Ways to Finish Your Seams in Sewing

When you sew a garment it is important to finish the edges of your seams to keep them from raveling or fraying. There are a variety of different ways to finish a seam that will help to improve the appearance of the inside of your garment as well as to give the seam extra strength. You should learn a variety of different seam finishing methods because each one can be used under different circumstances. Here are some different seam finishes that you can use in your sewing projects.

Pinked Seam
One of the easiest ways to finish seams on fabric that is not likely to fray is to use pinking shears. the after sticking your seam use a pair of pinking shears to trim off the edge of the seam. After you have trimmed your seem press it flat using an iron.

Stitched Pinked Seam
A stitched pinked seam can be used on just about any fabric that is prone to raveling. First stitch a plain seam in your fabric. Then, place a line of stitching about 1/4in. from the edge of the seam on both sides of the seam. Next take your pinking shears and trim the edges of the fabric on the outside of the stitches that you just added. The stitches will help to keep the fabric from fraying.

Edge Stitched Seam
This seam finish is great for lightweight fabrics. First, stitch a plain seam in your fabric and press it open. Using your pinking shears, pink the edges of the seam and then fold them under about 1/4" and stitch along the folded edge of the fabric. This will prevent your seam edges from raveling and provide a beautiful finished look to your seams. It can be difficult to stitch along such a small edge of fabric so your may need to use and edge stitched to help you.

Finish Your Seams with Binding
Binding is a beautiful way to finish your seam edges that can help the inside of your garments to look very professional. First, create a plain seam. Take store-bought binding, place it over the edges of the seam and sew it into place. You can also use nylon net binding to finish seams on delicate fabrics where you cannot add a lot of bulk to the seams.

Machine Overedge Seam
This seam finish is great for heavy fabrics such as tweed and woolen fabrics. First, stitch a plain seam and then press it open. Use the blindstich zigzag setting on your sewing machine and form stitches over the edge of the seam. Adjust the length of the stitch and the width of the stitch according to the type of fabric that you are sewing.

Zigzag Seam
Using a zigzag seam finish is ideal for fabrics that have a bit of stretch since a zigzag stitch has a little give to it. First stitch your seam and press it open. Set your sewing machine to a zigzag stitch and stitch close to the edges of your seam, but not directly on the edge. You will want to leave a small amount of fabric outside of your zigzag. After you have finished zigzagging your seam edges, go back with a pair of scissors and trim off the excess fabric close to your zigzag stitches.

Learning these seam finishes should get you well on your way to make better constructed, longer lasting and more professional garments. Play around with each method of finishing seams on some scrap fabric until you have mastered them. Once you know how to do them finishing the seams on any of your sewing projects will be a piece of cake