Hong Kong seams are a thing of beauty–a little extra work but a secret delight!  So even though I didn’t use them in this plaid top, I’m including them with all the seam lessons in this series of technique posts.  I did use them on both my Simplicity S8883  top, full blogpost here, and the Brumby Skirt.   I also used this finish on a jacket I made for my daughter-in-law some years ago that I swear I wish she could wear inside out LOL!

That lime green on the shoulder and princess seams is a Hong Kong finish.

And the Brumby Skirt from Megan Nielsen, inside out! Same lime green (I bought several yards of it, a cotton lawn) for Hong Kong finishes. Such a pretty Pop!

Please note:  I am affiliated with Janome as a Janome Artisan and am compensated.  However, my reviews are honest and I would say what I say whether affiliated or not.  I’ve also chosen to be affiliated with Janome since 2003 (!!!) because their machines are so good and they are so responsive to the interests and needs of their customers.

And here is one of my all time favorite in my life insides of a garment, the jacket for Ashley:

Top left:  front.  Bottom left, back.  Right side:  all those beautifully finished seams.  I had gone looking for a lightweight fabric and found the print and thought Oh YES!  This is a heavily modified pattern…changed it from hip length single breasted to double breasted jacket, Peter Pan collar changed to roll collar, added vents at the bottom rear, a box pleat for movement / ease in the center back…you get the picture.

But aren’t these seams pretty?????   So here is how you do it.  This process is VERY similar to putting a binding on a quilt for those of you who know how to do that, except that the back side–the one between the seam allowance and the body of the garment, is a raw edge and is not turned under.  This minimizes bulk. Because it is cut on the bias it doesn’t pose a fraying problem!

1. 1. We will assume a 5/8″ seam allowance.

    2. To cover 1/4″ on the side of the seam allowance that you see, you will cut a strip on the bias that is about 1″ wide.

    3.  Choose a very lightweight fabric that is not bulky.  Cotton lawn is an excellent choice — it is significantly lighter in weight than quilting cottons, handles well, and is soft against the skin.  You can choose to match colors or, as I did, pick something zingy and pretty! You could also use a super soft jersey knit, and decades ago they used to sell nylon tricot (ick!  felt like plastic) in strips for just this purpose. For garments that won’t be laundered you could also use a fine silk. ***Be sure to pre-shrink / pre-wash any fabric just as you did with your main garment fabric.  You don’t want it to shrink after you’ve completed the garment and have it distort things.

4. Sew the bias to the seam allowance with a 1/4″ seam allowance.  Be careful not to stretch the bias strip.  Trim the ends even with the end of the seam.  If part of the seam will be covered by a hem, and therefore enclosed, you only need to extend the finish to the point where the bottom 1/4 – 1/2 inch will be covered.

5. Press the bias away from the seam.

6. Gently fold the bias around the seam allowance so it snugs up against the raw edge.  Pin or glue-stick in place.

7. Stitch in the ditch with a thread to match the fashion fabric to secure the finish.  If you have cut your strips at 1″, about a scant 1/4″ will extend from the ditch-stitching towards the seam.  You can leave it or trim it down to 1/8″.

8. Press, and stand back and enjoy the beauty.

The first lesson / project for Garment Maker’s Question Time is a shift dress (with or without a waistline seam), something that I would Never, EVER wear.  And I already knew how to do an invisible zipper.  So I bought a pattern for a fitted dress with a waist seam, center back zip and very short sleeves.  I did the muslin / toile (the fitting garment where you figure out your needed alterations) as a dress, then totally hacked the dress into a square (not rounded) neck, longer sleeves, moved the waistline up to empire height, eliminated the center back seam since I could get into the top without a zip because of my modifications, and converted gathers into pleats.  I LOVE this linen (from Fabrics-Store.com linens, I used the IL-19 Softened in Beet) and found the perfect Kaffe Fassett shot cotton plaid (heavier than lawn but lighter than quilting cotton) to be the Hong Kong Finishes.  I like it so much I may use the leftover linen and find some more of the plaid and make a tank with the plaid visible!

Here’s a collage of the construction process.  Apparently I posted about this on social media (circa February 2021) but never did blog about it! oooops.  I am sure I also put it in my newsletter–if you’d like to receive the monthly newsletter, sign up at the bottom of every page or in the right sidebar on my blog!

Here’s another collage that shows the Brumby skirt (I SO want to make one in denim like the pattern, but at a length suitable to my age and legs!), the inside and the pattern cover.  AND, just this week I bought the denim–100 percent cotton denim no less.  Now, to finish Eli’s quilt so I can get some garment making done!

Last but not least, here’s the right side of the Simplicity S8883 top.  You can’t see that it has princess seams–this is one of the patterns that actually has cup sizes built into the pattern—wonderful!  It is made from a Rifle Paper Co. print (a quilting cotton) and I just love wearing it!

Simplicity pattern S8883    

So that’s a wrap up and samples of Hong Kong finish.  I think I will do my denim Brumby with this finish…stay tuned!

Here are the links to all the posts in this series of lessons, techniques that can be applied to virtually any garment and many home dec projects.   Let me know what you’d like to learn and see here on the blog.  Cheers and thanks, Sarah

Lesson 1:   Choosing a Pattern and Starting Tips

Lesson 2:   Making a Muslin, Fitting and Sleeves

Lesson 3:   Matching Plaids, Cutting out Your Garment Pieces

Lesson 4:  Overcast Seams, just like Serged Seams

Lesson 5:   French Seams

Lesson 6:  Lapped and Flat-felled Seams

Lesson 7:  Hong Kong Finish for Seams

Lesson 8:  Lined Patch Pocket Tutorial

Lesson 9:  Hems and Scarf

Lapped and flat-felled seams are two sides of the same coin.  Both are found in ready to wear–the lapped seams I see most often in men’s dress shirts.  Flat-felled seams are found on jeans…they’re that heavy, bulky seam!  The double stitching makes it strong, so it is good for seams that endure strain–like tight jeans!  They can also be used decoratively with contrasting and/or heavy topstitching thread. Let’s start with the ….

Please note:  I am affiliated with Janome as a Janome Artisan and am compensated.  However, my reviews are honest and I would say what I say whether affiliated or not.  I’ve also chosen to be affiliated with Janome since 2003 (!!!) because their machines are so good and they are so responsive to the interests and needs of their customers.

Lapped Seam

The first step is to sew fabric at the designated seam allowance, right sides together, above.

You might wonder why you  need a special foot to do this–you could turn under the seam allowance and, if you are a meticulous person (I am decidedly NO, not matter how hard I try), could sew this neatly.  Well, here’s why:

This is what the seam looks like on the outside when finished:

Next up is the Flat-felled Seam which is sewn on the OUTSIDE of the garment.  Both the seam thread and the topstitching thread will show.

The process is much the same, but you start with the fabric wrong sides together instead of the usual way.

It may help to compare the finished seams:

On the Plaid top, I used a flat-felled seam on both the shoulders and side seams, though with the fluff on the flannel and match of the thread, it’s mighty hard to see that in the photo!  Honestly, it blends so well with the matching on the plaid, I had to feel for the bump of the turned seam allowance.  It’s on the outside, which is how I knew.  Gotta say, that’s pretty fine plaid matching to disguise it that well! And sorry about the cat hair…. I swear I will carry it with me to the great beyond some day!

Here are the links to all the posts in this series of lessons, techniques that can be applied to virtually any garment and many home dec projects.   Let me know what you’d like to learn and see here on the blog.  Cheers and thanks, Sarah

Lesson 1:   Choosing a Pattern and Starting Tips

Lesson 2:   Making a Muslin, Fitting and Sleeves

Lesson 3:   Matching Plaids, Cutting out Your Garment Pieces

Lesson 4:  Overcast Seams, just like Serged Seams

Lesson 5:   French Seams

Lesson 6:  Lapped and Flat-felled Seams

Lesson 7:  Hong Kong Finish for Seams

Lesson 8:  Lined Patch Pocket Tutorial

Lesson 9:  Hems and Scarf

Please note:  I am affiliated with Janome as a Janome Artisan and am compensated.  However, my reviews are honest and I would say what I say whether affiliated or not.  I’ve also chosen to be affiliated with Janome since 2003 (!!!) because their machines are so good and they are so responsive to the interests and needs of their customers.

To make a French seam you sew the seam twice.  My example is on a 5/8″ seam which is standard in the US.  Please adjust accordingly for your pattern and practice.

First, sew the seam with the fabric WRONG sides together at 3/8″ wide.  Yes, wrong sides together.

Second, press the seam as stitched.  This will set the seam and sink the threads into the fabric.  Then, open up the garment and press the seam open. This will encourage the fabric to fold perfectly on the seamline and create a crisp “knife-edge”  (this pressing technique is ideal for making knife-edge pillows).  See  the illustrative photos just below and, beneath them, photos at the machine.

Third, trim the seam allowance to 3/16 to 1/8″ and fold on the seamline so that right sides are together.  Be sure to trim any pesky whiskers and threads–they’re obnoxious to try to trim later.  If you are using a particularly ravelly fabric, a little starch or temporary (washable) gluestick daubed on carefully to keep the wanderers tucked inside is a good idea.

Finally, sew the second seam 1/4″ from the folded edge and give it a final press to neaten things up.

Here I’m using the F clear foot. I can move my needle to the right to achieve a perfect 1/4″ from the edge when the right side of the presser foot is even with the folded seamline. You could also use the quarter-inch piecing foot, but for some reason I get my best results this way. Use what works best for you!

On this sample I deliberately did NOT press the seam open all the way.  Look how nicely the part at the right, under the foot to about halfway), makes a perfect “knife-edge” fold, and how the part of the seam that was not pressed open wants to curl and roll.  It’s worth the short extra bit of time to press your seams open!  Makes like at this stage easier and the end-result nicer!

Raw edges are fully enclosed. There are no “thread whiskers” poking out of the finished seam!

Because of the luscious thickness of the flannel, I didn’t use this technique on this top.  But I DID use it on my Anthea Linen BlouseAnthea Blouse in Sky Blue Linen which I blogged about here.  This is a picture of the side seams on 5.3 oz (middle weight) linen in that blouse.

The Anthea Blouse from Anna Allen.

USAGE:  This seam works best on lighter weight fabrics from chiffon to lawn to quilting-weight cottons and sheeting, and light to some mid-weight linens.  It makes a beautiful finish on pillowcases, summer blouses, shirts and dresses, and sheers.

In a garment, the French seam isn’t suitable to really thick or stiff fabrics UNLESS you want to make a point of the bulk.  I have actually used this “inside out” on throw pillows:  Sew wrong sides together, trim, turn, and sew the second seam about 1/2″ away.  This creates a stiff outside edge that adds structure to the pillow and acts like cording!

Next up:  Lapped seams!

Here are the links to all the posts in this series of lessons, techniques that can be applied to virtually any garment and many home dec projects.   Let me know what you’d like to learn and see here on the blog.  Cheers and thanks, Sarah

Lesson 1:   Choosing a Pattern and Starting Tips

Lesson 2:   Making a Muslin, Fitting and Sleeves

Lesson 3:   Matching Plaids, Cutting out Your Garment Pieces

Lesson 4:  Overcast Seams, just like Serged Seams

Lesson 5:   French Seams

Lesson 6:  Lapped and Flat-felled Seams

Lesson 7:  Hong Kong Finish for Seams

Lesson 8:  Lined Patch Pocket Tutorial

Lesson 9:  Hems and Scarf