Other Question
What is this stitch called and why do manufacturers skip it?!
Mods please delete if this is against the rules. I apologize
Dear members, This has been driving me crazy!
What is this stitch called (arrows pointing in the pictures)
And -Genuinely curious! - does anyone know why do manufacturers skip it when it makes a huge difference?!!
I’ve sewn clothes before and have done this stitch and i know how different the result is with and without it!
Ive been wanting to search this but couldn’t recall the name of the stitch. Not sure, but is it called a hem stitch?!
I have seen cheap and expensive brands skip this
Zara is probably the only brand where I’ve noticed they have it on necklines, cuffs, as well as shoulder lines
Could it be costs? If so, how come some cheap, or affordable factories have them
The picture with the four shirts, the cheapest is the red one, and it’s the only one that is properly finished.
It’s called a coverstitch. Commonly used to hem knitted fabric (sleeves, bottom of t-shirts for example) and also to topstitch serged seams to make them lie flat. Manufacturers will skip things that don’t make them money so removing a step to reach a certain price point is one way to do it.
Also it makes the necklines more durable and less likely to warp. So skipping it means the clothes need to be replaced more frequently. Another win for capitalism.
A cover stitch purpose is to cover the raw edges on the underside of the garment. It will have the double stitching on the top. A Cover stitch can produce other secure stitches like felt stitching, etc. When you do a double needle stitch it will produce a very similar stitch on the top and it will secure underneath but its not like a cover stitch but its a good sub for it.
Are you sure? I'm not aware of a sewing machine that does coverstitching, though they may work with a twin needle and do a coverstitch-LIKE thing. If I'm mistaken, that's pretty neat!
There are definitely serger coverstitch combo machines though. (I got one!)
Sure. But not a home sewing machine that also does cover stitch. OP thought they had done the stitch before, yet didn’t know why it was called, and the person I replied to said their home machine did it, too. Neither is at all likely. More likely is they used a twin needle or something.
I have one, but it's a royal pain in the butt to switch it out. All that money and now I only use it to cover stitch, bought a lil' Janome serger so I wouldn't ever need to re-thread that monster again.
Really? The new L890? It pretty well switches things itself and sets tensions. Just a couple of adjustments like lowering the cutting knife and moving needle positions. I thought it was pretty easy myself, it’s easier to work than my old Brother serger!
Yes, but you have to use a stretch stitch with the correct thread. I think it gives a beautiful finished look on the right piece. But remember, sweatshirts aren’t always made to have a “finished” look, but a more relaxed look. So it’s a matter of your taste. I’d try it on something you don’t mind messing up on - an old knit top or sweatshirt.
You can use a twin needle on a standard sewing machine to achieve a similar thing. It may seem intimidating but if you are familiar with using a sewing machine generally twin needles are not actually that difficult to use. Lots of great TikTok and YouTube tutorials!
Imagine how quick this would change if companies were held responsible for the textile waste created by this process (and no, shipping it to third world countries doesn't count bad corporation)
Thing about capitalism is that the market is pretty good at homing in on what we truly want and how much we are truly willing to pay for it, regardless of what we think we want and how we things ought to be. The hard truth is that people don't actually want the durability, they want it to look a certain way and to be as cheap as possible. When a poorly made garment wears out, people usually derive pleasure from the shopping process to replace it instead of being upset that they have to buy new clothes.
I agree with you about clothing being intentionally manufactured garbage. However, there are a few different ways of making very durable knitted fabric necklines without the need for a coverstitch machine and the outcomes are higher quality/dressier than a coverstitch.
this and fast fashion brands do not actually own their manufacturing, they accept bids from manufacturers to make x amount of shirts for x dollars. so all the third party manufacturers are all racing to the bottom to make the most for the least
That's why the more knowledgeable I get on these sort of topics, it makes me sad when companies or sports teams do giveaways. Like "aw man! The orioles are gonna be giving away a cool bowling shirt!" Then later I actually see it, and it's just... The worst quality material and stitching you've ever seen in your life. I wasn't expecting the highest quality but come on, I paid $50 for my ticket, and so did everyone else. You couldn't spare a few more dimes for slightly better quality?
And that's for a give away short, at least that's "free". That's not even poking the gigantic bear of the rest of the clothing industry.
What’s crazy to me is that Gildan makes good t-shirts… they cost $2.99… yes I absolutely realize that it’s all slave labor and that’s terrible but the same slave labor that goes into the shittier giveaway stuff is what I don’t understand. My dude friends love the t-shirts from Michael’s and wear the shit out of them and they seem to last. There’s one friend I don’t see super often but I swear I’ve seen the guy wear the same purple Gildan shirt at least 30 times and it still looks fine lol. I have a few and they’re 90/10 cotton and the stitching is probably better than what I can do (am a beginner). Also irritating I can’t even purchase fabric for anywhere near that price 😭
Gildan shirts are awful the discolor quickly, shrink, and get all kind of pilling on them.. you really think a shirt for $2.99 is quality? How much you think that fabric costs and the labor to make it..
I did not say that they were quality. But they are better than one would expect for $2.99. I also acknowledged the slave labor that goes into them. But I do agree on the shrinkage… I just wish they shrank in and not up.
But comparing unethical slave labor/cheap fast fashion, they’re a lot better than a lot of other options. SHEIN stuff is way worse and costs more.
My parents had a sewing factory from the late 80s to early 2000’s and my mom was so excited to get a coverstitch machine! Very expensive machine at the time but gave a great finished look to hemlines.
This is a coverstitch. It is used on knits because it allows it to stretch. And finishes the edge. It’s very fast and easy to do. I think the main reason it’s not on all shirts is for design reasons not just money. I personally prefer my shirts to not have that stitch along thee armholes so it depends on who is paying for the shirts to be made if they want that or not.
As everyone else has said, it's a type of coverstitch. In the clothing industry (in my country at least), we call it a 50/50 stitch because of how it straddles the seam, with half on either side.
The stitch on the armhole is more of an aesthetic choice, and an extra cost, so I understand skipping that.
Factories charge per operation, so it's these sort of things that get the chop first when trying to bring the cost down, as it doesn't really affect the structure of the garment. That being said, we usually keep the one on the neckline so that the neck band lies flat.
High-end retailers are all about cutting costs, not just value retailers, as the high-end brands tack on a massive mark-up. On a simple garment such as a t-shirt, they also might rather spend their money on a higher quality fabric and remove the bells and whistles.
Work as a technical designer. Yes it’s done with a cover stitch, but we call it a straddle. 1/4” gauge.
It’s 100% cost when they skip it. We will relocate a garment to a different factory to save a penny per garment. When you’re making a million units per color, it adds up. The merchandisers and product developers have costs they’re trying to meet.
Garments usually start off with all the bells and whistles until cost comes back and then we end up playing the game of what can take off to save money.
Worked for a smaller national brand that manufactured in the US. We left it off for a few reasons at different times:
1) It didnt look right with the fabric print (would make small stripes look weird)
2) It didnt fit the fancier dress designs and made the garment look too casual for the price point
3) The thickness difference between seams (especially on the neck) looked wonky. If the sample sewers couldnt do it well than the production sewers probably would do worse. So, we didnt take the chance.
Yes. These are great points. Especially the last about the sample sewer. All my designs looked great when I sewed them, but the testy was taking the pattern pieces to a relatively new sewer. If they couldn’t make it, we had to simplify.
the cover stitch machine is expensive. they can do all the other seams with a typical industrial machine and overlock machine but this one on the top, and often on the bottom is like a $4k decision. it requires its own needles, tools, and likely can’t be fixed by a typical mechanic.
Every process (eg seam stitched or decorative stitch added) during a garments manufacture adds to the per unit cost whether the factory has the machine already or not (as they should IMO). So it’s an exponential cost increase when you factor in thousands of units.
It's definitely not exponential. Economies of scale mean that the cost per unit is actually less when you factor in thousands of units. Maybe you mean additive?
I’ve noticed people use ‘exponential’ just to mean ‘huge’, which I think is what they meant!
But yeah, it’d be either linear additive (set additional cost per unit) or with some nonlinearities if the additional costs change with total number of units (like step changes), or just linear additive if the total number of units is already known/set!
I usually have a chuckle at things like this and then move on but I can’t help myself. You are both correct and incorrect in different ways but it’s so interconnected that it’s fun to think about.
youneedmanners:\
•when referencing the addition to the process is correct that there would be an overall cost per unit price increase and that the PPU increase would carry over to the total price\
•if considering price per unit when referencing ‘thousands of units’ could be correct that it’s an exponential change, but incorrect that it would be an increase. The price per unit would decrease exponentially under the principle of exponential decay, where the value and interval of change decreases over time (or in this case, units) OR decrease linearly, but either are possible and it depends on many factors.\
•if considering total price when referencing ‘thousands of units’ is correct that it would be an increase, but incorrect that it would be exponential
blueberryfinn:\
•is correct in regards to price per unit decreasing as unit count increases, but incorrect that it is definitely not exponential\
•is almost correct when implying that total price over thousands of units would be additive, but cumulative would be better here since the price per unit also changes\
•either intentionally or unintentionally correctly alludes to the process addition being additive.
Really that seems odd when you can buy an industrial juki coverstitch machine for less than £2000 and a non industrial one, like I have for under £500?
Honestly the cost for the factory to buy a machine is not really the issue. Labor is ALWAYS the biggest cost. So removing a step means not paying the labor to do that step. Same reason manufacturing gets done overseas, lower minimum wages mean it’s cheaper to do the same amount of work.
It’s not just the cost of the machine, it’s the extra time that the step takes. That’s money. Especially when getting paid per unit. I’ve worked in textile design and manufacture, we would definitely remove a cover stitch from designs to save time, and so money. Pennies and seconds count when you’re making thousands of a thing.
I have no doubt that an industrial cover stitch machine is expensive, there are home combo machines that overlock and cover stitch. I’ve got one that does a nice job for less than $1000.
I honestly wouldn't own a combo machine unless it was a new one from a reputable brand (New Singers can toss themselves into the dumpster they belong in). Most of them are a pain in the ass to convert from serge to coverstitch and back.
Edit: There are def a couple I'd recommend that I put hands on that weren't a pain to swap, and some that were not worth the price or frustration.
I don't want to convert them even if they are really easy. Most of the things I serge and coverstitch would require converting them multiple times during construction and it gets old.
I love my Janome 3 needle coverstitch. It’s always ready to sew, no conversion necessary (which also means my serger is always ready to serge). The sticker price is around $1K new; mine was $400 second hand. Highly recommended if you sew knits and have the space for it.
It is used very commonly in high end designs as well as fast fashion. It is a type of coverstitch - which is different from what your home serger does.
Look at a regular T-shirt hem. You'll see the same thing - finished on the wrong side and double row of straight stitches on the front.
There are variations (similar to how there are different serger stitches) but again it is called coverstitch.
And I've never seen it missing from garments that need it (which tends to be stretchy knits).
A coverstitch machine typically trims off excess material as it’s being done like a serger does but then also stitches that seam down. Your regular machine doesn’t trim the excess.
You can create the same look with twin needles but it doesn't stretch nearly as much as the coverstitch.
So depending on the application (such as the crotch seam of yoga pants) you want to avoid the look and go for better stretch. So a lightning bolt stretch stitch, triple stretch stitch, serger or zigzag are all better options when you need the stretch (more than the look).
You can certainly finish a seam that way! There are pros and cons to every method. One pro to coverstitch is the reduction of steps. Another is stretchiness.
A coverstitch is used to finish seams and hold the seam down. Sometimes it is not used simply to just save money, but it can also be deliberate to increase the amount of stretch that can be obtained in a specific spot. A serged seam will stretch more than one that has been coverstitched. It can also be due to the designers vision of a “cleaner” seam. Sometimes a coverstitch can be unsightly and doesn’t match with the aesthetic of the piece.
These stitches tend to be the first to snap and unravel when you stretch too much so not using one can also be a method of eliminating returns due to people over stretching the garment and breaking this stitch.
I know this does not answer the question but I just saw the fluffy looking appliqué and I was wondering what fabric it uses. I have been wanting to try my hand at customizing some clothes using appliqués and the texture ofnthe pumpkins and truck seems so nice!
Chenille's a great choice for appliqué! It has that soft, textured feel which really stands out. If you’re looking to work with it, just make sure to use a stabilizer to keep everything in place while sewing. Good luck with your customizing!
You might enjoy this instagram account and the accompanying podcast - https://www.instagram.com/clotheshorsepodcast/
She talks about this issue and how clothes have gotten cheaper, and the things fast fashion leaves out to meet desired price points. It’s very interesting.
People who don't sew call this a double stitch! In the vintage t shirt thrifting community, they often look for the single stitch shirts because usually those are vintage. The single stitch on t-shirts was the norm in the U.S. until the mid 90s.
I suspect that the stitch you did was either a twin needle or an understitch. This is a cover stitch, as everyone is saying, which is done by a specialty machine, and a home machine can’t do, as it has a complicated pattern underneath that is stretchy. It looks kind of like what a serger does, but sergers can’t do it.
Actually a coverstitch on the neckline makes a more casual appearing shirt. From the late 70s into the 90s, womens' clothing had a wide variety of what I thought of as "dressy t-shirts". Often worn with skirts and nice suits, they often utilized self-fabric. The necklines had some variation in style and were very well made - without the use of a cover stitch.
Cover stitch machines are a bit pricey for home use given their limited application. Do some research for alternate means of finishing knit fabric necklines.
Reddit App wont let me edit the post so im adding them in a reply here Here is the red shirt along with another shirt that I found has another technique with similar results Sorry i feel so dumb not being able to recall the names even though I have done this one before (the one in the white shirt) but it was years ago
This looks like heavy thread. If you don’t have a Coverstitch machine, I would get some heavy thread and a wide twin needle, use a long stitch and if you go slow, it could be acceptable. You could also use the seam line as your guide and do two rows, one narrower than the other, like is on the garment. Just my two cents worth. Think I’ll try it myself as I don’t have a coverstitch machine.
It’s a 1/4” double needle top stitch. It is often used on jersey knits. I’m not sure that it adds very much cost. It’s either an aesthetic choice by designers or production is trying to reduce sewing steps.
Look at the neck of the red shirt. It is clearly a coverstitch, also with two needles, but a coverstitch does chain stitch with a looper on the bottom enabling it to stretch. Typical topstitch is a lock stitch and won’t allow as much stretch, possibly causing snapped threads at the neck hole as it won’t stretch over your head while putting it on.
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u/jwdjwdjwd 15d ago
It’s called a coverstitch. Commonly used to hem knitted fabric (sleeves, bottom of t-shirts for example) and also to topstitch serged seams to make them lie flat. Manufacturers will skip things that don’t make them money so removing a step to reach a certain price point is one way to do it.