A ladder stitch, or mattress stitch, is a stitch which can be used to invisibly close seams from the outside of the garment or item. It is primarily used to close seams on stuffed items, such as

pillow A pillow is a support of the body at rest for comfort, therapy, or decoration. Pillows are used in different variations by many species, including humans. Some types of pillows include throw pillows, body pillows, decorative pillows, and man ...

s, mattresses, down coats or

stuffed toy A stuffed toy is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, stuffed animals, and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be ...

s, where after the stuffing is added, there is no access to the back of the

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not th ...

. It can also be used to repair split seams on these items or garments, or to alter clothing. It can also be used in surgery to close an incision in the skin; in this context it's called a running subcuticular suture or running subcuticular closure.

References

Sewing stitches {{textile-arts-stub