Welcome back for a new technical lesson in the Learn to Machine Sew series! One thing that makes the difference between projects that look homemade and those that look professionally-made is how well they are finished inside. There are quite a few ways to cleanly finish the seam allowances in your work, and today I’m going to focus on one technique that is really easy and looks great. And once you know how to sew French seams, you’ll be able to use them for great looking bags, clothing and more!
Here you can see four of the most frequently-used finishes for inside seams. Cutting the seam allowances with pinking shears is fast and easy and reduces the amount of fabric fraying, however doesn’t look particularly nice. Sewing over the edges with an overlock machine (serger) or, if you don’t have that type of sewing machine, a zig zag stitch, is definitely better.
But two of my favorite ways to finish off seams for a perfectly clean finish are felled seams and French seams. Both of these techniques enclose the raw fabric edges between layers of fabric so that not only will they not fray, but you can’t even see them!
Today I’ll show you how easy it is to sew a French seam, and you’ll be able to see for yourself how nice it looks!
Basically a French seam is a double seam that encloses the raw edges between them. The seam allowance sticks up, as you can see in the picture above, but once you get good a sewing these seams, you can make them relatively small so that they will be less noticeable.
Are you ready to find out how to sew a French seam so that you can take your sewing to the next level? Well, then, let’s get started!
