How do you prevent fraying

You could make a feature of the edge and hand sew a blanket stitch. This would look decorative and would stop further fraying. Otherwise, you could turn the edge over twice to create a double hem. Polyester can fray easily and unfortunately, it may be the quality of the fabric. I would resew the seams a fraction in so there is a double row of stitching. Cotton pajamas will always last the longest.

I need a solution for repairing polyester pajama pants that fray at the seams. The pants are loose fitting but, probably from shifting during sleep, each of the major seams has frayed right into the garment.

How can I stabilize the seams without sacrificing comfort? Hi there, I have napkins that have a frayed edge and want to be able to hand stitch something to stop it from fraying further. Sewing is new to me so any advice would be helpful. This was very helpful and easy to understand for a beginner. Thank you for taking the time to explain more than one way. Your email address will not be published. Share this article:. It is also useful for pillows or other projects where the seams are hidden and subject to minimal washing.

Glue your edges with fabric glue, seam sealant, or super glue. Purchase any one of these adhesives at a local craft store or online. Simply place small dabs of glue along the edge of the fabric.

Use a cotton swab or toothpick to spread the glue evenly. Avoid using too much glue as it can leave dark spots on your fabric once it has dried.

Using pinking shears to cut a fresh edge. Pinking shears look like scissors with teeth and you can find them at any craft store or online. You use them as you would use scissors, cutting a new edge onto your fabric. Instead of a straight edge, however, the shears cut in a jagged-tooth pattern. This cut will prevent the edges from fraying. For additional stability, apply adhesive to the cut edge with a cotton swab or toothpick. Method 2. Cut and tie your thread.

The low-tech and old-fashioned way to deal with a fraying edge is to fix it with a needle and thread. To begin, cut a length of thread that is around 18 in 46 cm in length. Tie a knot in one end by looping the end around your forefinger, then push the shorter end through the loop, and pull it through.

Thread your needle. Take the unknotted end of your thread and grasp it between your thumb and forefinger. Loop it around the needle and slip the tiny loop off over the head of the needle creating a tight little loop. Flatten the loop between your fingers and then insert it through the eye of the needle until the loop pokes out the other side. Grasp the loop with your fingers and pull it through until the tail comes through.

Pull the tail through so that it is about 3—4 in 7. Insert the needle from back to front to create a whipstitch. Starting at the back of the fabric, insert the needle as close to the edge as you can.

Push the needle through the fabric to the front and pull the thread through until the knot catches. Repeat your stitch to finish the edge. Place your needle again on the back of the fabric, next to the spot where you inserted it for your first stitch. Move on, repeating this same stitch across the length of your edge, always inserting the needle from the back to the front.

The essence of this is, so you can at least have a clean edge while working to prevent you from making a mess out of what you are doing. All you have to do is just cut close to the edge, so it can be smooth before you work. After you have trimmed, try not to the cut-edge unnecessarily until you have coated it with the nail polish. This is so you can avoid any additional fraying and have a smooth edge.

Almost every sewist is familiar with pinking shears. This technique is a great option to stop the edges of your fabrics from fraying, both functionally and aesthetically. Using this technique would create finely zig-zagged edges on your fabric, so having a nice and working pair of pinking shears is necessary for some apparel applications. Synthetic textiles would melt and not burn when introduced to any form of flame. But using this method for fabrics that are natural fiber would cause it to burn.

To be sure that your fabric is purely synthetic, test a scrap over a fireproof surface, and watch to see if it burns or melts. When using this technique, make sure that it is just for short edges — not longer than 1 inch. Also, always do this over a sink, or any fireproof surface, to avoid fire outbreak. To be safe, use an all-purpose lighter for this technique, as opposed to other sources of fire that may be hard to control.

If you are working on a project with an enclosed edge, then using an adhesive iron-on hem tape is a very efficient way to prevent your edges from fraying. To implement this no-sew technique, you need to have enough edge allowance at the edge of the fabric, because it has to be folded. Even a simple clean seam finish can tame what seems like uncontrollable fraying fabric. No, they're not just decorative—they have a real purpose too. One of the simplest ways to control fraying is by using pinking shears.

These shears are not a sewing tool that everyone has on hand but if you are going to fight fraying, they are a tool that is worth the investment.

Use pinking shears to cut your fabric instead of straight shears to keep the edges from fraying as you work. A French seam will give you a very clean finished appearance that looks good even when it is seen through the fabric. A flat felled seam is that strong seam you see on denim jeans. Jeans aren't the only time you might want to sew a flat felled seam, however.

Whenever you need an especially strong seam and you're dealing with a fabric that has a tendency to fray, you can use a flat felled seam to do the job.

You may want to start with a clean finish on the seam allowance though so the fabric will stay intact through the process of creating the seam. A serger is quite possibly the perfect solution for fraying fabric because sergers are capable of both trimming the fabric and enclosing the fabric edge all in one step.