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-   -   Very basic question 1 - how do you use a seam ripper? (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/very-basic-question-1-how-do-you-use-seam-ripper-t248047.html)

Lyncat 06-07-2014 05:32 AM

I just do whatever works best at the time. Yesterday I was walking around the house removing some stitching and my DH said, "You seem to use that thing a lot!" I practiced self-control... I did not use it on him!!

DebraK 06-07-2014 05:33 AM

haha, oh my!

hairquilt 06-07-2014 05:54 AM

I had a very long strip that I had to rip & I took my DH mustache trimmer & it just ripped thru it like butter but lots of picking threads to it. Still way faster that way & a lint roller helps a lot!

Tartan 06-07-2014 05:59 AM

I prefer a pair of sharp curved blade snips to cut the thread every few stitches. I then pull the thread on the opposite side and it comes right off. I find this method much kinder to the fabric and I have less distortion when I resew the seam.

Terri D. 06-07-2014 06:36 AM

Interesting. I have trouble using a seam ripper so I use a tapestry needle with a blunt point to rip out my stitches.

SueSew 06-07-2014 06:51 AM


Originally Posted by Scissor Queen (Post 6748473)
The in between the seam method can stretch your pieces if you're not really careful, plus you end up with a lot more threads to pick out since it cuts thread on both sides.

Agreed! Same for using those curved scalpels. I bought one at a quilt show and can't use it - too likely to twitch and send it into the fabric!

sewwhat85 06-07-2014 07:01 AM

I have used both ways also and agree that it is easier to rip the fabric the second way. I am very surprised no one has suggested the easiest way to rip sew with no bobbin. HA HA HA I do that all the time

ghostrider 06-07-2014 07:05 AM

I lift the stitches from the top until the thread starts to 'drag'. I then cut it with embroidery scissors and start again. I can usually get 4" or more of stitching out before cutting the thread. I never saw the point of putting a 3 stitch limit on the process so I just go as far as I can without resistance. No wasted time, no short threads, and especially no cut or stretched fabric. I use the blade of my seam ripper so infrequently that it's still as sharp as when I first got it with my 1989 Viking.

I haven't ripped 'between' since I stopped making clothes, and back then (1960's) I used a single edged razor blade for that. Bear in mind that seam rippers used to look like this:

http://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/13/49/59/13/singer10.jpg

and came with a needle threader on the other end.

http://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/13/49/59/13/singer11.jpg

Dolphyngyrl 06-07-2014 08:28 AM

I have done both, I would just try both and see what you prefer as there is no right or wrong way, just the way that works best for you

Jeanne S 06-07-2014 08:48 AM


Originally Posted by Scissor Queen (Post 6748473)
The in between the seam method can stretch your pieces if you're not really careful, plus you end up with a lot more threads to pick out since it cuts thread on both sides.

Fabric stretching is the problem I have encountered with the "between the seams" method. I have better luck with the first method--just keeping the seam flat and cutting every 3rd stitch, then just pulling the two fabric pieces gently apart.


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