Flat Felled Seams vs. French Seams The Difference and How to Sew

[@dianeb7341]

Thanks for the informative demo on French seams and flat felled seams.

[@SewSewLive]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching!

[@peaches5712]

This is exactly what I needed as I’m making beeswax bread bags and this will be perfect!

[@SewSewLive]

Nice! I made food wraps a couple years ago but I didn’t think to make a bread wrap. It was honestly so hard to fit usable sizes on my cookie sheet! But I did make some waxed zipper pouches.

[@jilllazdane8861]

I'm going to wow my 90yo mother and make her a shorts and short sleeve jacket/top ensemble. I think ffs will look nice and neat on a jacket that opens at the front and will be a nice touch on the shorts. she won't be expecting this finish and I'll get brownie points from her!!! Thanks for the excellent tutorial.

[@SewSewLive]

Woohoo! She’ll love it!! All the brownie points!

[@nancypollard4531]

I like to use French seams for delicate thin fabric that tends to fray. I feel that a French seam in anything thicker just adds bulk. I love to do flat felt seams. I love the way they look. I love the way they feel. They really tame bulky fabrics into something nice.

[@SewSewLive]

I totally agree!

[@mamasaidsew4843]

Never really gave it that much thought but you're probably right.

[@annerobinson647]

Thanks for a great tutorial 👍

[@SewSewLive]

You're welcome!

[@Kathleen58]

I had never heard of flat felled seams. I just learn something, thank so much!

[@SewSewLive]

You’re welcome! If you wear jeans or have some men’s dress shirts in your life you’ll see it on the inseam of the jeans often and the armholes and side seams of the shirts!

[@lynnshepard7485]

Thank you for the tutorials, Sarimy. I’ve struggled with French seams for armholes.

[@SewSewLive]

My pleasure! Good luck!

[@patgottshalk8808]

Clear and concise demo, thanks. I didn’t know to trim my step 1 for the French seam. That will help me get a better finish.

[@SewSewLive]

Glad it was helpful!

[@hwhipple]

I love French seams but now I want to try flate felled, too. Thanks for the tutorial!

[@SewSewLive]

Thanks for watching Heidi!

[@MPam1619]

Great demo! Will be watching again to make sure i get it. Planning to make a linen dress.

[@SewSewLive]

Happy sewing!

[@amyeklund746]

Nice! I love using French seams but with bulkier fabrics it gets to be a lot under the armhole. I have not tried a flat felled seam yet and now I understand it and can't wait to try one. Thank you for this very clear tutorial.

[@SewSewLive]

Oh yes! They’re so nice and smooth and flat. I remember the first time I saw one inside jeans-I couldn’t figure it out! It’s like magic.

[@clarepurtill1790]

I’m going to make a coat and will use the French seam but I will start making a book with examples of all the different seam allowances for reference and link the tutorials . Love your tutorial’s.

[@SewSewLive]

That is clever! I've thought about doing a video about difference seam allowances and which goes to which seam finish best.

[@NoonSkyWings]

@@SewSewLive I'd love to see that!

[@jennyp4934]

​@@NoonSkyWingsI'd love to see that too.

[@ninie6156]

It's been eons that the flat felled seem eluded me... It was nagging me on jeans... I observed it carefully, understood its final anatomy, but could not figure how to sew it. As I only have sewn 2 or three time for ultra simple things, I am not really familiar with it, and could not find how this seam was named... Now I know, and thanks to you, I technically know how it is done now. Thank you so much ❤

[@SewSewLive]

It’s definitely tricky how it looks. And if you try to dissect the seam of ready to wear jeans, it’s often sewn differently since it’s done in one step with a specific machine. We can’t sew it like that with our home machines. There is a way to make it a one step process but it’s not quite as authentic. Happy sewing!

[@ninie6156]

@@SewSewLive Thanks for the precisions. What matters to me is that it looks the same as the one you can find on ready wear jeans, even if the internal is slightly different ☺

[@SewSewLive]

@@ninie6156 Exactly! I’m glad it’ll be useful.

[@MerryJoStafford]

Thanks! I’m adjusting a mesh costume sleeve - removing half of the material. I believe the flat felled seam will be the best.

[@SewSewLive]

That sounds cool! You might find French seams a little easier to wrangle. But if you have some scraps maybe you can try them both out. I’m sure you know best. And the location makes a difference.

[@kelleyleblanc5025]

Which seam would be better if you were sewing an inseam pocket in a dress or skirt? Thank you for this clear and consise video on these two seams!

[@SewSewLive]

Hello! You’d want to French seam inseam pockets! And I happen to have a video for that: How to Sew Pockets With French Seams by Sew Sew Live kzbin.info/www/bejne/aHfZaoWZjKmai8k

[@kelleyleblanc5025]

@@SewSewLive wonderful!! Thanks for your reply!

[@robinmazariegos1]

This was really well done. Thank You

[@SewSewLive]

Glad it was helpful!

[@peterp1955]

Can you please provide a link to a set-in-sleeve flat felled seam example for a men's dress shirt? Kind Regards, Peter

[@SewSewLive]

Do you mean a ready to wear shirt (like proof they exist 😂) or do you want an instructional video?

[@SewSewLive]

I don’t have a How To video but I did live stream it here: Sewing Fairfield Button Part 2 up by Thread Theory Designs kzbin.info_R0EvJaszmU?feature=share I’ll put a how to video on the list.

[@peterp1955]

Thank you very much. The tutorial was beneficial!

[@SewSewLive]

@peterp1955 I’m so glad! And thanks for the idea to make a dedicated tutorial.

[@JB-wd2bd]

Thanks for clear, concise and informative video. Would love to know what model your Juki is and what your pressing equipment is.

[@SewSewLive]

Thanks for watching! I use a Juki 8700-7 and the iron is the Hot Steam gravity fed iron SGB-900.

[@bonnieevans190]

Which seam comes the closest to being waterproof and strong? I am making a backpackers ground cover that goes under the backpackers tent, but it has to be seamed to get width needed. Please advise me. Great clear video!!! Can you use an iron on rip stop nylon fabric to get the seam flat???

[@SewSewLive]

This is a pretty complicated question! I know a lot about waterproof fabrics and water proofing. But it really depends on be material you’re using and what it requires. Is it waterproof with a membrane? Like gore tex? Is the fabric two or three layer? I wouldn’t use flat seaming as a waterproof seam on many fabrics since the more you perforate it, the less waterproof it gets. It really depends upon the fabric. Hopefully I can help once I know what your fabric is.

[@thecpikas]

I'm using French seams for my chiffon button up I'm making. I definitely want to try flat felling again.

[@SewSewLive]

Chiffon is perfect for French seams!

[@Sandrab769]

What are your thoughts on using a flat felled foot? I just watched a demonstration today and now I’m thinking about getting a flat felled foot.

[@SewSewLive]

I’ve never gotten to try one! I think it could be really cool-but limited. It’s going to depend upon the fabric thickness, width and the seam you’re sewing. It could be a fun tool to have for some projects-but I wouldn’t bet it’d be great for all situations.

[@justmoritz]

I've always french-seamed my shirt jackets because I felt like they make alterations like taking in or letting back out a little easier.

[@SewSewLive]

Nice foresight! I think I’d rather seam rip French seams than overlock too!

[@bonnihill2334]

I love French seams. I did flat felled once when I was 16. I was too young to have any fear. Now, I would worry over it. LOL

[@SewSewLive]

Sometimes that sense of adventure is exactly what we need!

[@cor3944]

I do the flat felled seam on the inside, and instead of topstitching, I do handsewing. Practically invisible seam and nothing bulky.

[@SewSewLive]

Sounds very nice!

[@fritziewolfe6938]

I am using a prequilted, reversible fabric and am hoping flat felled seams will make the project reversable.

[@SewSewLive]

Yes I think that will work. One thing to watch closely is when you cut that pre quilted fabric, watch that the quilting doesn’t come unstitched before you get to sew the seam. If you have the space in the seam allowance I’d stay stitch the seams so the stitches don’t slowly come undone. It’s a big pain to re-stitch it! Good luck! I’m making a Bomber jacket from some reversible pre-quilted fabric starting tomorrow live!!

[@walterw9829]

I prefer the French seams since I don't need to trim it after I've sewn the fist part of the seam.

[@SewSewLive]

So true! But gosh that flat seam is so nice sometimes. Hope you're well, Walter!

[@janabeckman545]

If you set the seam before turning over, it is easier to get a crisp edge

[@SewSewLive]

Always!

[@anaziegler6311]

Your technique appears so clean, too bad it's lost on people watching on small screens or with old eyes. I wish people showing sewing seams or any tips in general would use two different color fabric and a high contrast color thread. Oh well.

[@SewSewLive]

Hi! KZbin added a feature where you can now zoom in on a device. Like a phone. Pinch to zoom in and out. The fabric has a white back and a blue print front for contrast. The thread is also contrast but it’s less important since we’re mostly focused on seams and the amounts. The thumbnail may not be the most visible but the video has some considerations like those you mention. You can also turn your phone sideways to get a larger view. I have old eyes too! I hope these may work! I’m always striving to do better and I’ll consider your comments for other videos. Thanks for the comment!

[@johnpluta1768]

French Seams for garments made on the bias especially evening gowns.

[@SewSewLive]

Hey are you asking a question?

[@johnpluta1768]

@@SewSewLive Is it possible to use French seams to sew pants and shorts without a pattern and bias cut?

[@SewSewLive]

Let’s see! There are a lot of things going on in that question: Of course you can sew anything without a pattern using French seams if that seam finish is appropriate for the seam you’re sewing. Usually flat felled is more often used on pants sewing (say the inseam or crotch seam of most jeans) and French seams are a little too bulky. That being said if your fabric is light weight then yes. Bias cut fabric doesn’t fray in most cases so no seam finish is necessary. Of course people still inside on finishing the edges but like I said, I’d check the fabric, if it doesn’t fray it’ll be nice and soft agains the skin without any seam finishing. Bias cut shorts or pants are going to be an interesting pattern- it could work but it might not be worth the fabric use for the trouble of fitting them. They will feel weird when you’re wearing them. You probably can’t cut pants or anything that long on the true bias unless the fabric is wide enough. But you can cut it on some amount of bias.

[@johnpluta1768]

@SewSewLive, I appreciate your answer. However, I have heard and seen videos on how to make a pants waistband on the bias for added stretch. Also, from reading your reply, I have tutorials on how to make palazzo pants on the bias. And it works while looking very good.

[@SewSewLive]

@@johnpluta1768 You are right! But you didn’t tell me either of those things. 😂 you didn’t say waistband. Yes you can do a waistband on the bias. But this is a seam finish video and I thought we were talking about seam finishes. Personally I like a waistband that doesn’t stretch out. So I never use a bias cut one. Palazzo pants can be on the bias too. I just didn’t know that’s what you meant. And I also maintain that cutting them on the true bias is hard due to fabric width and length of the pattern. Good luck!

[@836dmar]

FF seams kill me at the catch of jeans. I have a walking foot Juki so the machine is no issue but getting two flat felled seams into another one is a lot of denim!

[@SewSewLive]

I know what you mean! I've been using a hammer and it helps more than I thought it would. But sometimes it's pretty sketchy!

[@Sweepear]

I can’t see what the heck you’re doing on that busy fabric with matching thread. 🤨☹️😯😳

[@SewSewLive]

It’s contrast thread! But you can pinch and zoom in if you are watching on a phone or tablet that has that capability. (It’s a new KZbin feature!) Or watch on a regular computer.

[@NoonSkyWings]

I'm guilty of not pressing them, that's why they do not look as nice and neat.

[@SewSewLive]

Haha!! I’m guilty of this most of the time too.