How to Remove Mattress Stitches
- 1). Fold the material in half along the seam you want to rip out. By folding the material lengthwise, you are exposing the seam, making it easier to see and remove the stitches.
- 2). Slip your toothpick under one stitch and gently pull up. Using a dull tool that does not immediately cut your stitch will assist you in ensuring that the stitch you are removing is truly a mattress stitch and not another stitch in your project. This is especially crucial if you are removing mattress stitches from a knitting project where cutting another stitch could ruin all your knitting.
- 3). Gently slip your seam ripper under the stitch as you are pulling your toothpick out. If you used a relatively thin thread or yarn for your stitches, the seam ripper should go right through the stitches, removing them easily.
- 4). Use your small sewing scissors to remove any stitches that your seam ripper cannot remove. Do this by gently tugging upward with your seam ripper and then carefully snipping each stitch using your sewing scissors.
- 5). Remove all stitch scraps from your project. You can now move forward in the next step in your sewing, knitting or craft project.
