Hand Sewing Stitches For Garment Sewing (Photos Included)

Learn how to hand sew the most common stitches used in sewing clothes

Hey y’all, today I’m going to talk with you about how to sew by hand. I find these basic hand sewing stitches very useful when sewing garments. So today I’ll share the running stitch, the back stitch, the slip stitch or ladder stitch, the hem stitch, the whip stitch and the blanket stitch. All of these hand sewing stitches regularly make appearances in my sewing projects. And if used properly, hand sewing adds a level of control that can help even beginners make their garments look more professional.

What, you thought just because you have a sewing machine you never have to hand sew? While it is possible to sew clothing without eve holding a sewing needle in your hand, a little time for hand-stitching often makes the finished garment that much better.

So now let’s break these stitches down. In the images below I am using sharp hand sewing needles, and all purpose polyester thread in a contrasting thread color so you can see the stitches.

How to Hand Sew a Running Stitch

The running stitch is the easiest of the three stitches. You can use a running stitch for gathering. Especially if you are gathering a long section, when a machine basted stitch might break. A running stitch can also be used as a basting stitch, and combinations of straight running stitches can be used in visible mending like these jeans I embellished. Even the large geometric patterned patch on those is done with running stitches.

To sew a running stitch, you just push your threaded needle back and forth through evenly sized folds of fabric – folded accordion style. If you are going to use this to gather the fabric, make sure you’re sewing near the edge of the fabric. For a patch you wouldn’t want to fold the fabric, instead you angle the needle up and down in evenly spaced stitches.

To gather, you pull the thread (I often even leave the needle attached). Smaller stitches will result in finer gathers. A longer stitch length goes faster and is easier to pull out if you’re basting. If you space the stitches evenly, the running stitch will appear identical on the right and wrong side of the fabric.

How to Sew a Backstitch

The backstitch is similar to the running stitch, and results in a straight line of stitches. The difference is that the backstitch is much more secure. If you are hand sewing a seam, this is the stitch to use. The backstitch is also commonly used in embroidery to create outlines.

To sew a back stitch, bring your needle up through the fabric. Take the needle back down in the same place, one thread of fabric over. Then push the tip of the needle back to the front side of the fabric a small way over in a straight line. Repeat, taking the needle down at the end of your stitch, and back up further down the line. You can sew with smaller backstitches for a sturdier seam. Since each stitch loops back onto itself, this creates a solid line of stitching on both the front and the back side.

Tip: if you want to make sure your running stitch is really straight, you can use a marking tool to mark your seamline with a ruler.

The Blind Stitch (aka Ladder Stitch, slip stitch or invisible stitch)

This is the hand sewing stitch I use most often in garment sewing. It gives a great finish on collars. It also works great to close up pillows, bean bags, stuffies and the like. Here’s a video showing how to do this stitch. You can also watch on YouTube here or scroll below the video for a photo tutorial to sew a ladder stitch. In the video I am using embroidery thread. That makes the stitches are easier to see, but you wouldn’t want to do that in a garment.

To hand sew a slip stitch, you need two pieces of fabric with their seam allowances folded in towards each other. I often pin these together with my pins parallel to the folds. Start by hiding your knot in a seam allowance. Then, take the first stitch in the seam allowance parallel to the fold or the stitching line (as in the picture below).

Then pick your needle up and take another stitch the same way in the seam allowance on the other side. Make sure your stitch doesn’t go through to the outside of the item. You want to put your needle in across from the end of the previous stitch. You’ll create a series of stitches like the image below, which might look like a ladder of stitches, a bunch of Vs, or a zig zag between the two folds.

When you pull the thread, the two seam allowances will pull together, hiding the stitching in between them. The stitching shouldn’t be visible on the front side or the back side if this is sewn properly.

The Hem Stitch

Now, if you read my tutorial about blind hemming with your machine, you might not ever need to hand sew a blind hem stitch. But sometimes I still use it, because if you’re hemming something tiny, it’s often easier than doing the setup for a blind hem on your machine.

In the video below I demonstrate how to sew a hem stitch by hand to hem a pair of pants. Skip to 11:06 if you just want to see the stitch. You can also watch this video on YouTube here.

To do this, first press your hem, then tie a knot in the end of the thread. Hide your knot in the seam allowance.

Stitch perpendicular to the hem fold, going through just a few threads from the right side of the fabric on the outside.

Move needle over and repeat. The inside will look like the image below, a series of loops.

And the outside will look like this. Though of course you would want to use matching thread, which would make these stitches nearly invisible.

The Whip Stitch

A whip stitch is a quick utility stitch used to overcast edges and secure things to linings. It is not the prettiest stitch and therefore is generally reserved for places it won’t be seen on the outside of the garment. You can work a whip stitch either down through the fabric or up and from left to right or right to left. Simply push the needle through the fabric, pull to the end of the thread, wrap the thread around the fabric, and move the needle over to take another stitch in the same way. If you are whip stitching two fabrics together, instead of the image below you’d push the needle through one fabric, then the other, before pulling it up and moving over for the next stitch. You stitches can be straight up and down as shown below or slanted to one side.

The Blanket Stitch

The blanket stitch is a variation of the whip stitch that carries the thread along the edge of the fabric. The stitching motion is the same as a whip stitch, but before pulling the thread, make sure it is behind the needle as shown below. This will ensure that the thread is carried along the edge. Blanket stitches should be perpendicular to the edge of the fabric for the neatest finish.

Below is an example of blanket stitching on the edge of the patch on my jeans. Not only does the stitch help secure the patch to my jeans, it finishes the edge of the fabric to help keep it from fraying in a pretty, decorative way. You can see more about the stitches used to mend these jeans in this post.

I hope those stitches work in order to help you finish your projects beautifully this year!