Reinforcing Stress Points

What you will learn

• Bar tacking
• Stitching a small box or triangle
• Choosing where to reinforce

Materials and tools

• Threaded machine
• Scrap woven cotton, doubled
• Chalk and ruler

Before you start

• Mark a point that would take strain. Typical places are the top corners of a patch pocket, the base of a side slit and the end of a seam opening.

1. Option 1, bar tack: choose zigzag, width 3 mm and length 0.5 mm. Place the point under the needle.
2. Sew in place for 6 to 8 stitches. The stitches pile into a tight bar across the stress point. Do not move the fabric.

3. Option 2, small box: set a short straight stitch, 1.5 to 2 mm. Mark a square 1/4 in (6 mm) wide.
4. Stitch around the box with pivots at the corners, or sew a small triangle for a pocket corner. Go back over the first row once.
5. Option 3, double straight lines: sew two or three stitches in reverse over the end of a seam, then forward. Do this at pocket openings.
6. Pull the threads to the back, tie them and trim.
7. Test the strength by tugging the fabric across the reinforcement.
8. If your machine has a bar tack stitch, check the manual. A dense zigzag is the same effect on a basic machine.

Tips for a neat result

• Use the strongest thread you have for stress points.
• A reinforced point is hard to unpick, so check the position first.

Common mistakes and fixes

Check your result

• The reinforcement lies flat and cannot be pulled apart by gentle tugging.
• It is in the correct place.

Projects that use this