Making A Flat Felled Seam

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  Step 1

  Trim the regular 5/8˝ seam allowance of the fabric layer that will be under the top- stitched seam down by a width equal to the fold area of your felling/lap foot. This will vary depending on your sewing machine foot. The foot I used to make the samples (at right) has a 3/8˝ fold area, so that’s the amount I trimmed from the top layer.

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  Step 2

  Set up the seam. Working with wrong sides together, lay the trimmed layer on top of the bottom layer, offset a bit to the left by the same amount you trimmed off, in this case that 3/8˝. The extra fabric of the lower layer is going to be turned by the felling/lap foot and topstitched down.

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  Step 3

  Start stitching the first pass of the seam, feeding the edge of the lower layer into the foot. The foot will just fold over that extra fabric just once and will be easy to handle; just hold the fabric up a bit so it feeds naturally. Adjust the needle position to the left, if necessary, to make sure the line of stitching lands near the left cut edge. Some sewists go to the trouble of pressing the edge of the lower layer under first, but I don’t. I actually find a pressed edge can interfere with the feed of the fabric into the foot. I trust the foot (you will, once you get the hang of it) to do an excellent job of fold- ing the fabric over on its own.

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  Step 4

  Open up the seam and press it flat from the wrong side. Return to the machine and sew the second line of stitches, this time feeding the already folding edge through the foot, which will be even easier. Done. Now isn’t that slick?

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greg a. 4th October 2018

Oh yes, that is slick. Thank you, from a beginner. I'll be back to share.
gralan
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