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[epicserendipity]

So, I'm stitching the white dotted lines on this uniform entirely by hand. Each stitch is 1/2 inch long, and 1/2 inch apart. I've already put in 9 hours--ish--into the pants, and I'm not finished with them yet. I'm on the inseam.

I already know this is going to take me a fancy decade and change to complete.

Question: What can I paint/paste/spray over the stitches to make sure they don't pull or tear, rip, break, or otherwise come undone? ((There's a lockstitch behind each one,s o that if one comes undone, it won't affect the others. I hope.))

HELP!

I know I could have spent $70 +s/h to have one custom made for me, but then.....where's the pain? The drama? The tantrums? The blood? The sweat? The tears? The satisfaction? The stories of all of thee above?

[Penlowe]

I wouldn't fret that much about it unless you plan on tromping through the wilderness where brush and cactus will be scraping against you to snag those threads. If your stitches aren't super tight, do something on the inside of the pants to tighten them up.

You will get faster as you go. I do long tedious projects in front of the tv, it's rather satisfying to say 'hey, I got four inches of rows crocheted on this blanket during that movie'.

[Evil Bishounen]

If you're worried about the thread fraying after a while of rubbing against your body, getting washed, maybe catching on things, etc, you can give it a little treatment of Fray Block.

Test it first on the fabric, because you WILL get some on the fabric too if you dribble it over that white stitching. If you made your garments from scratch and have leftover fabric, test the Fray Block on a scrap. If you're altering bought garments, put a small dot on some inconspicuous place like the inside of the waistband or the inside of the leg hem. You'll want to get some on there, let it fully dry, run it under water, and then let it dry again. The point is to see if it makes a visible stain on the fabric or overly stiffens it, because Fray Block can have these effects on certain textiles.

Another note: the instructions say to run it under a tube of hot water before use. I recommend totally ignoring that part. Running the tube under hot water makes the Fray Block runny as hell - it will be prone to squirting really badly out of the tube and uncontrollably getting all over the place.

[Penlowe]

Another note: the instructions say to run it under a tube of hot water before use. I recommend totally ignoring that part. Running the tube under hot water makes the Fray Block runny as hell - it will be prone to squirting really badly out of the tube and uncontrollably getting all over the place.
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Or if you live where it's hot like I do, you pop it in the fridge for a minute before using to fight the runny-ness...

[dizzymonochrome]

Too late now for what you've already sewn, but treating your thread with beeswax and an iron will strengthen the thread. You can get beeswax in the sewing section at any craft store, run the thread through it, and then sandwich it inside a scrap of cotton/muslin/any leftover fabric and iron.
In millinery (hat making) we treat all thread with beeswax because mostly everything is hand sewn. It makes it stronger, less likely to break, and less likely to twist and get tangled while you sew.