How to Do a Zigzag Stitch

Most modern sewing machines have a zigzag option.

Zigzag stitching appears as an option on most modern sewing machines for its practicality and appealing appearance. For any sewing situation in which elasticity is needed, the zigzag stitch works perfectly because of the flexibility of the back-and-forth stitches. Sewing machine owners use this stitch to secure elastic bands, encase decorative threads, sew on buttons, decorate a fabric, hem a garment and stitch together a seam.

Things You'll Need

• Sewing machine

Instructions

1. Replace the presser foot on your sewing machine so that the hole is wide enough to accommodate the additional space required for a zigzag stitch.The presser foot is the metal part that holds down a piece of fabric for sewing. The needle passes through the hole on the presser foot before going through the fabric. A zigzag stitch moves laterally a great deal more than a standard stitch, and it will need the room to pass back and forth without striking metal. If the presser foot isn't replaced, the needle will break when switching from a standard stitch to a zigzag stitch because of the smaller hole in the presser foot.

2. Install a needle plate for the sewing machine with an equally wide hole to also prevent a broken needle.

3. Check the bottom side of the presser foot for an indentation. The indentation allows extra thread to pass through without binding or getting caught in the needle as it passes through the cloth. Generally, this becomes a problem only with dense zigzag patterns or softer materials, such as satin.

4. Adjust the length and width of the stitch if your sewing machine offers this option. The length of a stitch is the distance down the length of the stitch between each stitch, and the width refers to the horizontal distance of the stitch. Shorter stitch lengths create stronger stitches, while longer lengths work best in decorative applications, or where greater flexibility is needed. For more delicate fabrics, use a stitch length of 2 mm or 13 to 20 stitches per inch. Fabrics of medium heft use a stitch length of 2 1/2 to 3 mm, or 10 to 12 spi. Heavy-weight fabrics and decorative jobs use a length of 4 to 5 mm or 5 to 6 spi. When stitching on a button, set the length to 0 and the width to the width of the buttonholes so that the needle stitches back and forth easily between the two holes.

5. Set the width of the stitch to about 5 to 6 mm for most applications, erring toward wider stitches for decorative work.

References

• Sewing: Zigzag Stitch
• Dummies; Making Machine Stitches Work for You; Jan Saunders Maresh