The Whipstitch: A Tutorial With Pictures

There is an AMAZING new pattern heading your way soon, and since it includes this lovely little hand stitch technique, we thought we'd throw out a handy tutorial to help you whipstitch it out! But aside from our new pattern, this stitch is SO handy for all KINDS of crafting, so get ready to learn!

The Whipstitch: A Tutorial With Pictures

We'll start with supplies.

You will need:

Fabric
Coordinating thread (or contrasting, you do you!)
A hand sewing needle
Scissors

Now that we have all of that, let's begin!

Sewing a whipstitch

The first thing you want to do is thread your needle. I like to use a nice long piece of thread so I can sew with a double strand for durability's sake. So I pull my thread all the way through until the ends are even and tie them in a knot.



Once your needle is threaded, take your 2 pieces of fabric and place them wrong sides together. Insert your needle through the bottom (wrong side) of the top piece of fabric (as pictured). This will put your knot out of sight and provide you a prettier outward appearance. You'll want the needle to come out close to the edge (about 1/8").



Pull the needle all the way through until the knot is resting against the inside of the top fabric. Then swing it back to the underside and come up directly underneath and go back through that first hole you made. Pull it tight (but not too tight!) and you have your first stitch!



Now, to begin your next stitch, come through the bottom piece directly under that first stitch again, but this time angle the needle so that it emerges from the top about 1/8" over from that first stitch. This will keep the stitches perpendicular to the edge of the fabric as you progress, making for a nicer look. Once that is pulled snug, just keep going down the line until you've completed your seam. Again. take care not to pull any of your stitches too tight. You want it to hold, but not to roll or curl the fabric edges.



With all of your stitches in place, bring your needle through the bottom piece of fabric only. Just like in the beginning, we're going to sandwich the knot in between the 2 pieces to keep them nice and hidden.



Next, take your needle and make a tiny stitch through the bottom fabric. This will provide the base of our final knot to complete our whipstitch adventure.



Begin pulling the thread through, but stop while you still have a loop left and wrap it around your needle two or three times. Then when you pull the thread the rest of the way through, it will create your knot! I usually do this two or three times to make sure it isn't going anywhere, but one time would likely be fine if you don't want to tie more than one knot.



And that's it! You made a whipstitch! Now, don't look too closely at mine as I obviously need more practice to get my stitches all even and pretty. But sometimes being a little uneven can give it a little more character too, so don't worry if it's not perfect! 

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