How to choose the right stitch
Match the stitch to the job.
Step by step
- Seams in woven fabric: straight stitch.
- Puckering? Lengthen the straight stitch.
- Raw edges: zigzag, with one side of the stitch going just off the edge.
- Knits: a narrow zigzag with a small stitch length, or the triple stretch stitch (2 forward, 1 back), though it's bulky.
- Hems with little stitching showing: blind stitch; a stretch blind stitch on stretchy fabric.
- Test the stitch on a scrap of the same fabric.
Watch
What Stitch Should I Use? (Sewing for Beginners) (7:10)
By Made to Sew · Open on YouTube
Chosen from its title and channel: a 7-minute video from Made to Sew on the same topic as this guide. Embedded from YouTube with credit; we don't host it. It only loads when you press play.
All guides ›Machine stitches
Sources
All checked 1 November 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.