If you ever have wanted to make a pillow but have been intimidated by the hand stitching involved, today’s tutorial for how to hand stitch a blind stitch (sometimes referred to as a ladder stitch) will be invaluable to you! This hand-sewing technique really is very simple to execute, and with a bit of practice, it results in a nice, tidy seam every time. Let me show you how it’s done!
To begin, thread your needle, and tie the two thread tail ends together in a knot. Stitching with two strands of thread will provide added strength to your finished seam.
Next, grab your pillow. It is very important at this point to make sure the seam allowance at the opening is folded over and pressed very crisply. You will use the creases of these folds to guide you as you sew.
Now, let’s stitch! Push your threaded needle up and through one of the folded seams, from back to front, and pull the thread tail completely through. The knotted end of your thread will now be nicely concealed within the seam on the inside of the project.
Now, directly across from the point at which your thread emerges at your starting point, push the needle down and then back up through the opposite seam crease to create a stitch that is between 1/8-1/4″ long.
When you pull the thread through, you will notice that the stitch you just made is concealed within the seam crease, and there will be a horizontal stitch connecting the left and right sides of your opening.
The rest of the process is essentially a repeat of the previous step. Directly across from the point at which the thread emerges from the seam crease, make another 1/8-1/4″ stitch through the opposite seam crease: down, through, and up.
Note how I pinch both sides together as I work to pull things nice and taught. This helps ensure your stitching is even.
You will continue this process until you reach the end of your opening, creating a “ladder” of connecting stitches as you work.
When you reach the end of the opening, pull the thread to tighten the stitches, so that each of the connecting “ladder” stitches is magically concealed between the two sides of the seam. So nice and tidy!
To finish, use your needle to pick up a tiny section of the seam opposite where the thread emerges…
…and then pass the needle and thread through this loop and tighten and form a knot. You can repeat this step if you wish to further reinforce the stitching.
Now, snip your threads, and you are finished. Congratulations on creating a nice, tidy seam to close your pillow!
With a bit of practice, you will soon have the ladder (blind) stitch mastered. Then, you will no longer have to be intimidated by any project that requires stitching an opening closed by hand! (Yay!)
I used this technique to close the opening in my Heart Pocket Pillows…
…and my Plush Patchwork Pumpkins.
Thanks so much for making PS a part of your day!
Amy @ Positively Splendid
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Thanks so much for sharing this, great to know!
Thanks for this! I could never understand how to do this!
oh, i needed this 2 posts ago- thank you!
Aaaaa, I’ve needed to learn this and haven’t. Thank you for such a great tutorial!!
That is an incredibly timely post! I just used this stitch in a project this afternoon!! Have a great weekend!
Thank you so much for this post! I’ve been waiting on it since you mentioned it on facebook…you are a life saver! I’m in love with those little pumpkins too!
Thank you! I may have squealed out load when I saw this post. I’ve been trying to do this for weeks and the tutorials I found weren’t very clear. Great photos and just what I needed!
This.Is.Awesome. simple yet very important! I have always needed to know this….
Thank you so much for the tutorial! I needed it!
Thanks for the great instructions and photos.
Great pictures and explanation! This is exactly how I do it with one small addition. At the very end, after you’ve made the knot, insert your needle back into the fabric right next to the knot and bring it up about an inch away; pull the threads through. Then clip the threads right next to the fabric and the tails will be completely hidden.
Great tip, Sheryl! Thanks for sharing.
I am interested in the pattern and instructions for Plush Patchwork Pumpkins.
Here is a link to that tutorial, Michele: http://www.positivelysplendid.com/2012/09/plush-patchwork-pumpkin-tutorial.html
Thank you so much for this! I have been avoiding learning how to close a pillow opening properly for some time now. I’ve been using a whipstitch and I always feel a little disappointed. I was set tonight to close a little pillow I made properly and I stumbled on your tutorial. It turned out great and it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Thanks again!
This was a wonderful explanation and I sewed my first pillow last night using two beautiful placemats and a travel pillow for stuffing. I followed your fantastic instructions and the pillow looks amazing!! Thank you so much for doing this tutorial!
Thanks for this – it’s the easiest-to-follow tutorial of the ladder stitch that I’ve found!
What a great tutorial for an intimidating bit of sewing! The directions are clear and the photos are large enough to actually see the weave of the fabric. Thank you!
Thank you! this was a very helpful explanation of how to sew a pillow closed and make it look good!
Terrific, Kathy! I am so glad you found this helpful.
Thank you so much! This is a life saver for an idiot like me attempting to sew a pillow for my baby daughter!
Does anyone know if this stitch is strong enough to handle the abuse of being used for corn hole bags
I’m gonna make my own bags and really reather use a hidden stitch so you can’t tell where the last seem is but was wondering if it will hold up
Maybe if I use more thread like 4 or 6 or even 8+ if need be
Any tips would be apreicated
Hi, Adam! I think this stitch would definitely be strong enough to withstand heavy use, so long as you make each stitch close together as you work. I might also recommend using a heavy-duty thread. Hope this helps!