Undo a Chain Stitch Quickly

Hi Everybody!

Today I have for you a super quick and easy tutorial on how to undo a chain stitch. 

You can see this stitch everywhere, from blue jeans to exercise wear, t-shirt necklines, 

you name it. It is a popular stitch in the garment industry, and can it ever be annoying 

when it decides to unravel on you. I have a technique that shows you how to take advantage of this when you want to undo a seam. 

I bought myself a drop cloth so that I could make some drapes and throw cushions.

I just love the oatmeal color and the texture of a drop cloth.

 This thing has a seam from top to bottom that I need to pick out. 

That's a twelve foot long seam. Whew!

So here is my technique to get around undoing this seam the slow way... 

The first thing is to find out in which direction the seam will unravel. 

On the right side of the fabric is a straight stitch. 

Using your seam ripper, cut a few stitches out from this side.

Mark this spot with a safety pin so it's easy to find when the fabric is turned over.

Turn the fabric over and lift up the chain stitch on the other side in that same spot. 

In one direction it will stop, in the other it will start to come apart. Pull the thread 

in that direction until you get to a point where it won't go any further. 

Lay the fabric out so that you can grab the threads on both sides. 

Hang on to them and pull gently on both at the same time.

The stitches should start unraveling now. 

Repeat these steps until the seam is completely undone. 

Ten minutes to pull out a twelve foot long seam. Nice. 

If you try this technique, I'd love to hear how it works out.

And just an FYI. I pre-shrunk my drop cloth by washing it in hot water

and drying it on high heat because I would like to be able to throw the
drapes in the wash later. The length went from twelve feet to 11'6". 
I'm glad I pre-shrunk it!

Have a great day, and Happy Sewing!

Val

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