Pad stitches are a type of

running stitch The straight or running stitch is the basic stitch in hand-sewing and embroidery, on which all other forms of sewing are based. The stitch is worked by passing the needle in and out of the fabric at a regular distance. All other stitches are ...

made by placing small stitches

perpendicular In elementary geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at a right angle (90 degrees or π/2 radians). The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the ''perpendicular symbol'', ⟂. It can ...

to the line of stitching. Pad stitches secure two or more layers of

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 the ...

together and give the layers more firmness; smaller and denser stitches create more firmness. They may also be used to enforce an overall

curvature In mathematics, curvature is any of several strongly related concepts in geometry. Intuitively, the curvature is the amount by which a curve deviates from being a straight line, or a surface deviates from being a plane. For curves, the canonic ...

of the layers. Tailors pad stitch a

jacket A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which ...

lapel Lapels ( ) are the folded flaps of cloth on the front of a jacket or coat below the collar and are most commonly found on formal clothing and suit jackets. Usually they are formed by folding over the front edges of the jacket or coat and sewing t ...

and undercollar to give them additional firmness, and maintain their curvature. The line of stitching usually runs parallel to the direction of the most important curve of the layers. For example, pad stitches in a suit's lapel run parallel to the lapel's roll line; pad stitches in the under collar of a tailored jacket run parallel to the collar's back edge.

References

Sewing stitches {{textile-arts-stub