finished from the right side and then position the zipper underneath and glue it in place, open the zipper, and sew around it. Take a longer zipper than the opening. You won't have any problems with the stopper and the pull, sewing over the teeth will act as stops.
The way you said, "How the bloody hell .... ?!" sounded so very English it was hilarious 🤣 With love and laughs on this occasion for a very Merry Christmas to you and yours, Catherine. From me across the pond 🥳🎄🇬🇧❤🇨🇦🎄🥳
Oh my glob oh my glob oh my glob in Lumpy Space Princess vocals! That first one flat, overlapping stichy thing you demonstrated! Now can take in legs on jeans that are wsy too big for my thin legs! Thank you❤
You never know. Once in awhile we find something very cool. Fun video.
Loved this video. You made it so much fun to watch.
On the last one, if you just do super small stitches to begin with you save time on looping and removing the loops.🤯
What every one here seems to be missing about that “chain stitch” trick at the end: It’s VERY DIFFICULT to hand sew knitted objects, like socks, sweaters and jersey knit fabrics, and KEEP THE STRETCH intact! 🎉 that’s the real breakthrough!
Love your handle! Whenever you go out! Haha😄
6:00 this zipper, i don't think it's meant to have the pouch / backing. I recently started making some mini backpacks and at the bottom of the front is a tiny pouch. You would do your zipper like this, round all the corner edges of the fabric you sewed it to (making this panel stick out about an inch all around, and then tuck your edges and sew all four sides down onto the front panel of your backpack... the fabric you stitch it onto is your backing/pocket.
@@xmobile. yes, that’s the perfect use for this!
I was thinking about how to attach the pocket lining during this process and I think there is a way that would work. You could attach the lining when you topstitch the lower side of the zip, with the lining hanging down straight behind the fabric (you could hem one end of the lining before attaching it for a neater finish). Then go over to the top side of the zip, fold the lining up behind and stitch the other end of the lining along with the top side of the opening/zip. Then you’d just need to sew the sides of the lining closed which should be doable, you might need to snip a little in places to get things laying flat (I haven’t tried anything like this but I think it would work, I’m going to try it when I start my next project). Heck, I might even try to film/photograph what I’m doing and upload it…
(Linda) love the last one, i too had to try it and it works! What is even better is if you are stuck somewhere to fix a pant hem (lets say pant is white and thread is black) it works, on the inside it will be black but who cares right. As long as you can fix it for the time being until you get home. it is magical only because doesn't matter what color thread! :)
Late to the party but what a fun and useful video. As the woman who has the arm length not seen since the link between man and ape- that last one is a game changer for me! I might need 2 or 3 socks to lengthen some shirts but if would do it to be able to wear for another 23 years!
I’m fairly sure they said another 2-3 years, not 23. It would be useful for children’s clothes as they grow so fast and sleeves not being long enough is the most noticeable visual and tactile issue. Depending on how fast the child is growing, this could keep an item usable for longer and this would be especially useful for low income families who might not be able to replace clothing as frequently as they’d like.
That last one is basically awesome
Oh my! I was flabbergasted (which I hope means what I think it means - French second language English speaker here) !
For the flat felt seam, I wonder how large a seam allowance you need and how you'd measure that 🤔
I wan imagine attaching a lace trim to a hem with the last trick, that's so neat ! I CANNOT believe it would work, yet I DO believe you !!
Well done !
I was looking forward for the polo neck trick but I guess I'll have to test it myself !
Subscribed !
Catherine’s I did the intake of the waist with that method and was happy with it. I also stitched down the margin. Jeans are nice and loose around my hips and perfect at the waist. 🇨🇦
The giant stitches is called a ladder stitch. It's super useful for when you are closing the turning hole invisibly on something like a blanket, a stuffed animal after stuffing, a fully lined jacket. The pull closed back on Build a Bear stuffed animal is a big loose ladder stitch.
Exactly, also works if you need a temporary fix (used to work in a famous rental prom dresses' atelier in my hometown), but if you do smaller stitches, following the same steps, you can adjust almost anything and even fix some of them.
I laughed out loud with you at the sock/sleeve stitch!! But Catherine, how DO you sew without a thimble--especially on denim?!? I can barely pick up a needle without also having a thimble. So (or SEW!) much easier! 😊
Your red glasses are so good! We can see your bright eyes so much better. Pretty. 😊
So fun! That chain stitch on sock lengthening is pure wizardry 🙂
I never thought that chain stitch would work either!!! 🤯🤯🤯
🤣This was fun to watch! I believe the stitching to bring waist in works better if it’s to the back of the seam keeping stitches even on one side and at an angle on other side. Maybe picture a right triangle would help. Knitters use this stitch called the mattress stitch to seam together pieces of knitting. It should work. (None of this probably made sense.)
The stitch thing on fruit reminded me of my daughter practicing stitches during nursing school. Shots were practiced on an orange🤣
That chain stitch magic is so cool!! I’m so glad you did that one!!
What a great vid! Fun and enjoyable. Thank you so much for testing these techniques out. Have no idea when I would use them. Perhaps the French seam technique in a tote bag. Thanks you again. Your are inspirational.
All very interesting, especially the last one. The wide red stitches is just a ladder stitch used in a different way, but as you say, much more straightforward to sew in a regular way.
Yup, I figured that out too, after I thought about it. I think the loop thing is a bit gimmicky like the jean alterations.
@@kathyreston9933 They were all interesting but I felt also a bit gimmicky
Love it. Good to have those techniques gone through like that. Every time I've seen the chain stitch one I've been so sceptical too. Thanks Catherine. Enjoyed that.. I think with ladder stitch techniques, for non sewers it could be more simple because your doing everything on one side of the work and not going "round the back" to do anything. Especially on something thats in the round like a sleeve ( just a thought) It would also be quite satisfying and encouraging for a newby, even if in the 3nd, you end up with what's basically a running stitch. 👍🏻🧵🪡
I was just as skeptical as you on that chain stitch! Same results!🤯
Using an orange would work if you have lots of socks to darn. The last one blew my mind,too !Thanks for the tips.😃👍🏼💙
Mom used on old lightbulb to repair socks. I tried it too. A smooth surface really helps.
@@marlenecheladyn6450 that’s what my mom always used. The infrequent times I’ve darned socks, that’s what I’ve used also.
I got my daughter a sewing machine three years ago and it is still in the box never used. She is still hand sewing. That is what she loves the best.
Love the reaction to chain stitch. Blew my mind too 🤯
Love how you were honest in your tests
Well live and learn! I also didn't think the chain stitch would work. Thanks for telling us how/why it worked Katherine
Whuuuuut???!!!
😂😂😂😂😂
That last hack blew my mind, too! 🤪
Hanks for trying these! Like you, I can’t imagine how the last one works.😊
Oh my gosh, that was so much fun, I needed a laugh! But, I also might try that chain stitch trick.
You are right. Most of those 'hacks' are much of a muchness, but I am glad to see the last one work. Saves me the time to try it out.
Now, That was fun. I loved that you blew your own mind. Guess I need to try the sleeve thing because I still, after re-watching you do it, can't comprehend it. LOL
Could the two holes next to each other at the base of the chain stitch end up being a vertical stitch that is lost in the ribbing after the chain is unraveled?
@@Silverhaired59 that's the one. The chainstitch is a frame that helps to keep those stitches tiny.
Might also be a great way to add inner cuffs to broad coat/ jacket / sweatshirt sleeves, to keep wind from blowing up them.
The big stitches are great for people without machines, with limited hand strength, with vision impairments since the big stitches are easier to see, or with other mobility issues that make fine stitches hard to create.
Your nice Canadian swearing is cracking me up!
About the hemming from the outside, I know you can fold and hem from the inside but there’s one use case where this saved my life. My son’s favorite stuffy had ripped its seam and in this case hemming from the outside is the only way and I was able to do it with hidden stitches. I felt like a voodoo Dr. when i saw my son’s reaction. 😂. And I have been wanting to test out the chain stitch, so thank you for blowing your mind on my behalf. Glad it works. 🎉
Thanks for trying these! I want to try the one for knit cuffs…instead of one long seam and then fold over (bulky), they fold it before stitching so there is only one short seam.
The first & last were totally cool!!!! That sleeve!!
I've always been curious about that chain stitch, and was also skeptical. I can't really sew by hand because of arthritis, so i never tried it. That is awesome
Can confirm that the bright red thread (aka ladder stitch) does work very well when you don't have a sewing machine and do have nice strong thread to use. Not as good on jeans or thick material, but lighter knits and cotton/linen? Works great! The logic behind it is mainly in tricking your non-sewist brain into understanding darts and hems.
The flat felded seam in its original form, in my opinion is a much stronger seam , but if the seam is more decorational than being used for strength, that is a much quicker way ❤
I agree, I think I would use it when making a bag, but not on a garment where I needed to be accurate with the seam allowances.
This was fun to watch; thanks for sharing! Some good ideas that I may try, especially with the sleeve lengthening! 🤗🇨🇦🌻
I've seen the chain stitch one before demonstrated on a beauty blender sponge and thought it was a trick but now you've demonstrated it I get it. If you were to try to take tiny, evenly spaced stitches that would effectively disappear into a squishy knit fabric, it would be a fiddly job. By doing this chain stitch, however, you aren't worrying about how big a bite of the fabric the needle is taking and it is easy to evenly space the stitches. As for the other tips, I think I'll use the easy flat felled seam on my next set of curtains. It looks like a pojagi seam.
However, pick stitch is something I learned and used as a kid, especially on my wool suits I made for the Make It With Wool contests.
I have used the "take it in with the giant ladder stitch" method a couple of times. My daughter has wanted to wear a skirt that was too big on occasion and I quickly hand stitches and pulled for a quick alteration and then did a proper one later.
Also have been saving sock cuffs since I stumbled on a back issue of Threads magazine from the 80s on cuffs from your sock drawer
Fun!! Thanks for trying them out for us.
That last one was amazing! I was thinking exactly like you were, that it would all just unravel. Crazy! ❤❤❤
Most of these videos that you're trying out are what seamstress to do in factories they are throwing on industrial machines this is the reason why the feet are much more narrow etcetera and some of them have worked in factories for years and the tricks do work I've been saying over 20 years and actually used to do competitive sewing competitions and when you know these types of tricks you're able to complete garments extremely fast
Ty, I love watching your videos...who knew about the chain stitch🤣🤣
Love your reactions!!! What a hoot!
Thanks, it was a lot of fun!
The thread they used was much thicker than the thread you are using. I had wondered about that last technique. I have long arms and I have so many off the rack shirts that I want the sleeves to be longer. I will now fix my off the rack stuff. Thank you.
I wanted to try that sock sleeve one and I'm so glad it works.