OVERLOCK OR FRENCH SEAMS
How do you finish your seams?
Recently, I've seen a lot of judgement on social media about seam finishes. It seems that many sewers find that overlocked seams are of a lower quality than a French Seam, and therefore a lot of negativity has arisen.
Seam finishes are chosen for their technicalities, and not for judgement! French seams are chosen for delicate fabrics when the fabric is fine and frays a lot. A French Seam would encase the edging nicely and prevent the raw edges from catching onto anything that would cause it to fray further. And generally speaking, because the raw edge is concealed, it therefore looks neater.
Overlocking a is a great way to finish a seam where the fabric doesn't fray as much as a chiffon-like fabric. It's a lot quicker than sewing a French Seam, and does its job well.
When we choose to make our garments for ourselves, for many of us, we choose to do so because we need to tailor our clothes to fit us. The speed of finishing a seam with an overlocker greatly helps in this situation when you are desperately trying to sew a garment to wear because you don't have the privilege of buying something that fits you off the rack.
From a sustainable angle, I always choose to overlock the fabric edges individually as it allows for easy access to undo seams when my body changes shape. Imagine having to spend precious time unpicking bound seams to adjust your garment!
We all choose sewing methods for individual reasons and you shouldn't feel judged or frowned upon for using one seam or the other. All seams are great if they do their job of preventing fraying and further damage. So keep sewing with the seam finishes that work for you and your garment.
If you see anyone being negative on someone else's work, gently remind them that sewing is a skill, and everyone has their reasons. The sewing community is about supporting one another.
Stay kind, and sew mindful!
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