Flat felled seam - it's amazing!
What Is A Flat Felled Seam?
It is a seam finish that encases all the raw edges. Because of this, you get very neat results. Also, it is a two-step process, ending with the seam allowance being stitched down. This makes for a very strong seam. At times, it can be confused with the french seam. Although both seam finishes begin with placing wrong sides together, they differ slightly. The french seam is not sewn down; whereas, as previously mentioned, this one is.
When and Where Do You Use It?
This seam finish is most often used in jeans construction. It can also be used decoratively, like on a western shirt. It is an ideal seam finish when an item or garment is going to see a lot of wear.
How Do I Sew it?
Today, I am going to demonstrate this as if your pattern called for a 5/8" seam allowance.
First, place your fabric WRONG sides together.
Pin or clip your fabric.
Next, sew 5/8" seam allowance.
Finger press your seam open.
Leave one seam allowance large. As for the other side, trim to approximately 1/8" to 1/4". You will be wrapping the large seam allowance around the narrow one. Keep in mind, you want the fold to be facing the back of what would be your garment.
Press the large seam allowance over the trimmed seam allowance.
Wrap the large seam allowance around the narrow one, bringing the raw edge back to the original stitch line. You can already tell this flat felled seam is going to look amazing!
Fold down. Pin and/or press. You will soon find out which one you need to do depending on the fabric that you are using.
Lastly, you need to edge stitch. Patterns will often say to stitch approximately 1/8" away from the edge. I prefer to sew a little closer than that. That is just a personal preference though. I recommend testing on scraps prior to working on your project so you can decide the look that you want for your seam finish.
You can use a general purpose foot or you can use - my favorite- the edge stitch foot!
Now, give it a nice press. Ta Da! All done. The flat felled seam can take a little longer than some other seam finishes, but in my opinion, it is totally worth it!
Until next time, Happy Sewing, everybody.
