Strategic Backtack Placement

Do you ever think about where your backtacks go when sewing? Or do you just start wherever when you sew things like hems? I'm a huge fan of strategic backtack placement and try to start and stop whenever possible in a non-noticeable place on my garment. I'll show you what I mean on this Scout Tee sample we sewed up last year!

When hemming the bottom of a garment I typically start just behind the side seam. My theory here is this is why we have arms! People will inevitably see the front and back of the garment, but the sides are less studied, especially when your hands are swinging back and forth.

When doing a neckline I typically start at the center back since my hair is long enough to cover that and I rarely wear it up. When topstitching a collar stand on a button up shirt I always start at the top center back because that way the collar covers it.

And for sleeves, the obvious hidden place is the underarm seam. I start mine here whether it's a long or short sleeve, sometimes pushing it slightly to the back of the seam line, though this one is pretty centered. I also start cuffs here since they face towards my body. Maybe this is my perfectionist tendencies showing through but I've always done this. For some reason it bothers me seeing a back tack front and center on a neckline. Do you have any backtacking idiosyncrasies? Are you a person who stitches in place to form a knot and avoids backtacking all together? Let's discuss!