Playing with an energetic puppy is like sunshine for the soul. It’s also, as I learned recently, hell on your jeans. Those precious little paws boast sharp little claws that pull out stitches with amazing aplomb. As do exposed nails, if you’re clumsy enough to graze one in your favorite cardigan. Also the prongs of a ring, as you slip your arm through the sleeve of a loose-knit sweater. I’m not very graceful, is what I’m trying to say.
So what do you do when you have a snagged thread protruding nastily from your clothes? You definitely don’t cut it, that’s for sure. That will just leave you with a hole.
If the weave of the sweater is loose enough, you may be able to manipulate the fabric and thread to work it back into place. If the garment is bunched in the spot where the stitch was snagged, gently pull and stretch the material in the direction away from the snag. Then using a sewing needle, loosen the snagged thread elsewhere along that line in an effort to pull it back in little by little. Unfortunately, sometimes this doesn’t work. In fact, it rarely does for me.
When fixing the issue is impossible, you can still disguise it by pulling the snagged stitch through to the under side of the fabric. Here’s how:
Insert a sewing needle next to the pulled stitch. Thread the stitch through the eye, and simply pull it through, like so:
Voila!
It may not be perfect, but it sure looks a lot better than having random threads sticking out all over the place.
This even works on garments like jeans, when fibers get pulled loose. Since the snag will likely be smaller and shorter, you’ll need to insert a needle nearly all the way through the fabric, so just the eye shows. Make sure it’s as close to the pull as possible.
Push the loosened fiber through the eye and tug the needle through. The mend will barely be noticeable. (If it still bothers you, carefully dab the white spot with a blue permanent marker. Sharpies: Nature’s cure-all.)
