Creating Professional-Looking Flat-Felled Shirt Seams
Get smoother, neater results with this unconventional method.
Dec 27, 2019
The flat-felled seam is an elegant seam finish, and you can learn to sew it masterfully to create professional-looking garments, especially shirts. Flat-felled seams are commonly used for the shirt armhole seam and the shirt sleeve and side seams.
When I first started making shirts, I used the method I learned from sewing books and commercial shirt patterns: Flat-felled seams are sewn with a 5/8-inch-wide seam allowance; one side is trimmed roughly in half; the wider side is folded over the narrower; and finally, the folded seam—with the wider side encasing the narrower—is topstitched along its outer edge, usually from the wrong side of the shirt. One of the big challenges to this method is that, given the curve of the armhole, trimming and folding is painstaking, and the folded seam allowances are difficult to anchor neatly before sewing. The result, particularly with delicate fabrics like fine cotton shirting or…
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I practiced fell stitches with muslin; straight and curved seams. This technique looks better when compared with the traditional method or variations on the fell seam, even on curved seams. Thank you.
Great article! well written and understandable. I am not a beginner sewist however I 've not sewn many men's shirts. The nice flat felled seams I have admired now seem possible for me to tackle. Thanks again -
WOW! Great article. I appreciate your clarity of instruction. I will have no trouble following this improved technique. Write more articles please!!
Excellent article and very thorough. Just when I thought you were about to lose me, you provided a very detailed photo to help. Can't wait to try this on the shirt I'm sewing for my husband!
Wow! Zow! I’m loving this method. Thank you for such explicit instructions.
Sherrie
I love your instructions and wonder how it works on bulky jeans. Maybe instructions coming soon? I've sewn for 50 years or so but still have trouble with collar stands meeting shirts at the front, also cuffs as I follow commercial pattern instructions and thus have trouble. As you have perfected your instructional talent, maybe help is in the future or maybe I missed it. Thank you kindly for your expertise!