Mending with Makers HQ: How to Repair a Split Seam

Over time, the clothes we love the most might start to show signs of wear and tear. Although softened with time, we believe that our favourite clothes should last a lifetime.

To help extend the life of our go-to jackets, favourite jumpers and trusty trousers, we’ve partnered with Makers HQ to bring you a series of mending tips. Including how to repair a split seam with just a needle and thread.

First, remove any loose threads. Working from the inside of the garment, carefully cut away the thread using a quick unpick in order to see the break in the stitching clearly.

Next, find a thread that matches your garment by unfurling a few options and laying them across the fabric. This allows you to see the colour more accurately and pick the closest match.

Now you have picked your thread, start by securing the machine stitches to ensure they don’t unravel any further. To do this, stitch from the back of the garment and come up through exactly where the last machine stitch was. Then come back through the next stitch to secure it in place.

To sew up the seam, you will want to use a backstitch. To do this, make your first stitch forwards following the direction of the split seam. Then, skip a stitch length and come up from the back. With your needle at the front of the garment, go back one stitch to sew down through the same hole as before.

Try to keep your stitches the same length as the machine stitches and work your way along until you reach the end of the split.

When you reach the end of the split, make a final stitch over the top of the machine stitch. Finally, turn the garment over and make a series of short stitches on top of each other on the seam allowance (as opposed to the actual garment) to secure the thread.

We’d love to see how you get on. Share your repaired seams with us on Instagram and tag us at @Seasaltcornwall.