What is a Seam Finish?

A seam finish is a treatment that secures and neatens the raw edges of a plain seam to prevent raveling, by sewing over the raw edges or enclosing them in some sort of binding. Some type of seam finish is required on any seam that you sew with a woven fabric. If you don't finish your seam allowances, eventually with washing and wearing, the threads of the fabric will begin to fall out until eventually your seam will break.

In mass-produced clothing, the seam allowances of plain seams are usually trimmed and stitched together with an overlock stitch using a serger.

Since most beginners do not have a serger or overlock machine, they will need to consider other options that are available using a standard home sewing machine.

Watch this video to see several options for seam finish that can be created on a regular sewing machine:

Pinked Seam and Clean Finish

Pinked seam . Clean Finish

Zig Zag Separately or Together

The zig zag stitch on your machine can be used to simulate the overedge stitch of a serger. We can use zig zag to finish our seam allowances separately or together.

Zig Zag separately . Zig Zag together

Click NEXT to move on to Seam Finish Activity