{"title":"How to Sew a French Seam","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/sewing/how-to-sew-a-french-seam","category":{"slug":"sewing","name":"Sewing"},"creator":{"name":"Made to Sew","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGyRmKb_SCqVcSqzYhiD2lw","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhogUaCBJOE"},"tldr":"Sew a French seam on any machine. Wrong sides first, trim to 1/8 inch, then a 1/4 inch second seam that hides every raw edge.","quickAnswer":"Sew a French seam on any machine. Wrong sides first, trim to 1/8 inch, then a 1/4 inch second seam that hides every raw edge. An easy project: about 20 minutes. You need 9 things, including all-purpose thread to match, sewing machine and iron and ironing board. The 10 steps start with place the Fabric Wrong Sides Together for a French Seam and pin the French Seam Edges With Pin Heads Facing You.","totalDurationSeconds":471,"videoDurationSeconds":471,"difficulty":"easy","project":{"difficulty":"easy","projectMinutes":20,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":20,"estimatedCost":null,"yield":null},"tools":["sewing machine","iron and ironing board","small sharp scissors","straight pins","pin caddy","pressing ham","pressing cloth"],"materials":["lightweight fabric such as cotton, voile or silk","all-purpose thread to match"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Place the Fabric Wrong Sides Together for a French Seam","text":"This is the most important part, so go slow. With a normal seam you put the right sides of the fabric together. A French seam does the opposite. Lay your two pieces with the wrong sides touching and the right sides facing out. Line up the raw edges along the seam you plan to sew and smooth the layers flat with your hands."},{"number":2,"title":"Pin the French Seam Edges With Pin Heads Facing You","text":"Pin along the matched edges. Ana places her pins in line with the seam, with the heads facing toward her, so they slide out easily as she sews. On a garment she pins and sews from the hem up. That keeps the hem edges lined up even if the layers creep a little toward the top. Keep a magnetic pin caddy close."},{"number":3,"title":"Sew the First French Seam 3/8 Inch From the Raw Edge","text":"Take the fabric to the machine. Sew a straight stitch, 2.5 mm long, 3/8 inch (1 cm) from the raw edge. Line the edge up with the 3/8 marking on your throat plate. Backstitch at both ends as usual and pull the pins out as you reach them. Ana uses a contrast thread so you can see the stitching. Use a matching thread on a real project."},{"number":4,"title":"Press the First Seam Flat, Then Press It Open","text":"Press the seam flat the way you sewed it. That sets the stitches into the fabric and takes out small puckers. Then open the fabric with the right side facing up and press the seam allowances open. Test your fabric with the iron heat and steam first. Use a pressing cloth if the fabric is delicate or marks easily."},{"number":5,"title":"Trim the French Seam Allowances Down to 1/8 Inch","text":"Pick up a small pair of sharp scissors. Trim both seam allowances down to 1/8 inch (3 mm). Cut only the allowance, never the main fabric. They have to be this narrow because the second seam is only 1/4 inch wide. Anything wider gets caught and pokes through to the right side as little whiskers of thread."},{"number":6,"title":"Fold the Fabric Right Sides Together and Roll the Seam to the Edge","text":"Now fold the fabric the other way, with the right sides together and the wrong side facing up. The trimmed edges are now trapped inside the fold. Roll the fold between your fingers until the first line of stitching sits right on the edge. This matters for a neat finish. Work along the whole seam a few inches at a time."},{"number":7,"title":"Press the Folded French Seam Edge Flat","text":"Press along the fold as you go, keeping the first seam right on the edge. Work your way down the length of the seam with the iron. A good press holds the layers in place well enough that you may not need pins for the next seam. On slippery fabric like silk, add pins from the hem up with the heads facing you."},{"number":8,"title":"Sew the Second French Seam 1/4 Inch From the Fold","text":"Back to the machine. Sew a standard straight stitch 1/4 inch (5 mm) from the pressed fold. This second seam encloses the trimmed raw edges completely. Backstitch or lock the stitch at both ends, or tie the threads off on flimsy silk. Keep the distance even all the way along so nothing peeks out."},{"number":9,"title":"Press the Enclosed French Seam Allowance to One Side","text":"Trim the thread tails and press the seam flat as sewn. Then open the fabric with the wrong side up. You now have one narrow seam allowance, so it cannot be pressed open. Press it to one side, toward the back of the garment. Look at that inside. Every raw edge is gone."},{"number":10,"title":"Check the Finished French Seam From the Right Side","text":"Turn the fabric over and look at the right side. It should look like a plain, crisp seam. Press from the front too if it needs it, checking your fabric first. Stray threads poking through mean the trim was not close enough. Unpick a short stretch, trim tighter and sew it again."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-10-31T13:38:49.311Z","published":"2026-10-31T13:38:49.038Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}