by Colette Georgii

Created on: February 11, 2009

Useful stitches to sew by hand

If you are a beginner at sewing and haven't learned your hand stitches, it is important to know that hand stitching is not only useful but often necessary. Hand stitching provides the finishing touches for most garments such as dresses, suits, jackets, etc. Without hand stitching you don't get the streamlined look that is important in fine dressmaking or tailoring.

Some useful and important hand stitches:

1) Running stitch. The running stitch is the most basic and useful hand stitch. You can make an entire garment without even using a machine by using the running stitch. The running stitch is an in and out stitch. Insert you needle and thread in and then insert it out - in and out. The stitch should be about 1/4 inch long but it can be shorter or longer. A long running stitch is good for gathering. You don't have to gather on the machine. You can gather by hand using the running stitch - a little longer than 1/4 inch. A tiny running stitch can be used for sewing a whole garment together or as a border on cuffs or around collars.

2) Basting stitch. The basting stitch is another in and out stitch like the running stitch, but it is a longer stitch. It is actually a long running stitch - about 3/4 to 1 inch long. It is used to sew parts of your garment together to hold it together for machine or hand sewing. Some people use pins to keep pieces together and other people baste.

3) Overhand stitch. This stitch is often used to reinforce raw seams together. It is also used in hemming. In is another in and out stitch. For hemming it starts by inserting the threaded needle into the top piece of fabric and then picking up a few threads in the bottom piece of fabric and bringing the needle and thread up through the top fabric. You repeat this over and over again until your entire garment is hemmed. It can be pants, a skirt or dress, or a jacket. If using to reinforce a seam start by inserting the needle in the top piece taking it through to the back and bringing it back from the back to the front. It is used in place of pinking shears which are also used to reinforce raw edges.

4) Back stitch. The back stitch may seem more complicated at first but it is really an easy stitch. It is often used to sew a whole garment together also and is more secure than a running stitch since every part of the seamline is covered by the stitch rather than having a space between stitches as a running stitch has. It mimics the machine stitch which also fills up the

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