Finishing a Seam Allowance by Hand
Posted on Thursday, January 27th, 2011 at 8:47 pmSkill Level: Beginner
Niceness: Perfectly OK
Pros: Historically Accurate, Reinforced, Super Tiny, Will Not Fray
Cons: Might Be Visible, Takes Time, Tedious
Best For: Finishing Seams Without Adding Bulk, Seams that Take Stress, Unlined Garments
PDF Sometimes, you have to finish a seam allowance so it won’t fray. (Or, possibly, you’re like me and compulsively finish seams, whether they need it or not.) There are times when you can’t use a french seam, or you are working in an area too tight for a felled seam, and you want something nicer than an overcast edge. This method of finishing a seam allowance by hand will prevent them from fraying, and lightly reinforce the seam.
Here’s how you do it:
Cut down the seam allowance to 1/8".
With each stitch, you will catch 1 thread from the body of the fabric 1/8" from the seam, then pass the needle through the seam allowance just above the seam. This overcasts the seam allowance and secures it to the fabric.
Continue sewing in this manner, catching a single thread of the main fabric each time.
When you're finished, the seam is completely encased in thread and bound down. You can see the difference on the right, where the edge is bound, from the unfinished left side.
If you've been careful to catch only a thread at a time from the main fabric and not over-pulled your stitches, the finish is pretty invisible from the outside of the garment.
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Thanks, I’m going to try this. I was looking for an alternative to the hand overcast stitch to finish a seam by hand. The time I tried the overcast stitch it didn’t look as nice as it should have for all the time I spent on it. Admittedly, the hand overcast takes a long time to master.