A stitch in time saves nine means deal with a small problem now and avoid a big one later. Remember a stitch in time saves nine, as they say, a stitch in time saves nine.
The arithmetic is the whole charm of it, since the rhyme fixes the ratio at nine to one. It comes from mending a small tear before it opens further, and it applies to roofs and teeth as well as cloth.
1phrasea stitch in time saves nineDeal with a small problem now and avoid a big one later.
“Fix that small leak in the roof now, because a stitch in time saves nine.”
a stitch in time saves nine is a saying.
From mending a tear in cloth when first noticed, before it needs many more stitches.
From the practice of mending a small tear in cloth when first noticed ("in time"), before it becomes a larger one requiring more stitches.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Idioms