Tell me ladies and gents...is there an art to seam ripping. Do I have to take lessons on this subject? I have just ripped right through my finished block. Also do seam ripper dull? Do I have to replace them?
I have used mine a lot as I am sure others have.

I saw a youtube video that helped me. I will try and find it.

Edited to add:

I couldn't find the video but here is a blog that explains how I rip seams. Except I cut my threads about every 5 to 7 stiches. Works like a dream!!

http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/...am-ripper.html

I don't like seam rippers. They are all to dull for me,but I am in fast motion most the time anyway. :)

I actually use the seam ripper to pull out every stitch, after using it to cut the thread every 4-5 inches.
And I must say, I am getting very good at it with all the practice I get. LOL

I use the technique that SherriB uses. cut every 5 or 6 stitches and then pull the bobbin thread. Rips right out. Then I use my sticky lint roller to remove the short threads.
Sue

Yes seam rippers do get dull after a while. I usually get 2-3 when they are on sale at JoAnn's and keep them everywhere. That's one tool I can't live without! :shock: :lol:

They do get dull - and some of them come that way right out of the package!

I love my Clover seam rippers - they're sharp and they have a good tip for picking up stitches.

If the stitch length is short, I hold the seam apart with one hand and nick the first stitch showing, pull and nick, pull and nick - dreadful fun. ;)

I saw a tip on Sewing with Nancy one time and she put one end under the pressure foot of the sewing machine and pulled the fabric taut and THEN used the seam ripper. It was actually a huge help.

Seam rippers are dull to start with. I use a pair of Havel snip-eze for taking out quilting and a pair of thread snippers for taking out seams. Just snip a stitch every 4 to 7 stitches and pull the thread on the other side and out it comes. The pull the seam apart and snip down the middle method can distort your fabric edges.

+1.
Works exactly (and as easily) as advertised.

Of course, if you've got your stitch length down to 1 for some reason, then, no, not so much fun. Or easy. :wink:

Seam rippers are designed to be used to actually split the thread between the seams, hard to explain. You can cut the first few stiches (about an inch) and then separate the two fabric pieces, you kind of pull the fabrics away from each other and run the ripper down the stiched seam, it is VERY fast, but you have to be extremely careful as you can actually rip the fabric (which I have done mayny times) so the safest but most tedious method is the Sherrib tecnhnique described above, I use tweezers to pull out the threads but I am going to try the lint roller technique, or if you can get your hands on a hemostat (a surgery implement) those are fantasic for pulling out all these little threads.

I have so many seam rippers, it's not funny!! Even my hubby has one to remove my hair from the beater bars of the vacuum and steam cleaner!! He opens DVD cases with his and so many things I just can't list them all!! Incredibly useful tool!!!

Same here, I am very good at it. LOL

I use this technique, too. I clip about every 5 stitches, then pull the bottom thread.

I really like the Clover seam ripper that is pictured, because the point is very sharp. I won't buy a Dritz seam ripper any more, because the point is blunt compared to the Clover. But I've started buying the Clover with the flat handle. The white ones always seem to roll away, and they end up under the furniture, with me on my hands and knees trying to find them.

I like the surgical steel blade seam rippers. They zip open a seam like a zipper. I usually use a rotary cutter to open a long seam. The regular seam rippers are more for breaking threads in a seam that can distort the fabric if the thread is pulled on too much.

How do you use the rotary cutter to open seams?

I've seen that method. Gives me the willies. And that surgical steel blade death tool - I'm scared to be in the same room with it. One friend loves it. Another likes using the rotary cutter method. I can barely breathe when they put blade to seam. :shock: :shock:

You hold the block in one hand, holding the seam open, and you nip at it with the rotary cutter. It's insane. I've got a pretty steady hand but there is no way I'm ever trying that. I'll take my time and pick out every stitch if I have to. :wink:

SherrieB: Thanks for posting the link for the seam ripper tute. I've been sewing for years and years and didn't know this trick!

The rotary blade will only cut the thread, odd as that seems, it works. Try it on some scrap seams and see. I have never cut fabric while using the cutter as a seam ripper. Just touch the blade to the thread as you pull the seam apart. I have a small Fiskars 28mm rotary cutter from long ago and use it for a seam ripper but I'll use any rotary cutter laying near me.

I never use a seam ripper, stopped many years ago when I just made clothing, ruined too many wip. I just use scissors now, I have more control. I pull two pieces of fabric apart with my hands and get the scissors in the seam and snip just a little, then do it again etc, until I have the seam taken out.

I do the no no. I pick out a few stitches then put it under my foot on my machine then use my rotary cutter it is so sharp but like the seam ripper be careful I have actually cut my material more with the seam ripper than with my rotary cutter.

I just bought the new one from Gingher and I LOVE it!

I use my smallest rotary cutter for a seam ripper. I am careful, and have never cut myself with it while doing this. It is super sharp, and does a great job.

The only thing I learned in high school home ec. was to rip every 6th or so stitch and then turn over and pull the bottom thread. I think I got an A in that area.

I have an old Singer seam ripper from the 1930's. It's the equivalent of a single edged razor blade that folds into a handle and has a needle threader on the other end. It's what I used from the time I learned to sew until I moved away from home after college. Now I pick out stitches from the top with the tip of a ripper, but never use it for cutting threads so dull doesn't matter to me. :lol:

Well I don't make many mistakes because I'm so perfect.....
;o} But just recently I did notice that seam rippers do get dull. I got a new seam ripper with my sewing machine & when I used it I was amazed! Almost like when the blade in your rotary gets dull! But I'm not buying a new machine every time I need a seam ripper!

They do get dull and need replacing. Also there is a technique to using one and it is important to have the piece with the little glass bead on the end down. That is supposed to keep you from ripping material.

I don't know if others do this or not but I never use a seam ripper. I use a small pair of extra sharp scissors and cut the thread while pulling apart gently. You see your stitches...just make sure you cut a stitch or 2 and it comes apart very easy.

If I ever open a quilt shop, I plan to name it "The Seam Ripper".

I'm in too big a hurry to use scissors, I always snip the fabric. Sometimes if the stitches are a pain to take out I'll just make another block and forget about it.

One thing I do if I find it hard to get under the tread without picking up threads in the fabric is, I turn my seam ripper on its side first then turn it upright and cut the thread.

Here's something noone has mentioned yet. At least not that I have read. I was at our guild meeting the other night and one of the ladies showed us what she uses to ripout. Her husbands beard trimmer. Believe it or not, it works. It doesn''t cut the fabric only the thread and very quick. I went to WM and they had one on sale, a close-out, I think, for $9.

What would I know about seam ripping? :-P :-P :-P I read once that clipping every 3 or 4 stitches makes it easier on the quilter. So I gave it a try and it does make it easier.

Through experience and many damages, I have come to conclusion that seam rippers are possessed! I have been sewing since the age of 8 which means 54 years and I have had many mishaps. Seam rippers are like automobiles... a necessary evil! I am now retired from corporate America and now have a very fun sewing and alterations business in my home. I use seam rippers every day and HAVE TO BE CAREFUL. Yes they dull very quickly when you are ripping out blue jean hems. The biggest mistake is pushing too hard because the thread will eventually let go and if you aren't ready to handle the force you are putting on the ripper, you will have a very expensive glider ride right through your fabric. I keep dozens of rippers at a time because they dull. My suggestion to you is to go to Wawak online. It is a catalog for sewers. I buy the little blue seam rippers for pennies on the dollar and I do believe more mishaps occur with dull ones because you are putting too much pressure on them. The savings on thread and needles etc in this catalog is HUGE. They will also send you a catalog and you can call the 800 number and talk to their very friendly staff and place an order. I never buy my thread or needles,etc from a fabric store anymore. I have saved huge amounts of money by ordering.Not sure if you are a seamstress as well but they sell invisible zippers for 59 cents each, blue jean zippers are just as cheap. Good luck with the "evil ripper". Marty Byrnes Mesa, AZ

That is really good. You should get a Domain Name and Registered Trademark as they disappear fast in-case you become serious about opening a shop.

WOW. What a great idea. It made me think that possibly one could market those trimmers as a specialty tool for sewing. I can see it now in every fabric shop across this great country. But alas maybe they already make a device and market it in shops already.

Hmmm...

This is the way my mother taught me. I use seam rippers, have about four of them, but will often go back to my small scissors to rip stitch by stitch. There must be something wrong with my tension because, try as I might, I am never able to just pull the bobbin thread.

whenever I have to take out a seam, it is usually already on the longarm. I use a tweezer and lift the top thread so that right at the junction of the fabric and where the top thread is pulled upwards, I can see the bobbin thread. I use the seam ripper to slice that while pulling on the needle thread at the same time, this usually removes 10-15 stitches quickly. It has saved me load of time and I learned if from a longarm quilting video.
Michelle G.
El Paso, Texas

I'm really good at ripping stitches. It's true! Practice makes perfect.

I use the method Eleanor Burns uses on Quit in a Day. She uses her rotary cutter. Remove a few stitches at the beginning of your seam, holding your rotary cutter like a pencil, carefully touch the threads and pull gently on your seam. You never touch the material just the threads holding your seam together. After a couple of tries, you can open a seam very quickly. I was scared the first couple of times I tried it but now wouldn't do it any other way.