Seam rippers are an absolutely essential part of sewing. Learning to sew as a new beginner involves making mistakes, taking them out, and trying again. As an experienced sewist, you have to take garments apart to alter them. 

We all need them, but when was the last time you bought a new one? 

For some people the answer is never and that just blows my mind. 🤯

So let's talk about why. 

Seam rippers are tiny little knives ⚔ and the more you use them, they get dull. And let me tell you, dull seam rippers are hazardous to the project you're working on. Ask me how I know... 🙄

Better yet, let me show you. 

Many people use their seam ripper in between the fabrics to cut the thread where they interlock in the middle like this:

Lots of internet advice is to flip your seam ripper over so the red ball can glide between the fabric like this:

I must say it... 😬 I cringe every time I see this suggestion because I know y'all are out there sewing with seam rippers that are so dull that you have to push hard against the thread to try to get it to cut. 

When the stitching is really tight, the garment is well made, it's very easy for the seam ripper to catch the field of the fabric. If it's a dull seam ripper, then you push because it hasn't been going through... 

So, here's what I recommend instead, and this is what I teach people to do as a shop policy for using a seam ripper. 

Turn the seam to the side and clip the stitches every 3 or 4 stitches, while being super careful not to catch any fibers of the fabric. 

Once you've clipped the stiches, flip it over and pull the thread out of the other side. It should release pretty easily and pull right out. 

If you must go between the fabric, an extra measure of safety is to be sure to only hook the threads and to push the seam ripper away from the fabric, like this:

It's one thing to go and mend an old piece of your own clothing and accidentally cut the fabric with a crappy old seam ripper... But the moment you decide to take work for clients and level up your abilities, then it's time to level up your techniques, too. 

"OK, Kristen... How often am I supposed to change my seam ripper?" 

I'm so glad you asked! 

• If you only sew 4 times a year, replace at 🎄 Christmas time and you're probably just fine. (and this might be well before it gets dull... Just depends on how much seam ripping you're doing). 
• If you sew several projects monthly, then probably 🎄 Christmas and 🎆 the 4th of July (or whatever June/July holiday helps you remember).
• I sew Monday-Friday as my full-time job, and find myself changing them quarterly because they don't feel right anymore... 🎄 Christmas, 🍀 St. Patrick's Day, 🎆 4th of July, 👻 Halloween, 🎉 New Years.

Which one do you recommend?

Great question. The one I used in this blog post is made by Clover and I like the handle of this one because you can also use the seam ripper as a pointer to guide fabric to the sewing machine foot without sewing your fingers. (ouch! 🩹) (Yes, this is an affiliate link... doesn't cost you any extra, but Amazon gives me a small amount for recommending. Thanks for supporting our site!)

Happy Seam Ripping!

P.S. This is precisely the type of content that can be found in our Signature Course "Project Sewing Vault" available for an introductory price (link below). As more content is loaded, the price will go up, so act fast to get in as a "founding member" for access to all the upcoming goods at a discounted price!

Topic in this post: #MachineMastery, #SewingTechniques

Kristen sews because clothes don't come shaped like humans and people often think their bodies are the problem, which is a problem.

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