Sew Fabulously Pink!: SEAMS!

Hi All! Sorry it's been so long ...

So this week I made myself a new temple bag (kinda like a garment bag but WAY better!), and I was going to type up a tutorial for it BUT I realized that I do A LOT of "french seams" and thought that some of you wouldn't know what that was SO ... I decided I should do a tutorial on SEAMS!

So here we go! A SEAM is a stitched line that holds two (or more) pieces of fabric together ...

Here are the two pieces of fabric I will be working with

Seam #1 (the plain seam): Place the two pieces of fabric with RIGHT sides together (wrong sides facing you)

Most patterns call for a 5/8" seam allowance so that's what I am going to work with the entire tutorial.

Now stitch a straight stitch 5/8" away from the edge of the fabric

Beautiful! (I used red so you can see, you would obviously use thread that matched the fabric)

Press the seam OPEN

Now finish each of the ends (the little 5/8" strips you just pressed open) with a zig zag stitch (#3 on my machine ... but the pic should look the same on all sewing machines)

The zigzag stitch is to prevent the fabric from fraying when you wash it

The next step is completely optional ... I use pinking shears (mostly because I like their name and the cuteness it adds to the fabric) this also helps prevent fraying

There you have it ... SEAM #1 (the plain seam) easy-peasy

Okay, SEAM #2 (the french seam), ooh la la

You start this one with WRONG sides together (right sides up facing you)

Again, this will make a 5/8" seam, so you start by stitching one straight stitch 1/4"
(or 2/8" for all you non mathematical people) away from the edge
(for me that is conveniently right in line with the edge of the presser foot)

Press that seam OPEN

Then fold the fabric over (right sides together now) creasing at the seam you just created and PRESS!

c'est magnifique!

Next stitch that edge you just created 3/8" from the edge
(2/8" + 3/8" = 5/8", YAY! you can still add fractions!! See you DO use math!)

And there you have it ... tres chic

(sorry if any of you know french ... I'm just making stuff up that sounds fabulously french)

Just press the seam to one side and your done! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this seam. I use it for EVERYTHING just because it's so NEAT! No messy edges to fray when you wash, FANTASTIQUE!

AND the THIRD and FINAL seam (drum roll please) ... Seam #3 (the flat felled seam). Look on your jeans or the sleeve of a button down dress shirt (those are flat felled). Flat Felled seams are the STRONGEST seam (very hard to rip apart) First step, place the pieces of fabric with WRONG sides together (right sides facing you, just like the french seam we just did)