Seam making

Double stitched seam

With this seam, the fabric pieces are first sewn together right sides together and then ironed apart and stitched twice on the right side of the fabric with narrow edges so that the previous seam is in the middle. This seam is particularly flat and durable, but serves more as a decorative seam for blouses/shirts or T-shirts, for example.

Real felled seam

In the first step, the seam allowances for this seam are ironed apart, then the seam allowances are placed left sides together around the cut edges so that they interlock. Now, from the right side, both the fold edge and the underlying fold edge are stitched tight. This seam is very robust and serves as both a useful and decorative seam and is primarily used on jeans.

Incorrect felled seam

To create this seam, the fabric pieces are first sewn together, right sides together, 1.5cm from the edge of the fabric. Then iron the seam allowances to one side and stitch from the right side of the fabric next to the break and on the seam allowance with a narrow edge. The false felled seam can be used, just like the real felled seam, both as a useful and decorative seam. It is also often used as a connecting seam for seams that are exposed to a lot of stress. This seam can also be found on the shoulder seams of T-shirts, sweatshirts or hoodies, for example.

Basement seam

First, two pieces of fabric are ironed in folds and then placed on a third piece of fabric. The two folding edges lie together on the third piece of fabric and are now stitched at the same distance from the folding edge. This seam is used as a decorative and useful seam, for example for sewing in hidden zippers.

Piping seam

For this seam you need a bias strip, which you place right to right edge to edge on the corresponding piece of fabric and stitch in place. The bias binding is then folded over, placed around the edge of the fabric and stitched in place in the shadow of the seam.

Right-left seam / French seam

First, place the two pieces of fabric on top of each other, left sides together, and stitch them foot-width along the edge of the fabric. Then fold the edges of the fabric over and iron them in the fold. This folding edge is also stitched in place. Attention: This seam processing requires double the seam allowance! This useful seam is mainly used as an overcast seam.

Hem seam

For this seam, the edge of the fabric is folded twice to the left and ironed. The resulting fold edge is then sewn into place from the left side of the fabric with a narrow edge. This useful seam serves as an overcast seam, for example for the ends of sleeves or trousers (hems).

Stitching / Single seam

With the simple seam, the two pieces of fabric are placed right side together and stitched 1cm from the edge of the fabric. The seam allowances are then ironed apart. The stitching seam is used as a utility, decorative and overcast seam and is always used when two pieces of fabric are to be sewn together. For example with T-shirts, blouses or hoodies.

Lint seam

To create a lintel seam, first place the two pieces of fabric right sides together. Then stitch the two pieces of fabric together approx. 1cm from the edge of the fabric. Finally, the two pieces of fabric are folded over to one side and ironed left sides together to form a break. This overcast seam is used, for example, for pocket bags.

Gathering seam

To create a gathered seam, you first sew with a large stitch along the edge of a piece of fabric, leaving the thread ends long. Then you pull on the end of the thread so that the fabric piece begins to curl. The gathered piece of fabric is then placed right sides together on a second piece of fabric and stitched in place next to the basting seam. After you have stitched the two pieces of fabric together, you can remove the basting thread again. The fabric is now ironed into a fold along the stitching seam. The gathered seam serves purely as a decorative seam and is often used on blouses and dresses.

Stitching / topstitching / stitching in place

Quilting refers to a type of stitch. The term topstitching means sewing a straight seam that looks the same from both sides. This stitch connects at least two or more layers of fabric together and is usually only visible on the wrong side of the fabric.

Short-edged / narrow-edged

Short and narrow-edged describes the distance, for example, from the edge of the fabric in which sewing is to be carried out. Close-edged means a distance of 1mm from the edge. If you want to sew with narrow edges, a distance of 2mm must be maintained.

Break edge / fabric break

The term break edge or also called fabric break actually just means that the fabric is folded over or folded at this specific point. A folding edge is always a straight line, which usually runs parallel to the thread line and selvedge.

Fabric edge/cut edge

The fabric or cut edge describes the edge where a piece of fabric was cut off. The edge of the fabric is, so to speak, the end/edge of a piece of fabric.

Seam allowance / double seam allowance / foot width

Seam allowances are allowances that are taken into account when cutting the individual pieces of fabric in order to have enough material available for the seams. For example, when cutting, you add 1cm seam allowance, but you sew this off again during processing, so that in the end the textile has exactly the dimensions that were specified on the pattern. Common seam allowances are 1.5cm, 1cm or even 0.7cm.
A seam allowance of 0.7cm is also called foot width, because the sewing foot of a sewing machine sews exactly 0.7cm from the edge when the needle is set straight.

If you are talking about a double seam allowance, then you simply double the seam allowance at the specified location. For example, if a 1.5cm seam allowance is specified, add a 3cm seam allowance at the marked point.

Utility seam / decorative seam / overcast seam / connecting seam

A useful seam is necessary and has a specific task, for example holding two pieces of fabric together.
Decorative seams, on the other hand, are visual embellishments and are not absolutely necessary; they have no functional use.
Overcast seams ensure that our textile does not have any unsightly open edges. They surround all open edges so that the finishes (edges) look clean and can no longer fray when worn and washed.

Joining seams connect two or more pieces of fabric together. They are absolutely necessary for every textile.

Bias strips/bias tape

Bias stripes are narrow strips of fabric, usually between 10mm and 25mm wide, which are cut at a 45° angle to the selvedge. Due to the special way of cutting, the strips are extremely stretchy and can therefore be used to neaten fabric edges. Necklines on T-shirts are particularly often bordered with so-called bias stripes, i.e. overcast.
You can either make bias strips yourself or buy them pre-cut and ironed under the name bias tape.

In the shadow of the seam / In the shadow of the seam

When you sew in the shadow of the seam, you mean that you sew on the right side of the fabric on a seam line of two previously sewn pieces of fabric. So you first sew two pieces of fabric together right sides together, then iron the seam allowances apart and then sew from the right side of the fabric exactly in the seam line. As a rule, you use thread that matches the color because you can then hardly see the seam at all, so it hides in the shadow of the previous seam (seam shadow).

Right / left side of fabric

Every fabric has two sides, a front side also called the beautiful side or right side and a back side, which is also called the left side. Pieces of fabric are usually sewn together right sides together, i.e. on the left side, so that the beautiful right sides are on the inside.

Hem/hems

A hem describes a folded and sewn edge on clothing. For example as a finish on sleeves or trouser legs.

Large stitch / basting / basting seam

The term basting refers to a particularly large, loose type of stitch. Pattern pieces are only roughly sewn together with a basting seam to either allow them to be tried on or to gather certain areas of the textile. Gathers are created by pulling the threads of the basting seam together. However, basting seams never remain in the textile, they are only used for rough fastening and are replaced by more robust seams during the processing process.