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Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,227
Registered: ‎03-16-2010

removing embroidery stitches?

I would like to remove some stiching from cloth luggage. the only thing I can find is a "shaver" type tool that gets good reviews on amazon. It's about $80. Any ideas?

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,010
Registered: ‎08-29-2010

Re: removing embroidery stitches?

If you don't have a seam ripper to pick out the stitches, careful clipping with manicure scissors will work.

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Honored Contributor
Posts: 19,646
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: removing embroidery stitches?

You need a tiny scissors like a nail scissors and you need to make sure that the stitches go to the back of the fabric and you have to work very carefully, it is very tedious work

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Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,450
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: removing embroidery stitches?

You could try using a seam ripper, which you can find at any fabric or crafts store.  Slip the pointy end between the fabric & the stitching, then you'd have to pick out the threads.

 

Are you absolutely sure you wan to do this?  My mom picked out the embroidery on a quilt when she & my birth father divorced.  The quilt had been a wedding gift & had both their initials on it.  Wound up leaving holes in the fabric.  Removing embroidery can also leave a kind of "shadow" on the fabric.

 

Good luck

Regular Contributor
Posts: 176
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: removing embroidery stitches?

Like the other posters said a seam ripper works great getting tiny stitches removed.  I like to remove "itchy" tags from garments and this is my go to when I need to remove them. 

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Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,740
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: removing embroidery stitches?

$80 can be better spent to buy new luggage so I don't understand what you want to achieve. Maybe you could explain it in greater detail as I just cannot picture embroidery on cloth luggage.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 11,153
Registered: ‎05-22-2012

Re: removing embroidery stitches?

I agree, I would use a seam ripper from the fabric store. You can also use a small, sharp pair of scissors if the stitches are larger. If there's a lot of heavy embroidery, I'd go with a seam ripper and a small pair of sharp scissors.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 10,375
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: removing embroidery stitches?


@granddi wrote:

I would like to remove some stiching from cloth luggage. the only thing I can find is a "shaver" type tool that gets good reviews on amazon. It's about $80. Any ideas?


The shaver isn't going to work and if it the embroidery is very dense, even if you are able to pick it out, it's going to leave it's mark on the luggage.