Tutorial - French Seams

French seams are a pretty way to finish off your seams if you have delicate, sheer, slippery or prone-to-fraying fabric because the raw edge ends up being enclosed in the seam. I used french seams in my Airelle Blouse because I was using a light weight, semi-sheer voile. They give a lovely professional finish without bulk and they are really simple to incorporate into your garment.

The trick to using French Seams is figuring out your seam allowances before you cut your fashion fabric. You could do this anyway you saw fit, as long as your first seam is smaller (or the same size but can be trimmed down) as your second seam, you should be fine.

For reference, the Airelle Blouse comes with a standard 5/8" seam allowance. For my side seams, when cutting out my fashion fabric, I decided to add an extra 1/8" to my side seams so I had a total of 6/8" seam allowance. Keep reading for more explanation of why I did this in picture form...

1. Rather counter-intuitively, pin your garment wrong sides together.

2. Sew your first seam together. I sewed mine at 3/8" seam allowance (half of my seam allowance of 6/8").

3. Trim your seam allowance down (I trimmed mine by about 1/8"leaving 2/8") and press your seams open.

4. Turn your garment inside out and press your seam flat. Pin in place and sew again at the remaining 3/8".

5. You now have a lovely, perfectly enclosed 3/8" seam.

You don't have to use my measurements for your French Seam though. For example, I cut the standard 5/8" seam allowance for my sleeve seam. I made my first seam 1/8" and then my second seam 4/8", ending up with a larger 4/8" finished seam.

Choosing how much to add to your seam allowance (if any) really depends on how much of a finished seam you want left at the end!

I hope this was helpful, please let me know if you have any questions in the comments...

xx
Jen

The Classic Airelle...

Yay, I've finished my first version of the beautiful Airelle Blouse from Deer&Doe - my first time using one of Eleanor's patterns. My sister gave me this pattern for my birthday (along with the Belladone dress which I'm half way through!) and it's really such a lovely pattern to work with.

I actually finished the blouse about 2 weeks ago and I finally managed to get some photos of it yesterday (and in the rain as well no less)...

As soon as I saw this pattern I knew that I needed to make it. It's such a sweet little blouse with endless options for variation. I knew straight away how I wanted to make my first one as well - a classic combination of black and white. A blouse that would work in the cooler months as well as transition nicely into the summer.

I found a beautiful, light textured cotton voile for the body of the blouse. As I really didn't want to use a plain white cotton, nor did I want anything too pretty, this fabric fit the bill. It has a lovely fine stripe throughout the weave which adds some interest, while not being too overwhelming.

I chose a black polished cotton for the collar, cuffs and inseam piping. The polished cotton makes the finished blouse a little more fancy than a plain matt cotton would, while also adding to the subtle texture of the voile.

I ended up shortening the sleeves a touch so that they sat just above my elbow as opposed to below. This meant I also needed to add a little more room into the cuffs because the sleeve was now sitting on a wider section of my arm. I also graded to a larger pattern in the hips, but after finishing the blouse, I realised that I really didn't need to. It doesn't bother me too much though because I'll probably wear this blouse tucked in anyway.

I also omitted the interfacing in the collar because I thought the neckline would look too bulky and not sit as nicely and I'm glad I did. Even as it is, the neckline is a tad bulky where the collar pieces meet up in the centre.

Finally, because the voile is slightly sheer (and a little prone to fraying), I finished off the waist and arm sleeve seams using french seams to give the inside a clean finish.

 

Oooh, what a deliciously lovely pattern! Seriously guys, you need to get this pattern toot sweet if you don't already have it. It's the perfect beginners pattern, but as there is so much scope for adding your own touch, intermediate and advanced sewers won't be disappointed either.

Do any of you have this pattern? Have you made it yet?

xx
Jen

PS) I'll have a tutorial on making and inserting inseam piping at the end of the week for those who are interested and another on French seams after that :)