yes- don't cut yourself or the fabric- best apprach go to the sie of the fabric you can see the stitches best and use the seam ripper to cut evry 4th one or so- when you're near the end you will find the thread from the other side is till entact and can easily be pulled out- less stress on you and the fabric- I use a large lit magifying lamp for smaller stitches- by the way- if you get a new machine with a seam ripper as an accesory it is referred to as a button hole opener- apparently the term seam ripper was either too violent or meant you weren't perfect