174 Part 3: More Techniques
French Seams
1 2
A French seam encloses the raw edges of the fabric on the
inside of the seam. This advanced way to finish a seam is
best used on sheer or lightweight fabrics.
While the technique is simple, you must pay special
attention to the direction of the fabric to be sure you end up
with the correct finished side.
What You Need
Standard foot attachment
Scissors
Iron
Fabric or existing project
Place two pieces of fabric with the wrong sides
together. Sew a straight seam at
1
4
inch (.6 cm)
(this will fit into the standard
5
8
-inch [1.5 cm]
seam allowance).
Open up the fabric, and press the seam open flat.
The finished side of the fabric
is facing out!
Pressing will help create a nice final
seam—be sure not to skip this step!
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Being careful not to cut the body of the fabric,
trim the seam allowance as close to the seam as
you can (about
1
8
inch [.3 cm]).
Fold the fabric back so the first seam is enclosed.
The right sides of the fabric should now be facing
each other.
3
4
5
6
Sew a straight seam at
1
4
inch (.6 cm). Turn over the fabric to see the finished side of the
seam. Clip any stray threads that might be poking
out through the seam if necessary.
175Chapter 11: Basic Clothing Techniques
If you’re using a sheer fabric, be sure to
cut off all the loose threads.
If you didn’t trim the loose threads from the first
side of the seam, you might see them poking out
here. Be sure to avoid that!
This is the inside view of the seam.
Notice the raw edges are neatly tucked
inside the seam.
ooCH11_Sewing.indd 175 5/23/13 3:39 PM
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