finishing seams on princess line, sleeve
Hi everyone,
When I was 10 years old and learning how to sew in 4-H, nobody ever even mentioned the possibility of finishing seams. I have had a serger now for many years but I am still not clear about a couple of issues – maybe you can help.
I am unsure about how to finish seams on a princess-line dress or jacket. The seam has to be clipped extensively after stitching to allow the curved seam to be pressed open. Should I serge the edge, then stitch and clip? Or finish after clipping – if so, how?
What suggestions do you have for finishing the sleeve cap? My options seem to be to serge the edge of armhole and of sleeve, then assemble; or serge them together after it’s done.
Would you serge-finish the seams of a lined garment, to provide better durability? or is that overkill?
Thank you all for your suggestions and help!
Christine
Replies
As you probably already know, there is more than one way to do anything, and all of them are correct ;-) So the best I can do is to tell you what my practices are....
Princess seams - serge first, then clip. But press everything first or you'll get impressions on the right side of the fabric.
Sleeves - sew, press, then serge the seam allowances together.
Lined garments - I serge the inseams of pants and the outseams from the hipline to the hem. Serge the raw hem edge. For skirts, serge the side seams from the hipline down and the hem edge. Jackets or other garments that are completely enclosed - don't waste your time. There is so little friction that it is unlikely anything will fray.
I do not finish seams of garments I line unless the fabric requires it because it frays. I serge sleeve and armholes together after I have seamed them unless they are fraying then I will do them separately. I generally do not serge finish princess seamed dresses because they are usually lined but if I did I would probably try a fairly short stitch so I could clip it or I would clip and then make sure it was spread out the way I would want it to be when it was worn before I serged it - you can serge over spaces.
I serge princess seams after I have sewn it so that I dont stretch the fabric as it is on the cross over the bust area. I have stay stitched this too. I sew the sleeve together all at once .
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