May 28, 2010

Serger tutorial...ripping out a seam

Ugh. We've all done it...had to pretend we're in love with our seam ripper and lured them with cookies and ice cream so that they'll be our best friend and comply to all our requests.... Or maybe that's just how my relationship with my dear seam ripper goes. ;)

There is nothing worse than having to remove a serged seam. Now, you may ALL know how to rip out a serged seam, or maybe you never make mistakes ;) But maybe, just maybe, a few of you are just like me; you dive into something without thinking twice and later regret it because of all the seams you then have to remove, and you don't know the most efficient way to do it!

Here's how I do it. It's not pretty, I'm warning you now :) This may also be one of the more lame tutorials around, but if it helps even one person, then I may catch a break in the seam ripping karma department ;)

The culprit today, a neckline that was too big.

So, take your trusty seam ripper, and put it through the top half of the stitch


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Keep going all the way around until you are done. Then open the seam just a bit and rip out a few small stitches:

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Once you start to pull it apart a little, you will wind up with one longer thread...that's the one you get to pull:

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See how it removed the whole line of thread that was sewn by one of your needles?

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Keep doing this until you've gotten all your threads out. And then....ugh, you're left with this:

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But do not fret! This thing is my savior (have you seen me use it as a vacuum before?)

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With one swift roll...

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Tada!

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And that's how I rip out my serged seams. Uh, anyone know an easier way? ;)

xo,
Shari

8 comments:

  1. Looks pretty simple but not pretty..LOL. Don't know what we would do without the trusted vaccum cleaner.

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  2. If someone came up with an easier way they'd be filthy rich by now. I like the way you get the extra threads up, too...very smart.

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  3. My new goal....come up with a universal seam ripper for sergers and become filthy rich ;)

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  4. I wished I would have read this about 2 hours ago! :) Thanks for the tips.

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  5. Same same, until I got to the sticky part - pure genius!! :)

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  6. My dear lady, you are a lifesaver....believe me this excellently photographed tutorial has is a treasure I have discovered this morning, and will put to use immediately....thank you so much!

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  7. Sooooo happy this is still helping people! I do need to do some serger tutorials in general I think!

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  8. THANK YOU! very much for posting this. You have just saved me two hours of pulling and plucking and snipping and swearing! Good luck with your "get filthy rich" scheme - such a seam ripper would be a blessing to untold numbers of women!

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