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Sewing 101: Seams of All Kinds

That moment they mention French seams on Project Runway and not only do you know what they’re talking about, but you just did one….  Ah, the sweetness.  It made the beginner sewer in me sit a little taller at my machine yesterday.

So, I’m making progress in Raechel Myers’ Sewing 101 course: seams of all kinds.  I’m using white muslin and black thread for the most part through these exercises for contrast purposes (so if my edges look “dirty,” it’s the black thread you’re seeing through the fabric).

We started with curves….

Sewing Practice. Inside curve, notching, outside curve, clipping.
Inside & outside curves….

Moved on to corners….

Sewing Practice: Inside Corner, notching. Outside corner, clipping.
Inside & outside corners.

And the grand finale: seams.  I decided to switch to a fabric with a “right” side and “wrong” side as Raechel suggested to get a better understanding of how to put the fabric together when doing seam work.  Rather than cut up my newly purchased material for upcoming projects, I rummaged through my linen closet for a polka dotted fabric I used to use in my classrooms.  (When walls are made of cinder-block, a great way to soften things up is to use fabric on bulletin boards and tabletops…I have found.)

Lesson learned from this experience: polka dots in straight lines are VERY difficult to work with, especially if you don’t cut your pieces perfectly…which I didn’t.  The type-A in me went a little nuts trying to sew a straight a topstitch.  I must have ripped it out five times before I was satisfied that it looked somewhat straight.  But hey, I can use the practice, right?

Sewing Practice: straight seam, topstitching, French seam.
Simple seam, seam with topstitching, & a French Seam.

See that purdy French seam sealing up the raw edges underneath?

Sewing Practice: French Seam with Topstitch, Underside
Oh, those French. So fancy.

I learned a lot!  Out of curiosity, experienced sewists out there, which seams do you use the most?  And for what types of projects?

Next up: darts and marking.  Eek!  I get to print a pattern for this one.  More to come!

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6 Comments

    1. So honored that you would take the time to follow the links. I was telling my husband, Mark, reading your comments on my blog feels akin to reading a teacher’s comments on a paper – – you always just soak up every word. Thanks for the affirmation!

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