FRENCH SEAMS

How do you actually make a beautiful ‘French seam’? This seam can be used instead of a zigzag stitch on a garment made from woven fabric. It takes a little longer to do, but the result is spectacular and looks very haute couture. So let’s get started:

Haute Couture French seams:

1. When cutting out your pattern pieces, add a 1.5 cm seam allowance.

2. Let’s say you’re making a skirt. Normally, you would place the side seams right sides together. When making a French seam, you place the wrong sides together instead. At first, it looks as though the finished garment will have the seam on the outside.

3. Sew a straight seam, 0.75 cm from the edge of the fabric.

4. Trim away the uneven edge, leaving a neat 4 mm hem along the seam. The reason you don’t sew 4 mm in from the start is that the fabric moves naturally and can distort the seam slightly. It looks neater to do it this way, and with a bit of practice, it’s quick.

5. The next step is to press the seam open or flat to one side if the edges are too delicate. You are still working on your ‘right side’, the outside of the skirt.

6. Turn the skirt inside out, so that you are now working on the inside (the wrong side). This is where you will make your French seam. Press the seam flat and neat, edge to edge, so that the seam really stays on the edge.

7. Now sew along the freshly pressed edge, with the presser foot against the edge, about 0.75 cm. Make sure your raw edge (the one that is now on the inside) is covered by the final seam. Otherwise, you’ll end up with unsightly little threads on the outside of the skirt, which are very difficult to trim away. It’s better to use a wider seam if you’re not sure that 0.75 cm will cover the raw edge.

8. When you’ve finished the final seam, move the skirt back to the iron and press it flat against one side, making sure the seam is smooth and neat on the outside.

Voilà, you’ve now finished the seam on the inside of the skirt. Very neat and super professional!