Flat Felled Seams

I just posted this jacket on SewPassionista by DIANA which I made reversible using flat felled seams. I thought I'd show you how I managed to make even the sleeves look really professional (IMO).

1. I sewed 5/8" seams and trimmed one side to a generous 1/8".  (It's important to think out to which side    you want to press and top stitch your seams before trimming one side )

2. I folded the remaining seam 1/8",pressed and hand basted it to be sure it would stay folded.

3. I then pressed the basted seam over to cover the trimmed side.( You could also baste again to be sure but I pinned down the seam from the right side and that worked  well for me)

4. I top stitched at 3/8" using a  stitch length  of 4 because my fabric was quite bulky and Gutterman Extra Strong thread with a size 14 jeans needle in my machine and polyester thread to match the print side in my bobbin..

I only did one row of top stitching rather than the usual.two for flat felled seams as I just didn't want to push my luck.

5. For the sleeves, I sewed them in flat (that is before sewing side seams )  and used the above steps.  I then sewed the underarm and side seams all in one and flat felled  in the same way as all other seams. I top stitched using matching rather than contrasting thread for the sleeves and side seams.

    Here is a sleeve on the print side.

To complete my reversible jacket, I turned all finishing seams including collar,lapels, center front,hem and sleeve hems under 1/8",basting and then turning again and top stitching.

I made buttonholes on the right side as usual and sewed buttons on
the opposite side sewing two buttons at the same time .

I really enjoyed the process of making this reversible jacket and matching jeans. (No they are not reversible!)  I hope I've inspired someone out there to tackle a project they think will be too challenging. Remember to take it one step at a time and before you know it, you too will have a garment to be proud of1

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