Bar tacks, such as these machine-sewn ones, may be used to reinforce the bottom of a fly opening.
In sewing, bar tack, also written bar-tack or bartack, refers to a series of stitches used to reinforce areas of a garment that may be subject to stress or additional wear.[1] Typical areas for bar tack stitches include pocket openings, buttonholes, belt loops, the bottom of a fly opening,[2]tucks, pleats and the corners of collars.[3] Bar tacks may be sewn by hand, using whip stitches, or by machine, using zigzag stitches.[1] The process for sewing a bar tack is essentially to sew several long, narrowly-spaced stitches along the line of the bar that will be formed, followed by short stitches made perpendicular to the long stitches, through the fabric and over the bar.[4] The bar commonly varies between 1⁄16 to 1⁄8 inch (1.6 to 3.2 mm) in width and 1⁄4 to 3⁄8 inch (6.4 to 9.5 mm) in length. In some garments, such as jeans, the bar tack will be sewn in a contrasting color.
Similar stitches to the bar tack include the arrowhead tack and crow's foot tack.[5]
^ abGeer, Sarah; Shirley, Lindsey (December 2011). Clothing and Textiles: Sewing Glossary(PDF). Utah State University Cooperative Extension. Retrieved 25 January 2016 – via Utah State University Digital Commons.
^St. Germaine, Tasia (2014). The Sewtionary: An A to Z Guide to 101 Sewing Techniques and Definitions. Cincinnati, Ohio: KP Craft. p. 16. ISBN978-1-4402-3832-1.
^The Dressmaker (2nd ed.). New York: Butterick Publishing Company. 1916. p. 22. Retrieved 25 January 2016 – via Internet Archive.
^Brown, Clara M.; Gorham, Ethel R.; Keever, Aura I. (1934). Clothing Construction (Revised ed.). Boston: Athenaeum Press. pp. 53–54. hdl:2027/coo.31924003596800. Retrieved 26 January 2016 – via HathiTrust.
^Rocke, Helen (1955). Extension Circular EC55-405: Arrowhead and Bar Tack(PDF). University of Nebraska College of Agriculture Extension Service. Retrieved 25 January 2016 – via University of Nebraska-Lincoln Digital Commons.
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