Sunday, October 27, 2013

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



More later from


13 comments:

  1. Hello Diana, I must say every time I check in on your blog I always get inspired. Everything you make looks beautiful!
    Thank you so much for sharing and teaching me new ideas. I'm taking up sewing again after a 15 year stretch.
    Sherry

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    1. Thank you Sherry. I guess the reason why I write my two blogs is in hope of inspiring others to sew. I'm now giving sewing lessons in my home and am so happy at the response I'm getting. I have five students who are absolutely overjoyed about the chance tp learn to sew better than before. I can't encourage you enough to sew. sew, sew!!

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  2. I truly enjoy your blog. You are so generous with your knowledge and skills. Thank you for sharing this magnificent outfit. I can only dream at present. My busy life has kept me from sewing much lately. I sew vicariously through others like you. Hoping that I will be back at my machines soon.

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    1. Thank you so much Joyce. I do enjoy so much sharing my love of sewing with others. It's my passion. I do hope you get to sew to your heart's cintent one day soon.

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  3. Beautiful job and good tutorial!

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  4. This jacket really did turn out so well. Thanks for showing how you did it.

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    1. Vicki, thanks so much for always stopping by and leaving comments. You are truly generous to do so. It always makes me feel like I have a friend in Australia!

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  5. This is a gorgeous outfit!!! What superb workmanship and patience. Visiting your blog is truly inspiring and really shows your love for your craft. Thanks for sharing the techniques you use. I visit daily but never leave comments, this ensemble just drew me totally IN, lol.

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  6. Aw! Thank you so much Brenda! You are so generous to leave such a wonderful comment! It is truly appreciated.

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  7. Wow, this is awesome. I have wondered if a flat fell seam could be used in such a way. How long did this jacket take to construct?

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    1. Hi Mary. Thank you for the comment It took me about 12 hours of slow careful sewing, i think with a lot of pressing and hand basting involved. I always had wondered if this could work. My big question was if the sleeves would work out or not. I think the reason I made it work was the nature of the natural fiber that cooperated nicely and the hand basting as well.

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  8. Catching up on blog reading... Your new jacket is very nicely constructed and instructive for other sewers.

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    1. Thanks Gail. I'm very happy with it. It was worth all the effort, hand basting, etc. I think.

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