Sewing/Seams

The Longstitch: The first thing to be learnt, after the washing and pressing of fabric, is the basic hand-wrought longstitch. This is a simple, fairly easy, and very strong stitch that is used primarily for seams. Its form is basically a series of loops of thread through two or more layers of fabric, each overlapping the previous by half its length.

To learn to sew a neat, straight, longstitch, procure some cheap cotton or other natural-fibre fabric, some thread of the same stuff, and a medium sharp needle.

Seams are a way of joining bits of fabric together with stitches. There are a variety of seams they have different uses.

Plain

A plain seam is the simplest method.

To create a plain seam lay the pieces of fabric with their right sides facing each other At the edge you want to join sew a line of stitches through both pieces of fabric.

Flat-fell

Encloses the raw edges to prevent fraying.

Start off with a plain seam. Cut one of the seam allowances shorter. Tuck the longer allowance under the shorter on and stitch through all layers to hold in place.

The seam may be secured with either a whipstitch or a running stitch.