Tackling the Flat-Felled Seam

There are basic seam options when making a skirt (whether a simple skirt or the skirt of a dress or jumper).

1. French. French seams are fully encased seams inside the garment. These seams are great for heirloom clothing, sheer garments, and other light to medium weight fabrics. French seams aren't the best choice for corduroy or denim.

2. Serged. This, of course, requires a serger but is another way to make a non-bulky seam that hangs inside the garment.

3. Zig-zagged or pinked. With these, the raw edges are either cut off in a way that makes it difficult to fray or machine sewn to have the same effect.

or

4. Flat-felled. This is similar to a French seam but shows on the outside of a garment. Most people see flat-felled seams every day. Nearly every pair of blue jeans on the planet uses flat-felled seams on the out seam. It is also common in menswear, outerwear, and ladies' skirts. This is perfect for medium to heavyweight fabrics.

This tutorial is designed to help you with creating flat-felled seams. The advantage of these seams is that they are very strong, flat, and hide the raw edges perfectly. You don't use these seams where you don't want to see stitching. These seams show stitching.

Step 1:

Unlike most sewing, with flat-felled and French seams, you sew with wrong sides together. Regardless of your pattern's seam allowance, you must always use 5/8" allowance for a flat-felled seam.

Don't forget to back stitch!









See! One 5/8" seam!

Repeat for the other side.















Step 2:

Trim away ONE side of the seam to around 1/8"

Don't stress about having a perfectly straight cutting line. It's going to be hidden anyway. You just want to get rid of some of the bulk.

Repeat for the other side.







Press the larger piece over the smaller to make it nice and flat. (Hence the flat of flat-felled)














Step 3:

Fold the fabric into the seam as shown.

You want to turn the raw edge under and then press it well.

See how it's pressed under?









I like to try to make the fabric fold exactly in half. It isn't necessary, but it does look nicer if you do.















Repeat for the other side.


This is what it looks like as you cut away the excess fabric.













Step 4:

Then, with the needle just inside that fold of fabric, stitch the fold down.

Most machines have some way to follow the edge clearly. Find a way to position the needle so that you can stitch straight and along that edge.

Write it down if it isn't something you're sure you'll remember. It doesn't hurt to have a little notebook of little tips like that so you don't have to reinvent the seam next time.



Voila!

A perfect seam that is strong, beautiful, and that will hold up to wash after wash without any raveling at all!


See the Flat-Felled skirt for how to attach a gathered skirt to a bodice with this method.

With sewing techniques like this, you can sew a perfect garment without the use of a serger. This can also be done completely by hand but it is time consuming and difficult.


Now, go make that skirt!