About Seams

Your goal should be to have a straight and smooth seam!

 Seam – a line of stitches that holds 2 or more pieces of fabric together

 Seams for Clothing with Cotton Fabrics

Most clothing seams are 5/8 of an inch

Most clothing seams are pressed open

Always zigzag around each piece of fabric to prevent unraveling before sewing the seams together

It is always best to pin your 2 pieces of fabric together first to prevent the fabric from moving while it is being sewn

Pinning correctly, taking your time, and following your guide line will give you the best straight seams

Seams for Clothing with Knit or stretch Fabrics

When sewing with knit sometimes seam allowances are ¼ of an inch and sometimes 5/8.

When sewing with knit or stretch fabric one needs to stretch the seam as you sew using a small zigzag so that the seam will stretch also. OR, one could use a machine called a serger.

Seams- your seam must be suitable for the fabric and style in  a way that it will withstand washing and wearing.  Choosing a suitable seam depends upon the fabric and garment.

In making stretch clothing let's think about why we want our seam to stretch also and not just the fabric. Let's say you are making a pair of stretch shorts to wear at cheerleading, dance, or gymnastics class.  You will be stretching your legs and body so therefore you want your stretch fabric to stretch and you want your seams to stretch along with you and your shorts.  If your fabric stretches but your seams don't, what happens?  YOUR SHORTS RIP at the seams! The threads in the stitching will break when being stretched. (trust me I know)

Knit fabrics tend to be more slippery than most cotton fabrics. Sometimes you will need to put your pins closer together when working with slippery fabrics.

I used to make and design my daughters gymnastics and dance outfits.  All of them were made from lycra or spandex which are 4 way stretch fabrics as seen here.