If you have found a loose thread sticking out of one of your leather goods, this guide tells you what to do to solve the problem and prevent it from getting worse.

First, Contact the Maker.

Anyone who stands behind their product should be able to offer good advice, and will want to keep track of any reoccurring failure points in their designs.

Including a photograph of both sides of the affected area will help diagnose the specific problem.

I am always happy to perform any necessary repairs on anything I have made. I am often not able to help with repairs of items from other makers, but feel free to ask.

A stitch has three parts, a beginning, a middle, and an end. Problems at either end are quick, simple fixes anyone with a steady hand can do at home. Problems in the middle of a stitch are much more severe and will require resewing.

Best Case - Popped Back-Stitch

If the problem is at one of the ends of the seam, that means some thread has backed out of its hole. When I get to the end of a seam, I do three more stitches backwards, over-top of the last three regular stitches. These "back-stitches" mean that the thread can back out three times before we start to effect the structural seam, necessitating more skilled repair.

Instructions for an at home fix for this are below.

Worst Case - Individual Broken Stitch

If the problem is in the middle of a seam, that means an individual stitch has broken from handling and wear. You will be able to see exposed leather on one side of the popped thread. or between two popped threads.

If you do not see any exposed leather you are looking at the place where two seams meet and you're actually dealing with a popped end.

Broken stitches are where it really matters whether your item was machine sewn or hand sewn. 

On a machine stitched item, this needs to be fixed immediately or the whole seam can quickly unravel. It is best to stop using the item when this is first noticed or the repair job can get much bigger very quickly.

On hand stitched goods it is still best to get this patched as soon as you can, but it is much less urgent as there are added layers of security in the construction to slow down unraveling. Feel free to continue using the item while arranging the repair.

How to Fix a Popped Back-Stitch at Home

I will gladly repair these myself, but the fix is easy enough many people find it is less trouble to do it themselves than it is to ship the item to me for repair. If you decide to do this yourself, please read the whole text before starting the work because the crucial moment happens quite quickly and there is not time to follow along with the text step by step.

I use synthetic threads because they are far stronger and more resistant to wear than any natural materials. Synthetics melt in extreme heat and we can take advantage of this property to secure our seams.

As we melt the thread it bubbles and expands. This creates a section of thread too wide to easily back out of the hole. Once cooled, this melted section becomes hard and inflexible

To do this all you need is a lighter, and a pair of tweezers. Your fingers will do in a pinch, but you'll have an easier time with the tweezers.

First, you will either have a loop of thread or a single loose tread sticking out. If you have a single thread with an exposed end, skip ahead to the next section. If you have a loop, follow the instructions in the diagram to know which end to pull. Now take a look at the opposite side of the seam. You may have knocked the opposite thread loose in the last step. That is totally fine, it just means you need to do the next steps to both sides.

Melting the Thread

Set the leather flat on a table with the exposed thread sticking up. Take your lighter in your non dominant hand, and a small, fire resistant tool to shape the melted material in the other. The back end of your tweezers will work great here if you are using those.

If you lighter has adjustment on it, use the lowest setting. Slowly bring the lighter close to but not touching the thread until the thread start to fizzle and melt. It is fine if the thread catches fire, but ideally you want to be gentle enough to slowly melt the thread down without it catching flame. This will give you more time and material to work with. If the thread begins to fall over, use the tool to prod the base of the thread to keep it from touching the surface of the leather.

When there is just an eighth of an inch or so of thread left, while the thread is still hot and malleable, take the tool in your other hand and press it down to squash it flat to "rivet" it, and then push it in either direction parallel with the seam to minimize the appearance. You can apply a bit more flame to get a bit more malleability out of the material if you need to at this point. The residual heat will mean it gets back to working temperature before the surrounding material is damaged.

If your tool pulls away and leaves a thin trail of melted thread behind it, a quick pass of the lighter should make that disappear.

If the resulting spot is too big and you are not pleased with the result, the melted end is probably big enough that you will be able to use a fingernail or other small tool to pry the melted thread back up again and try again. It will never be completely invisible however, and melting away too much material can make the technique less effective.

If you do not feel confident performing the above operation for any reason, please get in touch and we can arrange a repair.