Burda Style For people who sew

French seams can be a great substitute to a surger and really finish the garment off nicely.

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5 Comments

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  Jun 13, 2010, 11.04 PMby angeldust08

  This really helped me! Thank you =)
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  Apr 22, 2010, 01.57 PMby seemane

  Thank you for adding this technique. There’s a wonderful wealth of info. now on BurdaStyle re: french seams – so I shall have to give them a go soon. Best wishes, Seemane :) - Sewing French Seams (Added Apr 21, 2010). - Sew French seams (and why bother) – (Added Jun 4, 2008). - Mock French Seams (Added Mar 8, 2008). - How To: Sew French and Flat-Felled Seams (Added Aug 24, 2007).
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  Apr 12, 2010, 10.46 AMby roarah

  Whilst I’ve been sewing for a while, this is something I’ve only learned recently. My mum taught it to me & when I told her I’d never heard of it before, she responded with something like ‘see not everything old is outdated’. Thanks Mum. I’m happy to say that I now use it almost exclusively for sewing with very fine, lightweight fabrics. I find it’s much easier to avoid unwanted gathering & chattering.

  The only thing I’ve found is that you have to be very accurate with your seam allowances (paticularly on more fitted items) as it’s very easy to lose a millimetre or two on each seam.
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  Apr 5, 2010, 05.04 AMby blueyedmerle

  This is really helpful as I don’t have a surger! Thank you so much! Would you mind saying a word about ironing the seams open when you’re finished with the garment?
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  Mar 20, 2010, 08.04 PMby cupcakedreammachine

  Great! I don’t have a surger and I am going to try this instead.