Question on Stitching in general

[high-maintenance]

Hello guys

Few weeks ago, I tried to take the paper label off of my new chino pants and a stitch on the piping inside the pants came undone along with the label.
At first it was just one loose stitch but after few wears I noticed it propagated to the sideways, so I had to take it to the drycleaners and got it fixed.

Now that I know one loose stitch can actually propagate to sideways, I couldn't help but wonder if the same thing can happen to leather jackets.

I am aware of saddle stitch technique which prevents the entire stitching from coming undone when one stitch breaks. But I don't think you can possibly build a jacket entirely by saddle stitching as it will be extremely time-consuming and expensive considering they are done by hand.

Is there a special locking sewing mechanism that prevents propagation of undone stitches that luxury garment makers use?
Does this meant that I have to baby my jackets from now on?

 

[photo2u]

Lock stich is a good stitching method used with leather jackets. If your garment is coming undone, I will suggest burning the ends to create a friction stop.

 

[zebedee]

I've had stitches come loose on an Aero Highwayman and a cafe racer jacket. The Highwayman stitch is now 8 years old and never 'spread'. The cafe racer collar thread is three years old and never spread. I burnt the frayed bits with a lighter for neatness.

Leather jackets have outer and inner stitching; a thread here and there won't make a difference.

 

[high-maintenance]

Lock stich is a good stitching method used with leather jackets. If your garment is coming undone, I will suggest burning the ends to create a friction stop.

Thanks for the tip. Currently I do not have any noticable undone stitch on my leather garments but got me worried

 

[high-maintenance]

I've had stitches come loose on an Aero Highwayman and a cafe racer jacket. The Highwayman stitch is now 8 years old and never 'spread'. The cafe racer collar thread is three years old and never spread. I burnt the frayed bits with a lighter for neatness.

Leather jackets have outer and inner stitching; a thread here and there won't make a difference.

That is reassuring. Will burn the end of the stitch should I find one.

 

[zebedee]

That is reassuring. Will burn the end of the stitch should I find one.

You don't necessarily need to - you could just snip it off.

The first pic is where the thread snapped and the second is the layer of stitching underneath. There's been no 'shift' in the structure of the jacket, and I beat the hell out of them.

 

[Carlos840]

That is reassuring. Will burn the end of the stitch should I find one.

A lot of leather jackets are stitched with cotton thread, burning won't help and might actually leave a black mark if done on light stitching.

Personally when i have a broken stitch on a leather jacket i fix it.

My last go was on the belt of my LW LT/A, i had one broken stich which transformed into three unraveled stitched in a couple months. I used two needles and some thread to fix it, took 5 minutes.

The thread is a slightly different colour, it's invisible in wear but is pretty obvious in pics:

front:

Back:

 

[high-maintenance]

A lot of leather jackets are stitched with cotton thread, burning won't help and might actually leave a black mark if done on light stitching.

Personally when i have a broken stitch on a leather jacket i fix it.

My last go was on the belt of my LW LT/A, i had one broken stich which transformed into three unraveled stitched in a couple months. I used two needles and some thread to fix it, took 5 minutes.

The thread is a slightly different colour, it's invisible in wear but is pretty obvious in pics:

front:

Back:

Now your comment gets me paranoid again haha

I wish jacketmakers use some sort of stitching method that prevents undone stitch from spreading. Like they do with the welted shoes where a leather sole does not necessarily laminate even when welt threads break.

 

[high-maintenance]

You don't necessarily need to - you could just snip it off.

The first pic is where the thread snapped and the second is the layer of stitching underneath. There's been no 'shift' in the structure of the jacket, and I beat the hell out of them.


View attachment 451380


View attachment 451380 View attachment 451381

I beat the hell out of my jackets too. But maybe I should be a little more careful from now on.

 

[Carlos840]

Now your comment gets me paranoid again haha

I wish jacketmakers use some sort of stitching method that prevents undone stitch from spreading. Like they do with the welted shoes where a leather sole does not necessarily laminate even when welt threads break.

You don't have to be paranoid about it, just keep an eye on broken stitches if you see them.

In the case posted above by @zebedee you can see the broken stitches are in an area with really little forces being applied, like him i think somethign like that broken stitch could remain the same for years without getting worst.
On the other hand, my broken stitch was on the belt, which gets pulled on regularly, and there is a lot of stretching forces being applied to the stitches. In that case, it was getting worst fast and needed to be fixed.

I think that a broken stitch in a mobile place ie belt, shoulders, pits, etc should be fixed as soon as possible to prevent it from getting worst.
On the other hand, if it is on a lapel, a collar or somethign that doesn't move much you are probably ok leaving it as it is.

It also depends how it was stitched. Some makers have a lot of tension on the thread, and it takes a lot of work to unstitch something. Some makers have larger holes and less tension on the thread and things unravel faster.

Just take it case by case and don't worry about it untill you have to worry about it.
Don't forget also that most seams you see are just the top stitching, most panels are double stitched and have a blind seam that is folded and top stitched.

 

[high-maintenance]

You don't have to be paranoid about it, just keep an eye on broken stitches if you see them.

In the case posted above by @zebedee you can see the broken stitches are in an area with really little forces being applied, like him i think somethign like that broken stitch could remain the same for years without getting worst.
On the other hand, my broken stitch was on the belt, which gets pulled on regularly, and there is a lot of stretching forces being applied to the stitches. In that case, it was getting worst fast and needed to be fixed.

I think that a broken stitch in a mobile place ie belt, shoulders, pits, etc should be fixed as soon as possible to prevent it from getting worst.
On the other hand, if it is on a lapel, a collar or somethign that doesn't move much you are probably ok leaving it as it is.

It also depends how it was stitched. Some makers have a lot of tension on the thread, and it takes a lot of work to unstitch something. Some makers have larger holes and less tension on the thread and things unravel faster.

Just take it case by case and don't worry about it untill you have to worry about it.
Don't forget also that most seams you see are just the top stitching, most panels are double stitched and have a blind seam that is folded and top stitched.

I can see you are well up on this subject. Thank you for sharing your insight. I didnt know there usually is an additional row of stitching! The more you know!

 

[navetsea]

Only hand stitch wont spread, machine stitching will spread if not fixed. Depending on the area of course and friction of the leather holding the thread, if the hole is pre punched and the thread is waxed i think it will unravel pretty fast.

 

[high-maintenance]

Only hand stitch wont spread, machine stitching will spread if not fixed. Depending on the area of course and friction of the leather holding the thread, if the hole is pre punched and the thread is waxed i think it will unravel pretty fast.

Most if not all leather jackets are machine made I presume. What do you think is the most feasible solution with undone stitches? But then again my work boots are probably machine sewed but they hold up pretty well and I do not baby them.

 

[navetsea]

Most if not all leather jackets are machine made I presume. What do you think is the most feasible solution with undone stitches? But then again my work boots are probably machine sewed but they hold up pretty well and I do not baby them.

I think if fixing the whole missing stitches is too difficult or if you don't have that thread color, then on the next hole that is still intact you should secure with just single stitch and a knot until you find someone who can repair it, and also clip the loose thread or burn it and press the leftover with the butt of your lighter (if the thread is polycotton that will create a flared shape and may work as stopper)