Thread chains are really common in clothing. You’ll see these as swing tacks that hold a skirt or jacket lining to the shell fabric at the hem, or a belt loop on a dress, even as a quick button loop or bra strap holder.
But the trick to making them is not so common. Which is strange because it’s SO easy. Here’s how you do it!
I’m going to show you one of two ways to make a thread chain. This method is much faster than the alternative.
Start by bringing up your knotted thread into the garment where you want the thread chain to start.
Then make a very small stitch and knot it onto the fabric (see my post about hand sewing basics for the best kind of knot!).
Now make another little stitch, but don’t pull the thread all the way through.
Instead, leave a loop large enough to fit a few fingers through comfortably. You can set the needle down because you won’t need it for a while.
Reach through the loop and pull the thread through, forming a new loop as you tighten the first loop around the new one.
Continue pulling the thread through to form new loops until the chain is as long as you want. With a little practice you’ll get really fast!
When you’re done, put the needle through the last loop and tighten it to secure the chain.
If you don’t to this, the chain stitch will just unravel when you pull on the thread.
Now you can stitch into the spot that you want the chain to end.
Give it a few knots to secure it to the fabric.
That’s all there is to it! You can make it as long or short as you need. This example would be used for a belt loop (for a very small belt), but you could also knot the ends to two separate pieces of fabric, for example the hem of a skirt and the lining. Or you could knot one end to a shoulder seam and the other end to one side of a snap (the other side of the snap would be sewn to the shoulder seam) as a bra strap holder.
I have also used a thread chain to hold the points of a stand-up collar in the right spot so they curled down. Did you use this tutorial to make a thread chain? What did you use it for? Share in the comments!
