How do I close a cushion or a soft toy so the stitches do not show?

Anything sewn inside out and turned through — a cushion, a soft toy, a lined bag, a draught excluder — has a gap left for the turning, and that gap has to be closed from the outside. A ladder stitch, also called an invisible or a mattress stitch, does it so that the closure is indistinguishable from the machine seam either side of it. The trick is almost entirely in the preparation.

What you'll need

• A fine sharp needle
• Thread matched to the fabric
• An iron
• Pins or clips

Step by step

1. Press both edges of the gap inwards first.Turn each raw edge in along the exact line the machine seam would have taken, and press hard. This single step decides whether the closure is invisible: the needle is going to follow those folds, so if they are not accurate the closure will not be either. Press before you stuff, if you can, when the fabric is flat.
2. Pin the folds together.So the two folded edges meet without overlapping and without a gap. Clips are easier than pins on a stuffed item.
3. Anchor the thread inside the seam.Bring the needle out at one end of the gap from inside the seam allowance so the knot is buried. Single thread, not doubled — doubled thread is more visible and more likely to twist.
4. Run the needle inside one fold.Insert it into the fold directly opposite where it came out, travel along inside the fold for about 5mm — matching the machine stitch length either side — and bring it out.
5. Cross straight over and repeat on the other side.Insert the needle into the opposite fold exactly level with where it came out, travel the same distance inside, and come out. Straight across, at right angles to the seam, every time. Crossing at an angle is what makes a closure pucker or run crooked.
6. Keep the thread loose while you work.The stitches should look like a ladder — two folds as the uprights and the crossings as the rungs — before you tighten anything. It is far easier to see that you are on line while it is open.
7. Draw it up every five or six stitches.Pull the thread gently until the two folds close against each other and the crossings disappear inside. Do not close the entire run at the end — it gathers and puckers.
8. Fasten off inside the seam.Two small stitches on top of each other inside the fold, then run the needle away inside the seam for about 3cm, bring it out and cut flush. The tail retracts inside and there is no knot to feel.

Tips

• Match the length of your ladder runs to the machine stitch length either side. It is a small thing that makes the closure genuinely indistinguishable.
• On a soft toy, stuff firmly right up to the opening before closing, and close from the point where the seam is most curved towards the flattest part — the last few stitches are easiest on a flat section.
• Waxed or conditioned thread — run through a block of beeswax and pressed with a warm iron — slides through stuffing far better and tangles less.
• For a cushion cover that will be washed and re-stuffed, consider putting in a zip instead of stitching it closed. A ladder stitch is a one-time closure.

Common mistakes

• Not pressing the folds first — The needle follows the fold. Without a pressed fold the closure wanders, the gap width varies, and the result is visibly a repair rather than a seam.
• Crossing at an angle — Each crossing must be at right angles to the seam and level on both sides. Angled crossings pull the two edges out of alignment and the closure runs off.
• Pulling the whole run tight at the end — It gathers the fabric along the closure and makes an obvious puckered section. Tighten as you go, every few stitches.
• Using doubled thread — It is thicker, more visible when it does show, and it twists round itself inside the fold, which drags and knots.

If it doesn't work

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