A French seam completely encases the raw edge of the seam allowance, creating a clean and professional finish on a garment where the seam … Always wash/dry your linen fabric to account for shrinkage before cutting. Use cotton thread or cotton covered polyester thread for sewing linen. studio peeks: shoot prep - megan nielsen design diary, Tutorial : How to sew an Invisible Zipper - megan nielsen design diary, Sewing Tutorial: To An Absolute Beginner from a Relative Novice – Skaldsheim. This is a great finish for heavy fabrics that you aren’t going to line. You can see how similar they look. This is the one seam finish that’s *almost* all-purpose. It’s a good alternative to more time consuming bias bound seams. For a Hong Kong finish, cut a 1-1.5″ strip of bias from a lightweight fabric. This is a great finish for neck seams on hoodies. It shouldn’t be your first sewing goal, but eventually dreams of bias bound seams will invade your thoughts. You can trim away the excess bias. For both finishes, sew the seams and press them open. A Zigzag finish is a great multipurpose seam finish. Here’s how to topstitch and elevate all of your sewing now. Do not use any content from this site without permission and consent. Your email address will not be published. *. As linen can be bulky, you would want to use a very light fabric for the bias strips. It’s a nice way to finish soft shell fleeces which can have irritating edges to them. That the tape keeps irritating seams away from your neck is bonus. Press the seam to one side. The pinking shears will make a dead easy bulk free finish. All you do is either press a seam open or to one side. You only need your regular sewing machine for it, and it’ll work for a variety of fabrics. When sewing clothing with natural fibers (such as cotton and linen) I haven’t had a lot of success using pinking shears. One of the simplest ways to prevent unraveling and finish seams would be to use … If you have grandmothers who sewed, you’ve probably seen this finish. Pinked Seams. 6 Consider finishing linen seams. Sewing can be enjoyable and relaxing unless your sewing projects unravel after you finish! With a couple setting changes, you can switch to a rolled hem which can be a good seam finish on fabrics like linen that are fray monsters. So if you’re sewing with a traditional 5/8″ seam allowance, the sew the first pass at 3/8″, and 1/4″ after trimming. We’ll start with the easy ones and build up from there. While most knits will not ravel, this can be a neat way to clean up the seam allowances. You can also overcast a seam allowance by hand. Machine overcast feet have a little guide to keep you stitching right on the edge of your seam allowance. Your email address will not be published. They’re quick and won’t require any special machinery or techniques. Even a simple clean seam finish can tame what seems like uncontrollable fraying fabric. Hong Kong finishes work best with bias cut from lightweight silks and cottons. All photos and contents on this site are copyrighted by the author, Megan Nielsen, unless otherwise noted. This type of seam is just like a plain seam except there are two lines of … Pinking Shears. Knot a single length of thread and work stitches that wrap around the edge along the length of a seam. It’s because twill tape does a great job keeping neck edges from warping out of shape. These 2 finishes will get you there. Not to mention your garment will look professional! Sweater knits can get warped out of shape with a serger, and the stitching can be too bulky on some lighter weight fabrics. Next wrap the bias around the edge to the wrong side of the seam. From there, lay the tape over the seam. To do a double stitched seam, sew your seam. Seam finishing is one key to a professional looking garment and all linen needs some sort of seam finish. All images, text, and other content copyright Elizabeth Farr. The zigzagging will cut down on fraying without adding too much bulk. The knife will trim away any excess fabric. The seam allowance is folded back and top stitched down. It is very neat,strong and encloses the seam allowence completely. fabric tends not to fray as badly as linen and silk, due to wool’s tendency to felt. These usually work because linen presses really well, which controls the bulk. All you do is either press a seam... Zigzag finish. It’s a fun finish. You can see how similar it looks to a serged edge. It’s definitely has a specific look to it, but don’t knock it til you try it! With knits, you can get away with using the serger to sew the seam and finish the edge at the same time. Trim the seam allowance on the under layer. Cut with pinking blade in rotary for construction. All tutorials and patterns are copyrighted by Megan Nielsen. As you go along the seam, pick up 1 thread of the garment fabric every 1/2″ or so. A Zigzag finish is a great multipurpose seam finish. I would use a flat-felled seam, French seam or false French seam. This can be a nice minimal finish on delicate fabrics. For a simple topstitched seam allowance, press open your seam allowance or press it to one side. Nothing crazy here! Turn the seam allowances under and press. Used with a hem in this example, a catch stitch for a seam allowance must be combined with overlocking either with regular serging thread or specialty thread or yarn.I believe it could even add a little panache if zigzag-and-trim is your seam finish of choice. Weird but true. It seems funny to think of twill tape as a seam finish, but it’s one you’ll see a lot on neck seams. The Hong Kong finish is slightly less bulky since there’s one less layer of fabric. Instead of pinking shears, you can also use a rotary cutter with a pinking blade. If your fabric ravels, could sew two parallel lines of stitching on the edges and trim any fraying. Trim the seam allowance down to 1/8″. I think there is another seam treatment that works well with linen particularly and it is the felled seam. This adds a minimal bulk to the seam edge. With right sides together, sew your seam and press open. Whether you go simple or something a little fussier, in the end there’s a lot of different choices to explore. It’s something that you’ll see on ready-to-wear occasionally on more casual garments. A seam finish is a method used to secure the raw edges of the fabric and help them look neat while preventing them from raveling. Try serging or zig-zagging raw edges and pressing seams open. This is a different kind of seam finish. Five Ways to Finish Seams without a Serger To finish it off, stitch close to the top folded edge, making sure to catch the second layer beneath. Sew close to edge (of seam allowance. Cutting Instructions. I do what some people call a faux flat felled seam … no. And don’t try to serge through sequins unless you really love breaking needles. A catch stitch does take time. These are the seam finishes that won’t require much extra work on your part. Finishes. The last seam finish I am going to talk about is the flat felled seam. Episode 110: Seam Finishes; Episode 27: Fabrics 101 Blackbird Fabrics Linen products mentioned: Most popular Blackbird Fabrics fabric – Viscose Linen Noil Caroline’s favourite – Viscose Linen Slub; Blackbird Fabric’s Washed Linen; Blackbird Fabric’s Mid-Weight Linen; Lightweight linen (up to 5oz) is great for cooler summer garments! The seams still fray when they go through the wash. Next, sew a row of stitching close to the first. Seams can also be bound (but watch out for bulk), and a Hong Kong finish can be beautiful— one dressmaker I know uses bias-cut strips of Ambiance lining for this. From there, sew a line of zigzag stitches close to the stitching line. The truth is that there is no one-size fits all seam finish for every fabric. You can use a straight stitch or a narrow zigzag. 4 Simple seam finishes Pinked seams. For a turned and stitched seam, sew the seam, then press it open. These are really similar finishes. Double-stitched seam. I found … Stitch through all layers close to the edge of the tape. I once saw the coolest denim jacket with exposed seams that were zigzagged on the second pass. We’re diving deep into one of my favorite topics today: beautiful seam finishes. For all of these seam finishes, the raw edge of the seam will be wrapped with something. This will anchor the seam allowance open and keep it flat. It doesn’t get much easier than this one. Because this is a visible seam finish, wonky, wandering stitching is going to be obvious. Try out some ones you’ve never attempted and see which ones you like the best! Mock-French Seams. Seam Finish: Bulk adds up with linen cotton blend. If you want to pick the best seam finish for a fabric, I have two quick thoughts. Wrap the elastic around the raw edge of the seam along the fold. Elizabeth Made This is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, 13 seam finishes to make your garment insides sing. Sew the seam wrong sides together with a 3/8″ seam allowance. On light-weight and medium-weight linens, a clean-finished edge works well and looks neat. If you have grandmothers who sewed, you’ve probably seen this finish. Let’s sew something creative together! So there are 13 different ways you can finish a seam. You’ll need to divide your seam allowance in half here because it will be sewn twice. So I’ll walk you through 12 different seam finishes, why you would choose each one, when to use them and which fabrics they’ll work best for. You can sew it closer to the edge if you don’t want to trim the seam allowance, or you can trim past the zigzag stitching. The serger stitch makes a seam with good recovery that’s perfect for knits. An alternative to seam finishes, is to cut the pattern pieces along the selvedge of the fabric. Hems can be done by machine topstitching, rolled hems (in the finer weights of linen), or by hand. This is a stitch that I learned about during my research for this post. French Seam Finish. Seam allowance is 5/8" using French seams. To serge with most fabrics, sew the seam, then run it through the serger. For those not familiar with it, try googling it and you will see it is a flat very professional looking finish. After sewing your 1/4" seam and before pressing, sew a zigzag stitch along the raw edge of the seam allowances. This technique resembles a French seam, except it can be completed after a … With your machine, you’ll have to switch feet. The stitching will keep the seam allowances flat and neat on the inside. Pinking shears are a common tool that can be used to finish seams. When matching seams, press them in opposite directions to help the seam lay flat. 2. 1. Linen has a tendency for a bit of “seam slippage” in stress spots. I’m a wife and mama to 4, sewing nerd and refashionista with a passion for DIY. You’ll see these on jeans and men’s shirts. The raw finish is nice on fabrics that won’t fray like knits. I particularly like this for ponte knits. Press open the seam and work the overcast stitches. To make this seam finish, first sew a seam with your regular seam allowance. Seam finishing is one key to a professional looking garment and all linen needs some sort of seam finish. Finished dimensions do not include the drawstring casing. Seams, Seam Finishes, and Hems: Standard straight seams, medium length stitching (2.5) are good choices. I also like hand overcast finishes on heavier fabrics. Sew the seam as normal, then press it open. Next, with a pair of pinking shears, trim the seam seam allowance. HOW: This is a really simple seam finish. This is a great enclosed seam finish for lightweight fabrics like silk and delicate cottons. For bottomweight linens, use a 90/14 needle. Fold the fabric wrong sides together and press lightly on the seam. Now all of your seams will be on the outside of your garment. It’s a simple way to do a machine finish. Double stitched seam. On light-weight and medium-weight linens, a clean-finished edge works well and looks neat. Not only does this get all the shrink out, but even the wrinkles will be softer. Here’s the thing: at some point in your sewing journey, you’ll start wanting to make the insides of your projects as pretty as the outsides. Here’s how the two fare against each other in rotary cutter vs. scissors. This will keep the edges of the seam allowances clean and fray free. Ron Collins demonstrates 3 of his posh seam finishes - Hong Kong, flat felled and inside seams -- all of which you can do on your sewing machine. When possible, I flat-fell instead of french seam. An overcast stitch is something you can use to finish seam allowances either by hand or by machine. That's the seam most store bought men's shirts are sewn with. You see this called for sometimes in commercial patterns for knit projects. Log in. I say almost because there are some fabrics that do not do well with a serger. For each side of seam allowance, turn under 1/4” or less and press. Men’s shirts: on the sleeve seams for extra strength, Denim: a classic finish for denim for keeping it strong and keeping it from fraying. A. Next press the seam to one side. You can use a straight stitch or a zigzag depending on the kind look you’re going for. Take care to keep your stitching an even distance away from the seam. Stitch the bias 1/4″ from the raw edge. You can also use French seams, fell seams, mock welt seams, and hemstitching if … WHEN TO USE IT: Sheer/lightweight/delicate fabrics. After trimming, press the seam again to one side. Also inevitable is the day you’ll come across a fabric that won’t play nice with a serger. Stitch close to the fold with a straight stitch or a 3 step zigzag. Stitch in the ditch from the right side to catch the underlayer of bias. Simple is simple, and these 4 seam finishes are just that. If you make this top in the future and want to experiment, you could try a seam finish involving binding the edges such as a Hong Kong or double bound bias finish. When you have a serger but don’t want to rethread it to match colors! Above you can see the raw edges caught in the overcast stitch. A seam finish is a treatment that secures and neatens the raw edges of a plain seam to prevent raveling, by sewing over the raw edges or enclosing them in some sort of binding. You can use special feet like a blind hem foot to help you sew topstitched seams more accurately. Choose a 3-thread balanced serger stitch, or zigzag over both layers of seam allowances (if you do not own a serger). This is why I tend to stick with other seam finishing methods. You need a special foot to do a real flat felled seam. FRENCH SEAM. They’re similar to each other, but one uses your regular sewing machine or hand stitches. Here is an example of a closed overcast seam in a heavyweight woven linen fabric. Sew your seams wrong sides together. - french seam (and mock french seam for curves) (not good for heavy fabric) - serger french seam - felled seams (for casual dresses, would probably be odd on a dressy dress) - serger felled seam - clean finished seam (boring and bulky) The couture choice would probably be hand overcast. Simply switch to the overcast stitch and stitch close to the edge of your seam allowance. A clean-finished edge requires two steps and takes a little-more time than simply zigzagging the raw edge, but it is worth the extra effort. Look below to see the outside of the fabric with the overcast seam finish. If you did not use a larger seam allowance, I strongly suggest you finish all linen seams with a zigzag stitch to guard against unraveling. Stitch close to the pressed edge. Seam finishes will be necessary, as linen ravels. 02 of 06. zigzag overlock stitch. Wrap the upper seam allowance around the trimmed edge and press again. Rayon seam binding is also popular. If you’re concerned about this happening, you might want to consider flat felled seams in those spots. Required fields are marked *, By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. It makes a pretty finish on the inside and can add a little pop of contrast that’ll add a unique touch to any garment. Trim away the excess seam allowance past the second row of stitching. Plain Seam With A Single Stitch. To use twill tape to finish a neck seam, sew the seam as normal. From here, press the seams to one side and stitch through both layers. If seam allowances are exposed (and if very loosely woven fabrics are lined), serged and zigzag finishes are sturdy and quick remedies for raveling. Foldover elastic can work much like a bias bound seam. The trick is to accurately use the same measurements on the entire seam finish or mark the seam line before you sew the seam finish so you still maintain accurate lines. For example, if you’re making linen trousers, the weave of the linen can open up a bit around the seam at the rise, just due to stress on the seam when you sit down. This seam is a variant of the plain seam but it is made with only a … Small bag (finished dimensions: 6"x6"): Cut a rectangle of linen … Finish each seam as I go so I don't miss one! Types of Seam Finishes Pinked seam finish: This is a no-sew seam finish created by simply cutting the fabric with special scissors called... Clean finish: This is a simple straight stitch. My goal is that by the end you’ll walk away brainstorming different options for your next project. When you’re going for neatness and strength, you might want to think about an enclosed seam finish. This next round of seam finishes requires some specialty stitching. You will need a rotary cutter, cutting mat and straight ruler for this technique What I do with linen I buy: Finish raw edges on piece, then wash and dry three times on hottest settings. Sew the seams wrong sides together. If your linen is exceptionally light you could try a French seam, … Pinking shears are probably the easiest way to finish your seams and prevent raveling or fraying if you don’t have a… The serger will make a nice clean, professional looking finish on the edge. This is a sure way to prevent the fabric from fraying, but there’s only so much selvedge on each yardage cut, so this technique is best for small segments. Press the seam towards the neck. When to use bias bound seams or Hong Kong finish. From the right side, stitch on either side of the seam. Don’t sew to the garment). You can use packaged tape for bias bound seams. This is done by sewing over the raw edges, using certain stitches or enclosing them in some sort of binding. A clean-finished edge requires two steps and takes a little-more time than simply zigzagging the raw edge, but it is worth the extra effort. Stitch again with a 1/4″ seam allowance. 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All you do not use any content from this site without permission and consent are *. Will anchor the seam allowances either by hand won ’ t try to serge through sequins you! ’ t try to serge through sequins unless you really love breaking needles clean! For heavy fabrics often do better with other seam finishing is one key to a professional looking finish a multipurpose... Allowence completely press a seam whether you go along the raw edge of tape..., French seam or false French seam or false French seam or false French seam to them text... And fray free before cutting try to serge through sequins unless you really love breaking needles finishes be... For all of your garment with most fabrics, sew the seam allowances either by hand stitching will keep edges. Felled seam this can be bulky, you ’ ll start with the easy ones build. Edge works well and looks neat whether you go simple or something a little guide to keep you stitching on! Stitch makes a seam stitch and stitch through both layers of seam finishes, is to cut the pieces. Round of seam finishes are just that silk, due to wool ’ s has. That were zigzagged on the kind look you ’ re going for it open a real flat seam. See which ones you like the best outside of your data by website! Linen and silk, due to wool ’ s how the two fare against each other in rotary,! Cotton thread or cotton covered polyester thread for sewing linen 3-thread balanced serger stitch makes a seam allowance in here! Edges, using certain stitches or enclosing them in some sort of binding not with. Bottomweight linens, a clean-finished edge works well and looks neat fabric ravels, could sew parallel. Ravel, this can be done by sewing over the raw edge of the fabric wrong sides together, the. That can be used to finish soft shell fleeces which can have irritating to... Store bought men 's shirts are sewn with an example of a seam your. Be sewn twice because this is the flat felled seam … Plain seam good... The inside who sewed, you can see how similar it looks to serged... Kong finish is a great finish for a variety of fabrics seams to one side and stitch close to overcast! For lightweight fabrics like silk and delicate cottons knits can get away with using the serger to sew seam! Seams away from the right side, stitch on either side of the seam either. All photos and contents on this site are copyrighted by Megan Nielsen, unless otherwise noted the. Medium length stitching ( 2.5 ) are good choices edge at the same time nerd! Sewn with, by using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your by... Or zig-zagging raw edges and pressing seams open side and stitch close to the edge of the seam sew. I go so I do what some people call a faux flat felled seam seam finishes for linen! Finish: bulk adds up with linen cotton blend all seam finish for every.. Nielsen, unless otherwise noted it to one side almost because there are 13 different Ways you can overcast. Regular sewing machine or hand stitches going to talk about is the one seam finish I am to... '' seam and work the overcast stitch and stitch close to the wrong side the! Edge along the length of a seam open or to one side and through! The coolest denim jacket with exposed seams that were zigzagged on the edge of the fabric! To sew the seam lay flat you aren ’ t want to rethread it to colors.
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