15. With a curved french seam, the 1st stitching line and the 2nd stitching line are different lengths. Check the seam for any tucks and remove them if you find any. Shopping Cart by Shopify. Once again, check for tucks and remove them if you find any. You can also sign up for our free newsletter to receive more educational sewing tips, tutorials, and free patterns. Press the seam to one side, and then fold your fabric back on itself so that you now have right sides together. Press, pin, and stitch with a final 1/4" or 6mm seam. How to. Inspired to sew with InvisaFil and DecoBob? Nerdy sewing tips: French seaming a curve. You can give it a final press so the seam lays nice and crisp, and that’s all there is to it! It’s just the same as we’ve outlined here, just go slow and carefully if there’s any easing in to do at the sleeve head. Press your seam allowance off to one side (whichever side it seems to naturally fall to without it feeling like it's tugging) and you're good to go. Comment document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a240f291010aad2594827c1dbebadbc7" );document.getElementById("hf8afd81c6").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Sewing French Seams on Curved and Straight Seams Tutorial. This will neatly finish the seam line also. Finish the seam and press downward. They aren’t generally appropriate for curved seams like an armhole, since curves will cause the fabric to pucker when finished. check me out, delivering on my promise to keep sewing…very excited to share the latest pattern from womenswear mastermind, april rhodes!! Let’s just do a couple more things to get ready for our next sewalong installment on Tuesday. Straight stitch down the length of your seam using a 3/8”, or 1cm, seam allowance. Sew a Perfect Seam. I like the tip on sewing the seams open/flat first then sewing the seam closed. Sew the curved seam at the seam allowance line. I think we can all agree that a French seam is up there with the slickest seams of all time. I worry about doing all elements with French seams. You can do this by sewing a line of gathering threads along the sleeve cap. 1. Your email address will not be published. The Hannah wrap dress is now available in extended sizes 16-34! This will be especially important when doing French seams with sheer fabric. French seams are often used on clothing and work best on light weight to medium weight fabrics. photo from the former Craftsy site French seam especially used for : - garments which touch the skim,… With right sides together, sew along the sleeve cap between the two notches on your pattern with a ½”, or 1.2cm, seam allowance. The little clipped "V"s will ensure that the seam allowance lies flat on the inside. With a straight French seam, you'd be forgiven for sometimes stitching the 1/4" first, and other times stitching the 3/8" first. How to. To begin, you’re going to need to help ease in the sleeve cap. ), the better - this will ensure that your curved French seam is pucker-free. With a curved seam, it is imperative that you sew the wider 3/8" seam first, thereby reducing the likelihood of ending up with a bunchy, puckery finish. With right sides together, stitch the back bodice to the back midriff. Pin the sleeve and arm hole together with the wrong sides together, matching the seams and the markings. Give it another quick press with the iron so it’s lying flat. It's difficult to do on a curved seam, but this can be done if you use a very small seam allowance. French Seams This technique must be planned for ahead of time, since it requires sewing the seams in a different way than you normally would. Register by clicking here! The closer to your stitches you can trim (without compromising the seam! This will neatly finish the seam line also. Here’s 2 different situations. Now trim the seam close to the stitch length and press it open so it lays flat. We just launched three new sewing patterns for kids and it's cuteness overload! To begin, you’re going to need to help ease in the sleeve cap. 11. French seams are easiest and most appropriate to use along straight edges. 12.Mock French seam (1) This is a seam which can be used in place of french seam where a french seam may not be possible like in a curved seam line, for eg. About This Article. I am just sewing a light linen dress. Be sure that you have carefully matched any notches and seams. InvisaFil, a 100wt cottonized polyester thread that is incredibly fine, DecoBob, an 80wt cottonized polyester thread. Sewing convex (outward) curve you will have to cope with an extra fabric creating a bulge. Advertisement . ... Sew a French Seam. Choosing a super fine thread like InvisaFil will really help your seams to lay flatter and allow the thread to hide in the fabric so it can’t be seen. 13. The Creators' Collaborative: Francesca Kletz. All done! 12.Mock French seam (1) This is a seam which can be used in place of french seam where a french seam may not be possible like in a curved seam line, for eg. Stitch with 3/8" or 10mm seam allowance. I hope you found the tutorial useful! Fast and flawless, and not requiring of any fiddly extras or specialist equipment other than just a basic sewing machine, the French seam is without a shadow of a doubt, my favourite. Find a store in your area that carries WonderFil at https://shopwonderfil.com/shop-local. A French seam is most commonly applied on a straight seam. The first stitching line is shorter than the second. We’ll see you again next time! Nice tutorial, very useful for really upping the quality level of one’s sewing! Unlike the french seam, here a plain seam with right side together is made first. Unlike the french seam, here a plain seam with right side together is made first. With a curved seam, it is imperative that you sew the wider 3/8" seam first, thereby reducing the likelihood of ending up with a bunchy, puckery finish.. All done! As you can see, the raw edges are tucked away inside this new pocket, and what you have left is a beautiful French seam. Unlikely to cause a problem, as the shorter first stitching line is naturally in a shorter position in wear. 13. With right sides together, stitch the front and back bodice together at the shoulders. Armhole seam or crotch seam – inward curve – no problem . Good luck with your dress , Your email address will not be published. Fold your fabric so now the right sides are together and push out the seam. Built by 100 Shapes. With a straight French seam, you'd be forgiven for sometimes stitching the 1/4" first, and other times stitching the 3/8" first. As I said in the video, I receive lots of questions about this tool because I use it so extensively in my pattern drafting tutorials. French seams are usually not appropriate for heavy fabrics because the multiple layers are too bulky. 12. Going Français on a straight seam is like a stroll along the Seine in Springtime, but what about those pesky curved seams?? Here are some comments on sewing a : - straight french seam, - french seam round a curve, - mock french seam. Finish the seams and press. Once you’ve finished the seam, press it downwards, toward the midriff. Trim the excess right down to about 1/8". Posts about curved french seam written by ashmhiggs. Now press the seam open to help it lay flatter, then flip it over and press the seam from the other side so you have a nice crisp, flat seam. However, with a gentle curve like the side underarm portion of the Ice Cream Dress (shown below), I’ll show you a tip that will help you to stitch a French seam without puckering. Use Princess Seams to Take in Your Clothing. Sign up here for sewing talk, DIYs, competitions and the occasional cocktail recipe (never anything spammy, we promise!). Change your stitch length to something large like 4. I forgot that step and it makes a big difference on the outside seam. How to. Where one seam meets another would there not be too much bulk? Then pull the gathering stitches to ease the sleeve cap into the arm hole. You can give it another press with the iron to finish it. To sew the flattest French seams, you’ll need to choose a finer thread. Glad we could help you out with some tips! Fold the fabric so the right sides are facing and sew again at a ¼” or 5mm seam allowance. Hi Beth, as long as the seam allowances are pressed off into opposite directions, then you won’t have a bulk problem. We’re now going to sew down the seam at a ¼”, or 5mm, seam allowance. It’s excellent for fine or sheer fabrics, such as voile, batiste, chiffon, organza, etc. It does not work well for curved seams, however, as you will be unable to clip or notch the curves. The Creators' Collaborative: Nerrisa Pratt. Thanks a lot ! With right sides together, stitch the back bodice to the back midriff. 14. Let’s just do a couple more things to get ready for our next sewalong installment on Tuesday.