Tag: seams

• French Seam

  A seam sewn twice so the raw edges end up sealed inside a narrow tube - the cleanest finish for sheers and lightweight fabrics, with step-by-step diagrams, seam allowance maths, and fixes for whiskers and puckers.

• Flat-Felled Seam

  The tough, fully enclosed seam used on jeans and work shirts - how to sew it with or without a felling foot, which side the fell goes on, and how to handle curves and thick crossings.

• Bias Binding

  Cutting, joining, pressing and applying bias strips to finish necklines, armholes and raw edges - with strip-width formulas, two application methods, and fixes for rippling and missed stitches.

• Gathering

  Drawing up a long edge to fit a shorter one with soft, even fullness - how much fabric to allow, where to put the gathering rows, the cord method for long or heavy edges, and fixes for snapped threads.

• Pleating

  Knife, box and inverted box pleats explained with diagrams - how to work out the fabric you need, mark and press pleats that stay crisp, and fit a pleated skirt at the hip.

• Zipper Insertion

  How to insert centred, lapped, invisible and exposed zippers - choosing the right zipper and method, stabilising the seam, matching waist seams across the opening, and fixing waves and bubbles.