Why Seam Rip?

Why Seam Rip?

Why does a person need a seam ripper? Simply put, to rip apart a stitched seam.  Usually a person needs a seam ripper when they have made some sort of mistake in what they are sewing.

I have read on line that some prefer not to seam rip, instead they cut new pieces and sew it again.  This is not my preference because it is cheaper for me to buy more thread if I have to seam rip apart something rather than purchase new fabric. Also, what happens if you went back to the store and the store was out of your material? I suppose you would then look on-line for more of that fabric somewhere else.  However, if the fabric was from a different dye lot it would drive me crazy. What if you can’t find more of that material anywhere? Your next option would be to have someone recreate that same material but I have no clue how much that would cost.  It seems far easier to me to just spend a few minutes and rip apart the seams.

I use seam rippers not just on my mistakes but when I am taking apart an item of clothing, curtains, bag etc that I want the material from that has some sort of damage on it.  Damage like a stain, worn section, rip in the bag or curtain.  When I do this I have only a certain amount of material to work with and I want every bit of material I can get.
   

I also use a seam ripper when taking apart sheets. Why would I take apart sheets? Sometimes it is the cheapest way to get the backing for a quilt.  Or if I want to avoid a seam in the back of a quilt or a cloak then a sheet is such a large continuous amount of fabric is how I can get the look I want for a lot cheaper.
   

Another reason I seam rip things is to get notions. For example, if one of my kids out grows a pair of pajama pants.  I don’t get rid of it and I unfortunately can’t give it away( to many stains) but I can repurpose the cotton into socks, rag rugs etc. and I can repurpose the elastic in the waist band into a headband for my girls or any number of things.
                                        
                                   

There are also alterations to consider. I looked everywhere years ago for a wedding dress that looked good on me and couldn’t find one.  Eventually I found one that was close but that needed alterations to be modest.  So I seam ripped the top apart, added in other material and changed the design of the top (finding a matching material was insanely difficult) so that it was modest. I was confident in what I was wearing that day.

There are times I won’t seam rip material to get a few extra inches of fabric.  Jean/Denim for example is so hard to rip the stitches out of that I don’t find it worth the ache in my hands. However, I only came to that point when I had so much used jeans given to me that I could cut around the seams and not cause myself to be short on what I needed. 

A seam ripper is definably a work horse in my house. It costs fewer than 2.00 for this tool and it saves me so much money.  Seam rippers have been around a long time; the earliest version I can find of this devise is from 1899. There have been several improvements over the years from different inventors. It’s been around for about 116 years. However, if you don’t have one of these gadgets just use the older work horse, scissors.