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The Easiest Way to Fix a Skipped Stitch

August 16, 2019 By Nadeem Muaddi

The Hog Ring - How to fix a skipped stitch

You know what sucks? When your sewing machine skips a stitch in the middle of an otherwise perfect job.

Don’t freak out! It happens to the best of us.

Fortunately, a lot of experienced trimmers in The Hog Ring community know just what to do and are happy to share their tips.

In fact, Chuck Bench of Stitch Rod and Trim put together this awesome tutorial on how to fix a skipped stitch.

Chuck writes…

Have you ever had your machine skip while sewing a top stitch or French seam? It’s super annoying, especially when you already ran several scrap pieces to test the thread tension.

If it’s a simple, run-of-the-mill repair, you might let it slide. But if it’s a high-dollar project and everything has to be perfect, you’ll need to start over.

Or maybe not…

Here’s a tutorial on how to cosmetically “fix” a skipped stitch so that it doesn’t show and ruin your work.

For this tutorial, I used 270 top thread and a 92 bobbin with a 22 needle. I know that combination isn’t advised, but my supplier didn’t send the correct needles with the thread I ordered and the job couldn’t wait — so I did what I had to do.

Anyway, here are the steps you’ll need follow:

1. Freak out over your skipped stitch

The Hog Ring - Fix a skipped stitch

2. Calm down and thread a needle

Grab a sewing machine needle (who doesn’t have an extra 30 of these lying around?). You can also use an ordinary sewing needle.

Take a 12″ piece of your bobbin thread and thread it through the needle.

The Hog Ring - Fix a skipped stitch

3. Stick it in the hole

On the top side of the material, insert the needle into the hole under the missed stitch where the bobbin should have caught it. Don’t go through the top stitch to get to the hole. Instead, go on one side of the top stitch.

The Hog Ring - Fix a skipped stitch

4. Pull the thread through the hole

With the needle still in the hole, flip the material over and pull the thread through on one side.

The Hog Ring - Fix a skipped stitch

5. Back the needle out

Once your thread is through, back the needle out of the same hole.

The Hog Ring - Fix a skipped stitch

6. Stick it in there one more time

Just like you did in step 3, stick the needle back into the hole under the missed stitch where the bobbin should have caught it. Only this time, poke the needle through the hole on the opposite side of the top stitch.

The Hog Ring - Fix a skipped stitch

7. Pull the thread through again

Once you have the needle far enough in there, go ahead and pull the other side of the thread all the way through the hole. Now you should have both sides of the thread on the back side of the material and it should be looped around the skipped top stitch on the front side of the material.

The Hog Ring - Fix a skipped stitch

8. It’s time to pull and tie

Hold both sides of the thread and pull it as tight as you can to yank the top stitch back into the cover. Once it’s nice and tight, tie it off in a square knot.

The Hog Ring - Fix a skipped stitch

9. Breathe a sigh of relief

Flip the cover over and take a look at the skipped stitch. If you followed these steps correctly, it should look normal on the front side.

In this shot, it doesn’t look perfect because I was using 270 thread and it’s THICK — but you get the point.

The Hog Ring - Fix a skipped stitch

Happy stitching everyone! For more great tutorials, join The Hog Ring forum and visit our “How To” section.

Filed Under: Archive, How-to, THR Favorites Tagged With: Auto Trim, Auto Upholstery, Car Interior, Hand Stitching, Sewing Machine, Stitch Rod and Trim

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hotrod says

    July 29, 2017 at 9:27 pm

    Where do you buy the 270 thread?

    • Warren McClung says

      July 30, 2017 at 2:19 am

      Upholstery shop suppliers on the east coast sell it. They call it High Contrast Tread. Three Rivers sells it.
      I use at least a size 24 needle.

  2. Anthony Simpson says

    August 16, 2019 at 9:49 pm

    The best 210 and 270 thread i have found is serafil from Amann. Works great!

  3. Dilipkumar Kapadia says

    August 17, 2019 at 11:44 am

    Nice job and tips.

  4. Performance Interiors says

    March 21, 2021 at 9:30 pm

    Great tip!
    My favorite company for thread of all types, sizes and colors is
    The Thread Exchange, fast shipping and everything you need! Look them up online.
    And I’ve had best results with #24 needle for any thread size over 200. Happy stitching!

  5. Lei Minami says

    June 13, 2023 at 8:00 pm

    I bought an expensive sweater, and when I received it in the mail, I noticed a few stitches left out in the neck in plain sight. It felt gut wrenching to know I had spent a pretty penny on it only to receive something damaged. Furthermore, It was the only one left so I couldn’t get another one for a replacement! This saved my beautiful sweater and I’m able to enjoy it. Thank you so much!

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