I wouldn’t recommend using anything less than 1/2″ (1.25 cm). I recommend her course just to learn her flat felling method. I have fierce love for flat felled seams. Give it one last press and you're done! Thank you!! Here’s an alternative that looks really similar to a flat felled seam. NOW I’m excited to try this seam!! When you tighten the stitches you get a neat seam. Flat felled seam gives the garment a more sporty look; if that is what you would like for your garment, then by all means give it a try. We briefly interrupt the Flora Dress Sewalong to bring you another little light-shedder to add to our ever growing gallery of Nerdy Sewing Tips - today, the flat-fell seam. Thanks for the tutorial. Faux Flat Felled Seam. I use this method when making long sleeve woven blouses/dresses. Nerdy sewing tips: The flat-fell seam Step 1. Edgestitch along the fold. I’d like to topstitch from the right side, so I can use the seam line as a guide and view it from the standpoint of the finished garment. I remove the basting stitch and give it a good press. With right sides together, put the two pieces at the edge you want to sew. And thank you for giving the reason behind why you’re doing things a certain way. according to historical sources as used by reenactment groups, such as the Brigade of the American Revolution. Although flat felled seams are often used with heavy-weight fabric (such as denim) because of the layering involved, they may not be suitable for extremely heavy or bulky fabrics. Well done with the tutorial! Without flat lining, you could fell both seams together to the same side. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t say one seam finish is better than the other. But why do I make this extra step of hand basting? Pin into place. The most common way to do felled seams is to do them with a machine. But I found that pressing it open first gives a more crisp seam later; it’s a worthwhile investment of your time. You could use 1/2″ (1.25 cm) seam allowance as well, but narrower seam allowance is more fiddly for this method. Contact I found it easy to follow and it all makes sense. Shopping Cart by Shopify. What is your experience with flat felled seam? Flat felled seam gives the garment a more sporty look; if that is what you would like for your garment, then by all means give it a try. Start by identifying the "right side" and "wrong side" of your fabric. All Rights Reserved. I am using a fabric that has distinct right side and wrong side so you can see more easily. About This technique is ideally applied to the inseam of a pair of trousers or shorts. Now I press the seam open. Factories churn out this type of seam in thousands, so it makes sense they have very specialized equipment and trained labor that does one … Great tip. Flat-felled seams are commonly used for the shirt armhole seam and the shirt sleeve and side seams. The inner leg seam on a pair of jeans, and indeed the vast majority of RTW trousers, is a flat-fell seam. I also does this one, some might call, “extra” step. Why go to all that trouble and then hide it between your thighs? I haven't found anything at all about this online. I prefer the method taught by Janet Pray in one of her Crafsty classes…no trimming required, no tucking under, no basting. Usually what I do is to search for whatever foot I have on hand, and see which one can give me some sort of guide of a width I want, and combining that with moving the needle right or left to get the width I want. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t say one seam finish is better than the other. That decision is completely up to you, and it is still a flat felled seam regardless the side you use. Flat felled seam is, well, flat. That way the double stitching is on the outside of the sleeve. They are so beautiful and so professional looking. My main objective is to sew a very strong seam without a sewing machine, so if that can be done without using a flat-felled seam, that would be great too. Hope this is helpful to you. I’ve only done basic sewing but that doesn’t look like my standard foot! Without flat lining, you could fell both seams together to the same side. Love how simple yet looks completely finished. Wonderful tutorial! I don't have a sewing machine and the whole reason that I'm trying to sew is to save money, so I am very interested in learning how to sew a flat-felled seam by hand. Now I can understand how to flat fell one seam of the leg or the other, but how on earth can you do both without impossible rucking of teh material on the machine? But I think the flat felled seam deserves equal accolade. Clothing intended to stand up to more wear and tear tends to have more seams reinforced by flat felling (for an extreme example of this, check out work pants from somewhere like Carhartt – most of their seams are flat felled and reinforced). The Creators' Collaborative: Nerrisa Pratt. Have you used this method? So what exactly is a flat-fell seam?? Hand felled seams. And if I need to roll the sleeves up it still looks nice. It should look like this from the right side: Excellent instruction. I could spot crooked stitching and correct it if necessary. Press in between the pins. Timing couldn’t be better. Step 3. However, hand felling makes a beautiful seam finish that can be completely invisible from the outside. Some might argue that this is not necessary because the seam will be pressed to one side eventually (you’ll see below). Affiliate Program It’s brilliant indeed.