In
sewing
Sewing is the craft of fastening pieces of textiles together using a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeo ...
, to tack or baste is to sew quick, temporary
stitches that will later be removed. Tacking is used for a variety of reasons, such as holding a seam in place until it is sewn properly, or transferring
pattern
A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...
markings onto the garment.
Tacking is typically sewn using a specialised
tacking thread, which may snap easily in order for it to be easily removed from the garment when necessary.
Uses
Tacking is used in a variety of ways; one of the most common uses is to easily hold a
seam or
trim in place until it can be permanently sewn, usually with a long
running stitch
The straight or running stitch is the basic Stitch (textile arts), stitch in hand-sewing and embroidery, on which all other forms of sewing are based. The stitch is worked by passing the Sewing needle, needle in and out of the textile, fabric ...
made by hand or
machine
A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromol ...
. This is called a 'tacking stitch' or 'basting stitch'. Tacking stitches may be used when a garment is being
fitted to a
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided in ...
during production, as the stitches can be easily removed and replaced with pins if the seam requires alteration.
X-shaped tacking stitches are also very common on the
vent
Vent or vents may refer to:
Science and technology Biology
*Vent, the cloaca region of an animal
*Vent DNA polymerase, a thermostable DNA polymerase
Geology
*Hydrothermal vent, a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water ...
s (slits) of the back of a man's
suit jacket
A suit jacket, also called a lounge jacket, dress jacket, lounge coat or suit coat, is a jacket in classic menswear that is part of a suit.
History
The jacket was originally a work jacket that came into fashion due to the French Revolution. It ...
, or at the bottom of
kick pleat
A pleat (plait in older English) is a type of fold formed by doubling textile, fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. It is commonly used in clothing and upholstery to gather a wide piece of fabric to a narrower circumference.
Pleat ...
s on a woman's skirt. They are meant to hold the flaps in place during shipping and when on display in the store. They should be removed before being worn. Brand labels are also loosely basted on the outer edges of the sleeves of outfits as well as women's
winter coats, intended to be removed after purchase. They are meant to help customers to easily identify the brands in the store without reaching into the collar.
Tacking may be used to temporarily attach a
lace
Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...
collar
Collar may refer to:
Human neckwear
*Clerical collar (informally ''dog collar''), a distinctive collar used by the clergy of some Christian religious denominations
*Collar (clothing), the part of a garment that fastens around or frames the neck
...
,
ruffles, or other trims to
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...
so that the attached article may be removed easily for cleaning, or to be worn with a different garment. For this purpose, tacking stitches are sewn by hand in such a way that they are almost invisible from the outside of the garment.
Tacking Stitch
/ref>
Tacking may be used to transfer pattern markings to fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...
, or to otherwise mark the point where two pieces of fabric are to be joined. A special loose loop stitch used for this purpose is called a 'tack' or 'tailor's tack'. This is often done through two opposing layers of the same fabric so that when the threads are snipped between the layers the stitches will be in exactly the same places for both layers thus saving time having to chalk and tack the other layer.
A basting stitch - an overlong straight stitch with unfinished ends - is often used in quilting
Quilting is the process of joining a minimum of three layers of textile, fabric together either through stitching manually using a Sewing needle, needle and yarn, thread, or mechanically with a sewing machine or specialised longarm quilting ...
or embroidery
Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...
to temporarily hold sandwiched pieces of fabric in place, with the basting stitches removed when the piece is finished.
Gallery
File:Basted fabric right side.jpg, Basting thread on the right side (outer side) of fabric.
File:Basting pattern to material before cutting.jpg , Tracing paper from a pattern is basted to fabric before a piece is cut. The basting marks are outlined with tailor's chalk.
File:Tailors tacks.jpg, Tailor's tacks mark fabric to trace a pattern piece, without attaching tracing paper.
See also
* Bar tack
In sewing, bar tack, also written bar-tack or bartack, refers to a series of stitches used to reinforce areas of a garment that may be subject to stress or additional wear. Typical areas for bar tack stitches include pocket openings, buttonholes ...
References
External links
Tacking stitch
{{sewing
Sewing stitches