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Moderated by Deepika
Posted on: 5/12/07 4:05 PM ET
I'm making a dress, and as I was working on seam finishes yesterday, I started to wonder about the whole subject. I'm one of those who finish every seam, more out of OCD issues than anything else, but I wondered what other people do?
I use French seams in most places, because they're easy and can't be seen on the right side of the fabric. If a French seam won't work, on a heavy fabric, I often use a Hong Kong finish. If I really have to, I will use a flat fell seam, but that's more work and I'm lazy. On the armscye of the dress I'm making now, I used bias strips to bind the seams together. (Clover bias tape maker thingie: too cool!) Sometimes I just fold rayon seam binding in half over the raw edge and stitch that down. And, if I'm feeling particularly lazy, I will serge the edges.
What do others like? And why?
And now my question: I have read that one should not use French seams on curved seams, that flat felling is preferred there. I use French seams on princess seam lines all the time -- can someone tell my why I shouldn't be doing that?
Thanks!
I use French seams in most places, because they're easy and can't be seen on the right side of the fabric. If a French seam won't work, on a heavy fabric, I often use a Hong Kong finish. If I really have to, I will use a flat fell seam, but that's more work and I'm lazy. On the armscye of the dress I'm making now, I used bias strips to bind the seams together. (Clover bias tape maker thingie: too cool!) Sometimes I just fold rayon seam binding in half over the raw edge and stitch that down. And, if I'm feeling particularly lazy, I will serge the edges.
What do others like? And why?
And now my question: I have read that one should not use French seams on curved seams, that flat felling is preferred there. I use French seams on princess seam lines all the time -- can someone tell my why I shouldn't be doing that?
Thanks!
Posted on: 5/12/07 5:53 PM ET
In reply to Phaedra28
First of all, if you're finishing the seams on an armscye (I'm assuming you mean the seams between the fashion fabric and facing) you're not clipping close enough to the seam to allow the curve to look smooth. These seams should be trimmed to within about 1/4" from the stitching line and graded. Also, finishing this interior seam would just add bulk. Maybe I'm not understanding what you mean by binding the seams together on an armscye.
The reason you shouldn't use French seams on curved seams is that you need to clip to the stitching line at least every half inch or so in order to make the curve smooth. You can't clip a French seam without destroying it. A princess seam is curved and therefore should be clipped to allow it to lay flat. If your princess seam doesn't have much of a curve, you may not have this problem, but most princess seams I've encountered have a pretty pronounced curve. Have you noticed that curves on your garments aren't smooth? Again, maybe I'm not understanding what you're saying.
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The reason you shouldn't use French seams on curved seams is that you need to clip to the stitching line at least every half inch or so in order to make the curve smooth. You can't clip a French seam without destroying it. A princess seam is curved and therefore should be clipped to allow it to lay flat. If your princess seam doesn't have much of a curve, you may not have this problem, but most princess seams I've encountered have a pretty pronounced curve. Have you noticed that curves on your garments aren't smooth? Again, maybe I'm not understanding what you're saying.
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If I sewed any slower, I wouldn't be sewing at all.
Posted on: 5/12/07 6:31 PM ET
In reply to Phaedra28
I've been sewing since 1958 when 5/8" seams were the norm. My Auntie's electrified Singer treadle only did straight stitch, so the edges of the seams were finely turned back and sewn straight. By the early 60's, I was usuing a TOL Necchi Supanova with ZIG-ZAG!
I have routinely used plain ol' ZIG-ZAG on all seam finishes ever since, except on the finest fabrics where long, straight seams are Frenched, but other wise, zig-zag, zig-zag, zig-zag.
Most of my seams are flattened b4 zig-zag, except for curved seams which I clip close to the seam line, then zig-zag the seams TOGETHER.
Now, I sew with a brother NV-400, with all sorts of edgeing stitches, similar to an overlocker. I frequently peg the inner seams of trousers, so I've tried out a few of these finishing stiitches, and although they look good, they use an awful lot more thread, and bulk up the edge of the fabric.
I've never had anyone come up to me and comment on the finish of any of my seams, and my zig-zagged seam finishes have never unravelled.
ZIG-ZAG for ever!!
I have routinely used plain ol' ZIG-ZAG on all seam finishes ever since, except on the finest fabrics where long, straight seams are Frenched, but other wise, zig-zag, zig-zag, zig-zag.
Most of my seams are flattened b4 zig-zag, except for curved seams which I clip close to the seam line, then zig-zag the seams TOGETHER.
Now, I sew with a brother NV-400, with all sorts of edgeing stitches, similar to an overlocker. I frequently peg the inner seams of trousers, so I've tried out a few of these finishing stiitches, and although they look good, they use an awful lot more thread, and bulk up the edge of the fabric.
I've never had anyone come up to me and comment on the finish of any of my seams, and my zig-zagged seam finishes have never unravelled.
ZIG-ZAG for ever!!
Posted on: 5/12/07 7:32 PM ET
In reply to OP Gal
Quote:
First of all, if you're finishing the seams on an armscye (I'm assuming you mean the seams between the fashion fabric and facing) you're not clipping close enough to the seam to allow the curve to look smooth. These seams should be trimmed to within about 1/4" from the stitching line and graded. Also, finishing this interior seam would just add bulk. Maybe I'm not understanding what you mean by binding the seams together on an armscye.
First of all, if you're finishing the seams on an armscye (I'm assuming you mean the seams between the fashion fabric and facing) you're not clipping close enough to the seam to allow the curve to look smooth. These seams should be trimmed to within about 1/4" from the stitching line and graded. Also, finishing this interior seam would just add bulk. Maybe I'm not understanding what you mean by binding the seams together on an armscye.
No, I was talking about binding together the seam allowances of the sleeve and bodice, where they join at the armscye.
Quote:
Have you noticed that curves on your garments aren't smooth?
Have you noticed that curves on your garments aren't smooth?
No, that's actually why I was asking: all the princess seams I've used French seams on have been fine. They're smooth, no ripples, no puckers, nothing.
While I realize there's a school of thought which says, "If it looks right, don't worry about it..." there's also me -- saying something like, "If it's not supposed to work right, but it does for me, then I must be doing something wrong..." But then, I'm also lazy, and it has worked for me...
Quote:
so the edges of the seams were finely turned back and sewn straight. By the early 60's, I was usuing a TOL Necchi Supanova with ZIG-ZAG!
so the edges of the seams were finely turned back and sewn straight. By the early 60's, I was usuing a TOL Necchi Supanova with ZIG-ZAG!
OH MY! You brought back to me learning to sew at my mother's knee... All those endless hours of sitting there, painstakingly overcasting all those seams BY HAND! And no matter how careful I was, how dreadful those seams all looked.
The zig zag attachment nearly shook the house off its foundations, moving the fabric back and forth, as the machine sewed its straight stitches. How wonderful it was when Mother replaced her sewing machine with a machine that had a built in zig zag!
For years, as an adult, I had an old Italian machine which only did straight stitch, and made a virtue of necessity -- I still have rolls and rolls of Hug Snug seam binding, which I straight stitched over all raw edges. Then, when my ex finally got sick of watching me do that, and bought me a zig zag machine for Christmas one year, I'd use zig zag to stitch the seam binding to the raw edges.
Now I have a serger, and I have a glorious machine with more bells and whistles than I ever thought I'd care about -- and I still spend time figuring out ways to avoid zig zag or serged edges... (I wasn't actually joking about OCD...)
Thanks for the answers so far!
Posted on: 5/12/07 8:30 PM ET
Nothing OCD about finishing your seams; it prevents the garment from falling apart! (I don't necessarily finish seams on knits, though.)
I like the zigzag method also, or serging - but that does add a lot of thread. I've also done the simple parallel straight stitch with seeming success, although I haven't been sewing nearly as long as Louisasews so I won't vouch for it's longevity.
There was an article in Threads magazine last year about very narrow french seams. I can't remember exactly what they called the technique. But the article was advocating it's use as an alternative on curves. It sounds like you might already be doing that slight variation.
I've never used seam binding. Sometimes I feel I really ought to try it. But then again, there are lots of sewing techniques I haven't yet tried.
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I like the zigzag method also, or serging - but that does add a lot of thread. I've also done the simple parallel straight stitch with seeming success, although I haven't been sewing nearly as long as Louisasews so I won't vouch for it's longevity.
There was an article in Threads magazine last year about very narrow french seams. I can't remember exactly what they called the technique. But the article was advocating it's use as an alternative on curves. It sounds like you might already be doing that slight variation.
I've never used seam binding. Sometimes I feel I really ought to try it. But then again, there are lots of sewing techniques I haven't yet tried.
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With a great wardrobe that's still in the flat-fabric stage.
Posted on: 5/13/07 4:36 PM ET
I usually use a zig-zag, but I prefer the look of a hong-kong finish or french seams.
I'm picky about how my garments look on the inside, so I'll usually try to use a neat finish. I have a big collection of vintage seam bindings, and I use them every chance I get.
I just bought a serger because I wanted a nicer finish for my knit seams.
I'm picky about how my garments look on the inside, so I'll usually try to use a neat finish. I have a big collection of vintage seam bindings, and I use them every chance I get.
I just bought a serger because I wanted a nicer finish for my knit seams.
Posted on: 5/13/07 6:17 PM ET
There is an article in the Summer issue of Sew Stylish that talks about hairline seams on curves. It may be a reprint of that Threads article.
Posted on: 5/13/07 7:20 PM ET
In reply to Phaedra28
Phaedra, I was just reading back through this thread and in re-reading my post I was struck by how condescending my response to your question sounded. Good heavens, I sounded like I was talking to a child. I do apologize for my tone and my comments. Obviously, I was misinterpreting what you were saying because I hadn't even thought about finishing seams so carefully. I'm much sloppier--I usually serge most SAs together like RTW. Anyway, I'm usually a nice person, and I do apologize for being so rude. 
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If I sewed any slower, I wouldn't be sewing at all.
Posted on: 5/13/07 8:35 PM ET
In reply to OP Gal
Quote: OP Gal
Phaedra, I was just reading back through this thread and in re-reading my post I was struck by how condescending my response to your question sounded. Good heavens, I sounded like I was talking to a child. I do apologize for my tone and my comments.
Anyway, I'm usually a nice person, and I do apologize for being so rude.
Phaedra, I was just reading back through this thread and in re-reading my post I was struck by how condescending my response to your question sounded. Good heavens, I sounded like I was talking to a child. I do apologize for my tone and my comments.
Anyway, I'm usually a nice person, and I do apologize for being so rude.
Oh, for criminy's sake -- no apology needed! I appreciate your taking the time to answer in the first place -- and I know I come across as, shall we say, less than qualified for Miss Congeniality at times...

As for serging SAs, I do that on quick and dirty tops, or when I just can't figure out any alternative. I'm not sure why I work so hard on finishes? Probably because I learned to sew from someone who was VERY critical, and quite stingy with praise. I'm still trying to get that internalized voice to say, "That's very nice work, dear," instead of what that voice actually says...
Thanks for the apology, but it certainly wasn't necessary.
Posted on: 5/13/07 10:36 PM ET
I like to use French seams and bound armholes on anything sheer. I use hong kong finish on unlined jackets or overblouses. Most of the rest of the time I serge my seams because it is flatter than binding them. On lined garments I usually pink, or straight stitch and pink. Sometimes I'll use several different seam finishes on the same garment depending on what the seams are. Most of what I make are clothes for work or travel, so they have to be durable - another reason I like serging. I usually clean finish facings with serging as well since it is less bulky than turning under and stitching. I don't like the look of serged seams sometimes, so if the seams will show, I'll use Hong Kong finish, French seams, or bound edges. I haven't experimented much with flat felled seams, but am sure I will be in the future. (mens shirts) My favorite hem finish on full skirts is a serged rolled hem.
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blog: encue.blogspot.com
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13)
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13)
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