Sewing by hand - instructions for hand stitches

• Bound stitch for pre-stitching
• Lockstitch, backstitch or puncture stitch
• Sew witches stitch
• Buttonhole stitch / loop stitch
• Hemstitched hem
• Staffier stitch for invisible seams
• Blindstitch / magic seam / conductor stitch

You want to learn to sew with your hands, but you lack any basic knowledge about the different stitches and their use ">

Bound stitch for pre-stitching

Not only for beginners, the pre-stitch is a useful stitch, sewing professionals swear by this technique. The stitching is used for queuing - especially if you need to sew very precisely. Always pierce the fabric with the needle at the same distance and out again so that the desired fabric pieces are connected to each other. You can also put several stitches before pulling the thread tight. After stapling, the sewing machine is sewn over and the stitching thread is then removed again. For the basting, which must be easy to separate at the end, there is special staple yarn to buy. This can be torn easily.

Lockstitch, backstitch or puncture stitch

The lockstitch is a line stitch, which is worked from right to left. The stitches of the same length are struck back and forward again, which is why the lockstitch can also be described as a backstitch.

Stick the needle through the fabric from below. Afterwards, pierce the fabric to the right in the desired stitch length. The needle must then be pricked up twice the stitch length left of the starting point. Continue this way and you will get a straight line. Above all, this stitch can be used in jobs where your sewing machine fails - for example, when processing solid fabrics.

This stitch can also be described as a dot stitch. For this, the needle is not pierced close to the previous cut, but left only at a very small distance next to it. This makes the dot stitch seam almost invisible. This subtle stitch is often needed when inserting zippers.

Sew witches stitch

Do you want to use a decorative seam or join two firmer fabrics like leather that should not overlap "> Work from left to right. Imagine two parallel lines between which the witch engraving is worked. Start from the bottom left and make an oblique stitch to the top right. Afterwards work to the right and leave a certain distance free before you pierce from the back at the same height with the needle again through the fabric. Now place an oblique stitch at exactly the same angle to the lower left.

Buttonhole stitch / loop stitch

As the name suggests, you can use this stitch to sew buttonholes. Equally perfect is this sewing technique for the decorative edging of edges, which gives it the name Schlingenstich. Often rugs are edged with this technique. Work from right to left here as well. From the top, pierce the fabric with the needle and lay the thread over the protruding needle point. Tighten the thread and create a loop that secures the edge of the fabric. Work this stitch very tight and tight you can sew buttonholes.

Hemstitched hem

With the hemstitch stitch seams can be sewn firmly, so that a neatly worked seam seems almost invisible. Before you start sewing, hemline the seam with a zigzag stitch and then iron. A smooth, straight edge simplifies the subsequent sewing. Pierce with the needle through the inside of the hem. Then take a few centimeters further left a piece of the outer fabric with the needle and then stab again from the inside through the hem addition.

Staffier stitch for invisible seams

Also from the right side of the fabric almost invisible is the Staffierstich. This is used with double-defined hems. Mainly Staffierstiche are used for sewing a lining. The Staffierstich consists of two stitches. Pierce with the needle from the outside, ie from below through the folded hem close to the breaking edge. Thereafter, a thread width is taken from the outer fabric with the tip of the needle, in order subsequently to pierce with this again in the seam addition close to the breaking edge. Push the needle to the left to pierce the tip again. The result is two oblique stitches facing each other.

Blindstitch / magic seam / conductor stitch

This stitch is needed, for example, if you want to close a pillow by sewing the turn-up opening. The blindstitch, also Leiterstich or Zaubernaht, characterized just by the fact that he is not visible.
Work as before from left to right. Insert needle and thread just near the beginning of the opening and from the inside. Pull the thread through and pierce with the needle point on the upper side, just opposite, once. Take 2-3 mm off the fabric before pulling the thread through. Now work with the needle back down - pierce the fabric from the outside and repeat the process just described. Finally, a kind of ladder pattern is formed, hence the term ladder stitch. The thread is now tightened and the magic seam closes.