Why You Should Trim Jump Stitches on the Back of Embroidery

We trim jump stitches on the front of embroidery. Did you know you should also trim jumps on the back, too?

Most modern embroidery machines have automatic thread cutters built in. They cut the thread after jump stitches digitized into the design as well as cutting thread between color changes.

Fortunately, Bonnie’s designs have very few jump stitches because they are superbly digitized. You will find other designs with more jumps built in. A lot of in-the-hoop designs, like zip bags and quilt blocks, often contain long jump stitches.

Any time the thread jumps on the front of the hoop, the bobbin thread jumps on the back of the hoop. Many machine embroiderers prefer to turn their auto thread cutters off when embroidering text especially. It makes the back of your embroidery cleaner with less thread tails.

It is a nuisance to have to trim jump stitches between text by hand, but we did offer some tips on an easy way to do just that in this blog. We have also suggested that it is best to trim jump stitches as you go rather than waiting until embroidery is finished. Leaving your embroidery in the hoop also makes it easier to trim on the front and the back.

When layers of thread and thread tails build up on the back of embroidery, it can show through the front of the fabric as lumps and bumps. If your fabric is particularly sheer or light colored, even the thread colors can show through.

Another problem with jump stitches on the back of embroidery is that longer jumps can snag which pulls stitches. Just the tension on the fabric from the thread jumping from one stitch to another is enough to add puckers to your fabric.

Not all jump stitches need cut. Generally anything over a half-inch in length should be trimmed.

If you have a project that has large jumps, your fabric at the jump point is under tension and may look puckered. If that is the case, try trimming the jump stitch on the back and see if that helps!

Debbie Henry
Sew Inspired by Bonnie