Sew a bar Tack

Decide on the length and placement of the bar tack; ½” (1.3cm) is a standard length, so use this as a starting point. Starting at one end of the tack placement, sew with a regular straight stitch to mark the bar tack area, and backstitch back to the starting point. I found six machine stitches worked out to about ½” (1.3cm). This makes it easy to see where your bar tack is going to start and stop.

Without removing the fabric from the machine, change the machine settings to sew a narrow, dense zigzag, between 2mm–3mm wide and 0.3mm–0.5 mm long. Sew from the start point to the end point with the zigzag stitch.

Make a few practice tacks on scrap fabric to be sure you’re happy with the look and the length. Use a doubled thickness of fabric, so the scrap you’re testing on is close to the thickness of your project. This is a good time to try out bar tacks in different colors if you’re considering contrast stitching. Write down the stitch length and width so you remember what you’ve decided.

hen you’re ready to sew the real bar tack, sew the regular straight stitch first to mark the bar tack placement, switch to zigzag and sew the bar tack.

Turn over the work and gently pull the bobbin thread until you see the loop of the top thread. Insert a pin into this loop and pull the top thread to the back of your work. Tie both threads together in a knot to secure. Clip threads close to the knot. Press.