Sewing Basics - French Seam Tutorial

I've been sewing for years, but I never knew how to do a french seam until recently. They're so easy and offer that perfect finishing touch on a project, yet I never took the five minutes to learn how to do them. I bet a lot of people are in the same boat, so I thought it might be a good idea to make some 'sewing basics' tutorials for people who are beginning sewers or who have simply not learned some sewing skills (like me!!). Are there any specific requests??

So, on to French Seams. Don't be scared by the number of steps - they're quite simple and after you do them once you'll remember how to do them forever :)

What you need:

- fabric (whatever your project is)

- an iron!

Step 1: Put the WRONG sides of the fabric together where you want the seam, and stitch. This will seem counter-intuitive, but I promise it will work out in the end :)

Step 2: Trim the seam down as far as you can (further than my picture shows, if possible), and then press the seam open.

This shows the backside of the fabric.

Step 3: Fold the fabric along the seam and press, wrong-side out.

Step 4: Stitched down the length of the seam, with the fold you just pressed at the edge of the foot ( once again, the fabric should be wrong side out).

Step 5: Open the fabric up and iron along the seam, so the 'flap' you created will lay flat.

Step 6: Now, your final seam: stitch the edge of the flap down. Make sure your seams are straight and even, otherwise it will look funny!

You're done! This is what the wrong side of the fabric should look like:

And here's what the right side of the fabric should look like:

No raw edges!!