What is a Puckered Seam?

The term “puckered seam” implies gathering the fabric at the sewing seam or the wrinkling of the same fabric. This hinders the flatness of the fabric, making the seam visible, and along with it, the dress or any project is less than likable to the eye. Puckering is likely to be observed due to tension problems, incorrect stitch length, improper thread or fabric selection, or humidity.

What Causes Puckered Seams?

Several factors contribute to puckered seams:

Incorrect Thread Tension

If your sewing machine has an overly high tension setting, it may pull the fabric and cause it to bunch. Conversely, no tension can lead to very loose stitches.

Wrong Stitching Type or Length

An excessively long stitch may cause undesirable fabric bunching on light materials, and some stitch types are inappropriate for specific fabrics.

Thread or Needle Mismatching

A puckering of the sewing product can be traced to the non-compatibility between the thread or needle and the poor fabric type.

Fabric Features

Some fabrics, like lightweight ones or those that are slippery, can be the major causes of the puckering problem.

Uneven Spacing

If the fabric is not moving evenly through the machine, it gathers unevenly.

High Humidity

Dampness can alter specific threads and materials so that they contract, creating small bumps.

How Can I Prevent Puckered Seams?

Preventing puckered seams often involves simple adjustments:

Proper Thread Tension

Experiment with scrap fabric while trying to change the tension for the parked stitches on your sewing machine until you experience the thread lying flat and even.

Shorter Stitch Length

To achieve finesse in the fabric, you may require a decrease in stitch length, but use longer ones for heavy materials.

Decent Needle and Thread

To fix the problem, pair the needle and thread with the fabric’s weight and weave.

Stabilized Fabric

Interfacing or stabilizers should be used on delicate fabrics to make them more rigid.

Even Feeding of Fabric

Presser foot pressure must be suitably adjusted, making the fabric feed smoothly.

The Controlled Climate

Keep the fabric in a controlled environment and sew a less unhealthy atmosphere, ensuring the correct functioning of humidity.

How Can I Fix Puckered Seams?

If you encounter a puckered seam:

- Adjusting the tension and re-sewing: The seam is too severe, and the only way to fix it is to re-adjust the tension and stitch the seam again.
- Ironing: Some baste and steam pressing are used to stoke the iron and help smooth out the suddenly wrinkled area.
- Stabilizers: Even on the slightest weight of the fabric, add a stabilizer to your sewing for a final smoothness.
- Ripping & Re-sewing: Extreme scenarios might involve completely removing and fixing the seam with the right technology and settings.

Can Hand-Sewing Cause Puckered Seams?

The concept of puckering seams applies to hand sewing, too, as it concerns the poignant subject of different-sized and tight stitches. Keeping the size of stitches even and ensuring that the knot tension is the same throughout the stitching process is extremely important when sewing by hand.

Back to Index Page

Puckered seam