Patterns By Ana

How to Sew... Clean Finish Edge: With right sides together, sew along the edge of the fabric with at least a 3/8" seam allowance. Press the seam open. Fold the seam allowance in half with wrong sides together towards the stitching line and topstitch in place. Repeat with the other side This is a flat, durable and clean finish, perfect for children wear .   For the full video Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G0mRBlAP58

How to Sew... Hong Kong or Bound Seam: With right sides together, sew along the edge of the fabric with at least a 3/8" seam allowance. Press the seam open. Using 1/4" double fold bias tape, stitch along the raw edge of each seam allowance. You can use a bias tape foot for easier and faster binding. This is a neat and beautiful finish but unpractical. It takes a long time to make, extra material cost and too much bulk.   For the full video Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G0mRBlAP58

How to Sew... French Seam: With WRONG sides together, sew along the edge of the fabric with a 1/4" seam allowance. Trim the seam allowance to be about half the width. Press the seams towards one side.   Fold the fabric with right sides together along the stitching line and press it to keep it in place.. Stitch along the folded edge at 1/4" from the edge. Make sure you are enclosing any unfinished fabric.  Press the finished seam towards the back of the garment. This is a neat and pretty finish but really bulky encasing 5 layers of fabric, which is why is not suitable for everything .  This seam is used with shear  an d lightweight  fabric that frays  easily.   For the full video Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G0mRBlAP58

How to Sew... Zig Zag Edge: With Right sides together, sew along the edge of the fabric with at least a 3/8" seam allowance. Press the seam flat. Then, Open the seam and press it open. Set your machine settings for a Zig Zag stitch that works for you. Make samples and choose the one that looks best for your needs. I decided to go with a stitch length of 1.4 and a width of 3.0   Zig Zag Stitch along the center of the seam allowance. Repeat with the other Side. Trim the excess fabric really close to the stitches being very careful not to cut any threads. This is a very versatile seam and can be used with  practically  every fabric and garment. It lays really flat and prevents from fraying even when the garment is going to be wash  repeatedly. For the full video Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G0mRBlAP58

How to Sew... Flat Felled Seam: With Right sides together, sew along the edge of the fabric with at least a 1/2" seam allowance. Trim one of the seam allowances at about 1/8" from the stitching line. Press the seam flat. Then, Open the seam and press it open. Fold in half the biggest seam allowance towards the stitching line and press.   Fold again over the trimmed seam allowance. Press to keep it in place. Top stitch over the folded edge at about 1/16" from it. With this seam, you get a decorative stitch on the good side of the garment. This is a reinforced seam, great for inseams and side seams of pants. For the full video Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G0mRBlAP58