Difficulty

Easy

Steps

7

Time Required

                          5 - 10 minutes

Sections

1

  • How to Sew a Whip Stitch
  • 7 steps

Flags

Worn Wear

Patagonia and iFixit are celebrating the stories we wear by collaborating to provide guides for Patagonia’s most popular apparel repairs.

  • BackTent

  • Full Screen

  • Options

  • History

  • Save to Favorites

  • Download PDF

  • Edit

  • Translate

  • Get Shareable Link

  • Embed This Guide

  • Notify Me of Changes

  • Stop Notifications

Introduction

While you can glue a piece of velcro back into place, some adhesives may cause the tent material to become brittle and tear. Sewing is a simple alternative.

In addition to velcro, this procedure works for sewing almost any other fabric component of the tent back into place.

What you need

Step 1

              How to Sew a Whip Stitch
  • Align the two pieces of material you will be stitching together.
  • Thread your needle and tie a knot in the end of the thread.
  • We’ll use a bright-colored thread for better contrast, but you may want to select a thread that matches the color of your fabric.
  • Drive the needle into the bottom layer of material from the back side.

Align the two pieces of material you will be stitching together.

Thread your needle and tie a knot in the end of the thread.

We’ll use a bright-colored thread for better contrast, but you may want to select a thread that matches the color of your fabric.

Drive the needle into the bottom layer of material from the back side.

1024

Step 2

  • Pull the needle through the bottom layer of material.
  • Pull the thread taut.

Pull the needle through the bottom layer of material.

Pull the thread taut.

Step 3

  • Drive the needle down through the top and bottom layers of fabric, close to where the needle came up.
  • The distance between where the needle comes up and goes down will be your stitch length. The smaller the stitch length, the more stitches required—and the stronger the seam.
  • Pull the thread taut on the backside of the bottom material.

Drive the needle down through the top and bottom layers of fabric, close to where the needle came up.

The distance between where the needle comes up and goes down will be your stitch length. The smaller the stitch length, the more stitches required—and the stronger the seam.

Pull the thread taut on the backside of the bottom material.

Step 4

  • Continue bringing the needle up and down through both layers of fabric, as in steps 2 and 3 of this guide, working your way around the material.
  • If you are using this stitch as a repair where a stitch already exists, be sure to overlap the existing stitching by several stitches to help prevent it from unraveling.

Continue bringing the needle up and down through both layers of fabric, as in steps 2 and 3 of this guide, working your way around the material.

If you are using this stitch as a repair where a stitch already exists, be sure to overlap the existing stitching by several stitches to help prevent it from unraveling.

Step 5

  • For the final stitch, come up from the back of the bottom material once again.
  • Draw the needle between the two layers of material through the stitch closest to where the needle came up.

For the final stitch, come up from the back of the bottom material once again.

Draw the needle between the two layers of material through the stitch closest to where the needle came up.

Step 6

  • Slowly start to pull the thread taut. As you pull, you will see a loop form.
  • Draw the needle through the loop.
  • Pull the thread taut, forming a knot.
  • Repeat the process of driving the needle up from behind, drawing it through the stitch, and pulling it through the loop as described in steps 5 and 6 of this guide one more time.

Slowly start to pull the thread taut. As you pull, you will see a loop form.

Draw the needle through the loop.

Pull the thread taut, forming a knot.

Repeat the process of driving the needle up from behind, drawing it through the stitch, and pulling it through the loop as described in steps 5 and 6 of this guide one more time.

Step 7

  • Ensure that the stitches are tight.
  • Cut any remaining thread, and admire your handiwork.

Ensure that the stitches are tight.

Cut any remaining thread, and admire your handiwork.

Cancel: I did not complete this guide.

Author

                                      with 3 other contributors 


                    Brittany McCrigler

Member since: 03/05/2012

87,796 Reputation

                                      132 Guides authored                  



                       Badges:
                       48







                                                        +45 more badges

Brendan - May 2, 2014

Reply

If you remembered to pack a needle, but forgot a spool of thread, and a field repair is in order: go see whether you packed any dental floss. If so, you have some hardy thread indeed, and if you bought the green minty kind, you may discover a whiff of mint now and again emanating from your repair site. I try to remember to buy the old string type of floss rather than the newer kind with flat bits, but if your needle has a big enough eye, you can thread either sort. Careful now, too thick a needle may give you threading holes larger than you want. If the repair is in a location that may leak, there are a wide variety of different things you can use to seal your sewn repair and enjoy a drier tent interior. As my preference is for canvas tents over nylon, I use beeswax, but I think a silicone spray would nicely seal a repair to nylon.