# Handout 5.7: Backstitch and Whipstitch Steps

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________ Period: ______

**Directions:** Part 1 during the slides. Part 2 is the backstitch step card. Part 3 is the whipstitch step card. Each step has one action and a picture described in words, so you can work from the sheet alone. Part 4 is the self-check and the stitch selection.

## Word bank in other languages

[Check with a native speaker before printing.]

| English | Turkish | Portuguese | Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|
| seam | dikiş yeri | costura | costura |
| strong | sağlam | resistente (forte) | resistente (fuerte) |
| edge | kenar | borda | borde |
| join | birleştirmek | juntar | unir |
| back (backwards) | geriye | para trás | hacia atrás |
| over | üzerinden | por cima | por encima |
| layer | kat | camada | capa |
| backstitch | geri dikiş | ponto atrás | pespunte (puntada atrás) |
| whipstitch | sarma dikiş | ponto caseado simples (chuleio) | puntada sobrehilada |
| basting | teyelleme | alinhavo | hilván |

## Part 1: Three stitches, three jobs

**Draw the side view.** What the thread does when you look at the cloth edge on.

| Running stitch | Backstitch |
|---|---|
| (draw it) | (draw it) |

Look at your two drawings. In the running stitch, how much of the seam has no thread across it? __________

Why does that make it weak? ____________________________________________

**Name one job for each stitch.**

| Stitch | One job it is right for |
|---|---|
| Running stitch | |
| Backstitch | |
| Whipstitch | |

## Part 2: Step card, the backstitch

Say it with me while you sew: **back into the last hole, forward one.**

**Step 1. Knot your thread and come up at point 1.**
Bring the needle up from underneath, on the marked seam line, about half an inch in from the edge.
Picture: cloth seen from above with a marked line running across it, and a needle coming up through the line with a knot underneath.

**Step 2. Go down one stitch length behind point 1.**
Go backwards. Put the needle down about a quarter inch behind where you came up, on the line.
Picture: a needle going down into the line to the left of the first hole, with a short arrow pointing backwards.

**Step 3. Come up one stitch length ahead of point 1.**
Bring the needle up on the line, about a quarter inch in front of the first hole.
Picture: the needle emerging on the line to the right of the first hole, with a short arrow pointing forwards.

**Step 4. Go down into the last hole.**
Put the needle down into the hole you came up from in Step 1. That is the move that makes it a backstitch.
Picture: a needle pointing into an existing hole in the cloth, with the thread from the previous stitch lying in the line.

**Step 5. Come up one stitch length ahead again.**
Same distance every time. Keep the stitches on the line.
Picture: the needle coming up further along the line, the finished part behind it looking like one solid line of thread.

**Step 6. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 to the end of the seam.**
Back into the last hole, forward one. Every time.
Picture: a solid unbroken line of stitching two inches long on a marked line.

**Step 7. Check the top.**
Look at the top of your line. A backstitch has no gaps. If there are gaps, you skipped Step 4.
Picture: two lines of stitching side by side, one solid with no gaps, one dashed with gaps, and a check mark over the solid one.

**Step 8. Finish off.**
Three tiny stitches in one place on the back, then a knot, then trim close with the snips.
Picture: the back of the cloth with three small stitches on top of each other and snips cutting a tail.

## Part 3: Step card, the whipstitch

**Step 1. Line up the two edges.**
Hold the two pieces of felt so their edges meet exactly, not overlapping.
Picture: two rectangles of felt side by side, their edges touching in a straight line.

**Step 2. Pin them.**
Two or three pins, going in across the edge, heads sticking out so they are easy to pull.
Picture: two felt pieces held edge to edge with three pins crossing the join.

**Step 3. Knot the thread and come up through both layers.**
Bring the needle up through both pieces near the edge, about an eighth of an inch in.
Picture: a needle coming up through the doubled edge with a knot hidden between the layers.

**Step 4. Take the needle over the edge.**
Go over the top of the joined edge, not through it.
Picture: an arrow looping over the top of the joined edge from one side to the other.

**Step 5. Come back up through both layers, a quarter inch along.**
Enter from the same side you started on, a quarter inch further down the edge, at a slight slant.
Picture: a slanted stitch crossing over the top of the edge, like a small bar laid at an angle.

**Step 6. Repeat, keeping the same slant and the same spacing.**
The finished stitching looks like a row of matching slanted bars over the edge.
Picture: five or six evenly spaced slanted stitches marching along a joined edge.

**Step 7. Check for daylight.**
Look at the join. If you can see between the two edges, your stitches are too far apart. Go closer together.
Picture: two joined edges, one closed tight, one with visible gaps, and a check mark over the closed one.

**Step 8. Check both layers.**
Open the pieces gently. If they come apart, your needle missed one layer. Restitch that part.
Picture: two hands pulling gently on either side of a stitched join that stays closed.

**Step 9. Finish off.**
Three tiny stitches in one place, between the layers where they will not show, then a knot, then trim.
Picture: snips trimming a thread at a stitched edge with the tail tucked between the two layers.

## Part 4: Self-check and stitch selection

**4a. Self-check.** Circle one number in each row for each stitch.

| What I am checking | Backstitch | Whipstitch |
|---|---|---|
| Even stitch length | 1  2  3 | 1  2  3 |
| Straight line, or even slant | 1  2  3 | 1  2  3 |
| No puckering; the cloth lies flat | 1  2  3 | 1  2  3 |
| Extra check | Top has no gaps: yes / no | Both layers caught: yes / no |

**4b. Pick the stitch.** One sentence of reasoning each.

| The job | The stitch | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The shoulder seam of a bag that will carry books | | |
| Closing the last two inches of a stuffed pouch from the outside | | |
| Holding two pieces together just long enough to sew the real seam | | |

## Exit card (tear off or write on an index card)

1. Why a running stitch is not strong enough for a seam, in your own words:

_______________________________________________________________________

2. My self-check numbers: backstitch ______ ______ ______ ; whipstitch ______ ______ ______

3. Which of the three stitches would fix something in your own closet, and what is the something?

_______________________________________________________________________

* * *

# Teacher key

**Part 1.** In a running stitch, about half the length of the seam has no thread across it, because the thread is under the cloth for every other segment. A pull spreads the fabric open in those gaps. A backstitch doubles back so there is thread across every part of the line, top and underneath, with no gap.

| Stitch | Jobs it is right for |
|---|---|
| Running stitch | Basting (holding pieces together temporarily), gathering, a quick decorative line, a visible mend, a drawstring channel |
| Backstitch | Any seam that takes stress, a split seam repair, anywhere a machine straight stitch would go |
| Whipstitch | Joining two edges, closing a gap or an opening, holding a patch down, finishing a raw edge |

**Part 4b.**

| The job | The stitch | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Shoulder seam of a book bag | Backstitch | It carries weight; a running stitch would spread open under the load |
| Closing the last two inches of a stuffed pouch from the outside | Whipstitch | You cannot get inside anymore, so the stitch has to work from the outside and join two edges |
| Holding two pieces together just long enough | Running stitch (basting) | It is fast and it comes out easily, which is the whole point of basting |

**What to check before Lesson 5.10.** Four boxes per student: the backstitch returns into the last hole, two inches of backstitch done, the whipstitch goes over the edge through both layers, two inches of whipstitch done. The backstitch box is the gate for the pouch build, because the pouch seams are backstitched. A student missing it gets three minutes at the teacher's table at the start of Lesson 5.8 with the chant and the printed dotted seam line as the guide.

**Reduced-dexterity version.** Both stitches work on plastic canvas, binca, or burlap with a large plastic needle and yarn. The backstitch is actually easier there, because the hole to return into is already visible. Felt instead of woven fabric for anyone whose cloth keeps slipping or fraying. Scored on the same rows of the sampler check.

**Standards checked by this handout:** NYS ATPD 2. Production b) and c); CTE HSW 4. Classroom and Workplace Safety c); CTE PSI 2. Design Process (Proactive) b); NYS FACS Standard 2 (Intermediate) PI C; CDOS 3a Basic Skills; National FCS 3.0 16.4.5 and 16.2.7.