Regardless of the tool you choose, it is invaluable to be able to pink a seam or fabric edge quickly.

Pinked seams using pinking shears

After stitching the seam, simply trim the seam allowance with pinking shears or with a pinking tool and press the seam open.  How much fabric to trim will vary depending on your pattern seam allowance.  I prefer to leave about 1/4″ – 3/8″ remaining of seam allowance to be pressed open.  Pinked seams still fray somewhat resulting in a less professionally-looking finish, but pinking is advantageous in that it is quick and easy.

Pinked seams using a Singer Hand Crank Pinker. This is my favorite pinking tool; it's fast, easy, fun and doesn't tire the hands!

If the fabric unravels easily, then an extra step of straight-stitching just below the pinked edge will add greater stability to the seam allowance and prevent further unraveling as discussed in the straight stitch seam finish.

Sometimes I will pink all raw fabric edges immediately following a fabric purchase.  This prevents excessive unraveling or fraying of the fabric when I am pre-washing and shrinking it to prepare for pattern cut-out.  Granted, these are extra steps to your sewing project, but the finished result will preserve the garment seam for longer lasting wear.

Finishing seams provides stability to the seam and overall garment, prevents unraveling, while also making a hand-made garment look professional. There are many options available which can vary depending on the fabric choice, machine availability or personal sewing preference. Some of the techniques are basic while others are a work of art, designed to make the inside of the garment look just as admirable as the outside.

The first seam finish we will discuss is one that can be finished with just your sewing machine using a straight stitch.

Straight stitching line halfway between cut edge and seam itself

To finish the seam allowance, simply run a straight stitching line inside the seam allowance edge approximately half way between the cut edge and the seam itself.  This utilitarian finish will act similarly to stay-stitching.  While it can still fray along the cut edges, the stitches will act as a barrier preventing the seam from fraying any further than the stitching line.  If you want to take the initiative one step further for aesthetics, fold and press the seam allowance edge to the wrong side, to meet the seam itself, enclosing the raw edge – then stitch your straight-stitching line.  This technique is fine for lightweight wovens, but use caution for seams with bulk, as it may not be appropriate for some fabrics or projects.

Straight stitching line to enclose the raw edge

The raw edge is folded, pressed and stitched for enclosure

Enclosed straight-stitch seam finish on the left and simple straight-stitch seam finish on the right

Finished seam

Pressing the seams open eliminates bulk and allows the outside of the garment seam to lay flat.  Most sewing patterns instruct for seam allowances to be pressed open, so these straight-stitching seam finish techniques would be applicable.

April’s business, April 1930′s, centers on vintage Singer Featherweight machines and their attachments. Those of you who own older sewing machines will be especially interested in the attachment details she will be including in her posts, since many older machines don’t include these special stitches. April also does a lot of our sample sewing and pattern testing, and we frequently rely on her expertise.

April’s first series of posts, a number of short tutorials which will start running tomorrow, focus on seam finishing techniques. We hope you’ll enjoy and learn from April’s work.

French seams are easiest and most appropriate to use along straight edges. They aren’t generally appropriate for curved seams like an armhole, since curves will cause the fabric to pucker when finished. However, with a gentle curve like the side underarm portion of the Ice Cream Dress (shown below), I’ll show you a tip that will help you to stitch a French seam without puckering.

A French seam is made by stitching the seam twice—first stitching with the fabric’s wrong sides together, and then stitching a second time with the fabric folded over the seam allowances so the right sides are together. This second row of stitches encases the seam allowances inside the seam. You’ll find full instructions below. Note that these measurements are appropriate for a 1/2″ seam allowance. You’ll need to adjust the measurements if your pattern calls for seam allowances of a different size.

1. Pin the edges to be sewn, with wrong sides together, and stitch them with a 1/4″ seam, backstitching at the beginning and end of the seam to secure the stitches.

2. Press the seam allowances open and trim them to 1/8″.

Then fold the fabric over the seam allowances, so the right sides are facing and the seam allowances are sandwiched between the two layers. Press the fabric at the fold (the first seam) to flatten it and get a nice crease, and then pin the two layers together near the fold.

HINT: If you’re sewing a slightly curved seam, you can prepare the fabric by straightening and stretching the first seam at the curve as you press it. By stretching the seam slightly, it won’t pucker and tug when the seam is finished.

3. Stitch the pinned seam again, this time 1/4″ from the folded and pinned edge. This second seam neatly encases the seam allowances’ raw edges. Press the seam flat first, and then press them to one side.

Fairly simple to do, right?

Chances are you’ve faced a similar issue. You’re ready to sew for your child (or yourself), but the body that will be wearing the garment doesn’t have the same measurements as the sizing chart on the pattern envelope.

Not to worry. It’s easy to make pattern adjustments to accommodate these differences. I’ve put together a little tutorial to show you how.

Picking the correct splicing spot

First, assemble all the pieces you’ll be lengthening or shortening. It’s important to make the same changes to all the matching pieces, so be sure you’ve got the pieces for the front and the back of the garment.

In general, the best location for lengthening or shortening a dress or shirt is halfway between the bottom of the armhole and the hem. For pants or a skirt, the best spot is halfway between the rise/crotch and the hem.

Here are a few illustrations showing (with a horizontal line) the recommended lengthen/shorten locations for some of our patterns.

Sailboat Top, sleeve: lengthen halfway between underarm and hem

Sandbox Pants: lengthen halfway between the rise/crotch and the hem

Tea Party Sundress: lengthen skirt halfway between top edge and hem

Sailboat Top: lengthen halfway between underarm and hem

Birthday Party Dress: lengthen halfway between underarm and hem

By adding or subtracting length in the middle of the piece, you won’t affect the hem or the general silhouette as much as you would if you added to the bottom of the piece. However, use your best judgment here. Depending on the style, you might want to pick a slightly different place to do your splicing.

I prefer to lengthen or shorten at a notch (when a notch is available) so that I can be sure to position matching or opposing pieces at the same location. For example, on the Tea Party Sundress, I lengthened the lower of the double notches. Don’t forget to do this for all the pieces involved: front and back!

When you’ve selected the spot at which you’ll make your splice, draw a line on the pattern piece at the spot. The line should be perpendicular to the grain (or fold) line at the point where you want to lengthen or shorten the piece. Remember: draw this line at the same position on all the pattern pieces you’ll be changing.

Then, starting with one piece, cut the pattern along your line to divide it into two separate pieces.

To lengthen

To add length to a pattern piece, tape a strip of paper under one of the two pieces, and extend the grain line (or fold line) across the strip of paper as in the illustration below.

Draw a line parallel to the cut edge of the pattern piece, marking the amount of length you want to add. For S, I usually add between one and two inches, but it’s a good idea to refer to the Finished Garment Measurement chart on the back of the pattern envelope so you know how long the original pattern will be when it is finished. This will help you to decide how much to add or subtract from the piece.

Tape the other part of the pattern to the line you drew. Be sure to match the extended grain line, even if the sides of the pattern don’t appear to match.

Finally, draw the edges of the pattern piece onto the strip of paper you inserted. You’ll need to draw either a straight line or a curve. If the edge is straight, simply connect the two sides of the original pattern piece with a line. If the edge is curved, you may need to blend the edge, subtracting a bit from one line and adding to the other. Use your eye to extend the curve so it looks blended with the rest of the pattern edge as in this illustration.

To shorten

To shorten a pattern, fold the pattern piece back on itself to remove the extra length and tape the pieces together, again maintaining the grain or fold line.

Redraw the sides, blending any curved lines to make a continuous curve just as you would with a lengthened piece.

Sandbox Pants: overlap at the cut line to shorten

Again, don’t forget to make the same adjustments to all the pattern pieces, both front and back. There’s nothing worse than forgetting to add length to part of the pattern.

Every so often, we get a question on how to construct the back placket on the Swingset Tunic. This element of the garment uses a unique and unusual construction technique that will be unfamiliar to almost anyone sewing from the pattern for the first time.

April’s tutorial walks you through these steps of the process very clearly with excellent, detailed photos. The tutorial will be a great resource for anyone sewing the tunic for the first time.

And check out April’s finished top. Lovely.

Leave a little extra space in the width of the casing, and edgestitch the top edge of the waistband before you feed the elastic through. For some reason, that top row of stitching will prevent the elastic from folding over on itself when the elastic is added.

You can use this little trick in any elastic waistband, but it seems to be more of an issue in waistbands that have elastic all the way around; back-only elastic waistbands have less of a tendancy to twist and turn.

Try this little tip in the Lazy Days Skirt, the Bedtime Story Pajamas, and the Puppet Show Shorts and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the results!