A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE

The proverb ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ means that a timely action in any matter will prevent more work later or save you from a lot of troubles, loss, and waste.

It alludes to the art of sewing. If a seamstress is working on a garment and notices a hole, she may repair it as soon as she sees it. This will prevent the hole from growing larger and will save her some work in the future.

For example: You should consider getting your car repaired now before you’re left stranded — a stitch in time saves nine.

Although no one knows who came up with this saying or what significance stitches or the number nine has, many people believe it was started by mothers weary of mending their children’s clothing. It is unclear why nine was chosen specifically; it may be because it rhymes.

The phrase thus might be stated more clearly as, “One stitch, in time, saves nine stitches,” meaning that mending a tear right away would only require one stitch instead of the 10 stitches necessary later if the tear goes unfixed and worsens.

This saying has its roots in the 18th century. One of its early appearances is in Thomas Fuller’s 1732 collection of proverbs.

Another early print source can be found in the English astronomer Francis Baily’s Journal, written in 1797 and published in 1856:

After a little while we acquired a method of keeping her (a boat) in the middle of the stream, by watching the moment she began to vary, and thereby verifying the vulgar proverb, ‘”A stitch in time saves nine.”