[Loralee]

I made up a pair of the sandbox pants in stretch uncut corduroy and my kiddo wears them All The Time. As a result of constant wear and wash, the fabric has frayed dangerously close to the narrow seam on the crotch area. This is the area where I stitched 2 stitch lines between the pattern notches then clipped 1/8 inch from the 2nd row of stitches. It’s still holding but is visibly weakened. How should I reinforce this seam to prevent an embarrassing moment?!?

[Nicole]

When I clip that seam I like to do a small zigzag as well,just to reinforce it.

[Nicole]

http://fiveandcounting-motherof5.blogspot.com/2011/01/bedtime-story-pjs-for-big-bottom.html if you scroll down you will see what I mean.

xn

[Anonymous]

That’s how I do it as well. Do you have enough fabric remaining to do a narrow zig zag at this point?

[Loralee]

Thanks for the pictures, Nicole. It will be really tight to do a zig zag now but I’ll try it. The weave is loose in a 1 1/2 inch section. I may be able to do a very narrow one. If not, I might try stitching close to the first seam to provide one more fray barrier.

Next time, I’ll zigzag for sure. I usually sew a straight stitch then pink the seams and did this above the notches.

[Violaisabelle]

If I had this situation, I would be inclined to do another row of stitching with a short stitch length, just outside my seam line, in the seam allowance. I would then make up a piece of bias tape, lightweight and narrow, and I would first, stitch it on that new stitching line, with the machine, then I would fold it over, encasing the seam allowance and stitch it down, more than likely, by hand, given the fact you have a small seam allowance. You probably could stitch that down by machine, but I would be afraid of one more seam stitching giving more bulk in that area, stiffening it up a bit where you really don’t want stiffness. 🙂

I hope you can save these and get more wear out of them. The fact you said they have been worn lots and washed should make you feel very happy that they have been so well loved. 🙂

Carol