Jump stitch
A jump stitch is a move where the machine carries thread across a gap between two parts of a design without sewing, leaving a loose strand that gets trimmed, hidden or cut off by hand.
A jump stitch is a move where the machine carries thread from one part of a design to another without sewing stitches along the way. The needle lifts, the hoop shifts to the new spot, and the needle comes down again. The thread that stretched across the gap is left lying on the surface as a loose strand, unless something cuts it or later stitching covers it.
It matters because jump threads are the most common bit of clean-up on a finished piece. Left in place they look untidy, they can catch on a fingernail or a zipper, and they show most on light fabric and in the open gaps between letters. A design that sews one letter at a time can leave several strands to snip by hand, which adds up fast on a batch of orders. Some jumps never show at all, because the digitizing software routes the needle so the strand is hidden under stitching that comes later.
You handle jump stitches in two places. In the design, a digitizer can order the parts so each one starts near where the last one ended, which shortens or removes the jump, or add a trim command so the machine cuts the thread. On the machine, many models can clip jump threads for you. Brother lists a jump stitch trimming feature on the PE900, and Baby Lock lists jump stitch cutting on the Flourish II. Check your manual for how to switch it on, because Ink/Stitch notes that not every home machine can trim in the middle of a color.
Common mistakes: counting on the cutter to fix a poorly ordered design, when every cut costs a little time and software such as Ink/Stitch adds small locking stitches around it; assuming every machine understands trim codes, when some do not; and forgetting that file conversion can change trims. In DST, for example, a trim is usually signaled by a short run of jumps in a row, so watch the first stitch-out after converting a file.
Example: A name sewn as five separate letters has four gaps between letters. If the machine does not trim jumps, that is four loose strands to snip by hand on every item, so a batch of 20 shirts means about 80 snips. With automatic jump trimming switched on, or a design ordered so the letters connect under later stitching, most or all of that clean-up goes away. The counts are illustrative, not a rule.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a jump stitch and a trim?
A jump moves the needle to a new spot and leaves the thread attached, so a strand stays across the gap. A trim cuts the thread. Ink/Stitch describes its trim command as a way to avoid long jump stitches between objects and spare you from clipping them by hand.
Can I stop my machine from leaving jump threads?
It depends on the machine and the file. Some models list automatic jump trimming, such as the Brother PE900 and the Baby Lock Flourish II. Others cannot trim within a color. Where yours cannot, reorder the design in your digitizing software so the needle travels under later stitching, or clip the strands with small scissors.
Are jump stitches a defect?
Not usually. Embroidery software creates connector stitches to link separate parts of a design, and these either show as jump stitches or are hidden under later stitching. They only become a problem when they stay visible or when there are so many that clean-up takes too long.