The back stitch is the strongest stitch you can use for a seam, and is great for those areas of a project that take a lot of stress. The downside is that it does take a little longer to stitch the seam, but it’s usually worth the effort if you need that strength.

Begin with a few stitches in place.

To form the first stitch, insert the needle into the original hole, passing it underneath, and bring the needle back to the top of the seam at an equal distance away from the end of the original stitches in place. This completes your first back stitch.

Form the next stitch by bringing the needle back to the end of the prior stitch and continuing as before.

As usual, keep the stitches as evenly spaced as possible. Gradually allow the stitches to become smaller as you become more used to the process. But remember that the fabric will ultimately dictate the size of the stitches and how small you can make them.

Here’s the row of back stitches after completing the seam. They look very nice and tidy from the right side.

While the wrong side looks a little less tidy due to the overlap of the stitches.