Felled seams are sturdy and utilitarian. We’re mostly familiar with them as the re-inforced seams on our jeans, but felling is a very old technique. It was a handworked finish for seams centuries before sewing machines were invented, and was often seen in traditionally home-made items like shirts and chemises. A seam allowance can be felled after the fact. It’s a good finish for both hand and machine sewn seams, and, properly done, is completely invisible from the outside of the garment. Read the rest of this entry »

This is the ultra-thin version of the French Seam.  It’s very useful if you’re making fine linen pieces (like coifs), or if you’re working with dolls and cannot divorce yourself from the idea of fully finished seams…. Read the rest of this entry »

The French Seam is my favorite seam of all time.  It’s fully encased and leaves no visible stitching on the right side of the garment.  Any time I have to make an unlined garment, you can bet I’m using french seams (or some variant thereof). Read the rest of this entry »

A Felled Seam is a nicely enclosed, reinforced seam.  We tend to associate it with modern blue jeans, but it’s a very traditional bit of stitchery.  Most of the shirts and smocks in Patterns of Fashion 4 use a handworked Fell seam. Read the rest of this entry »