My new favorite way to finish seams

I’ve been sewing more garments since I had Angela and finishing seams is always a challenge. I don’t have a serger to bind off the edges and keep the fabric from fraying. But to be honest, even though serging is the fastest way to finish a seam, I don’t really like the look of serged seams. That’s the way pretty much every cheap store-bought garment is finished, and I prefer a more polished look.

I’ve been experimenting with French seams, seam binding and I even tried a Hong Kong finish. But I have just discovered what I think is my favorite seam finish, covering the raw edge with single fold bias tape.

I discovered the new method while making a sun hat for Angela. The pattern called for sewing a ribbon over the raw edges that connect the brim to the hat. I didn’t have a ribbon that was wide enough, but I did have single fold bias tape left over from another project.

The single fold bias tape is folded in thirds. I lined one fold up with the seam line and sewed along the fold through the seam line.

The I folded the single fold bias tape up to cover the raw edges of the seam line. Then I used a whip stitch to secure the folded edge to the lining of the hat.

Then the raw edges are completely covered so they won’t fray with wear and washing. Plus it looks a lot better than serged edges. This is going to be my go-to seam finish from now on.