stormy weather...and a tutorial

People, I am so tired today. We had an incredible storm last night that woke me, terrified, at about 4 a.m. Hubs told me today that winds reached 65 mph (in nearby Rochester they had gusts of 74 mph), and our bedroom is on the outside wall with the wind blowing directly at that side of the house. It was either raining or hailing or both, and I was quite literally afraid something was going to happen to the house. I ran to check on Daughter, my heart pounding, and found her to be sound asleep. But I was good and wide awake by then. Thunder and lightning continued for some time, and I was too tense to get back to sleep. I finally did, but it was a lousy night. Hubs had much the same experience, so I don't think we said more than 10 words to each other this morning. Mostly grunts. Sooooo tired. I haven't been outside to check the yard yet as the wind is still howling. Plus it's cold again...no more 60 degree days. Boo.

But I have a little something for you.

Nothing is in a very good state to be photographed and blogged, so I'll do a quick mock french seam tutorial, ok? Maybe it will help someone with their sewing. Here's how it's done.


First, press the seam open as usual. I am showing a sleeve here, obviously, and I am using a sleeve press inside. It's a great tool and I highly recommend it if you sew a lot of garments.


Next, fold both halves of the seam allowance toward the center and press. These are 5/8" seam allowances, and my sewing books say to trim them down first, but I don't bother. It's easier to do it with a bit more fabric and you have less chance of scorching your fingers.


Fold both sides toward the middle and pin.


Stitch down the middle, removing pins as you sew. You'll be stitching parallel to the original seam. This process will catch the raw edges inside and make a nice finished edge.


Here's the finished seam. The original sleeve seam is the top line of stitching, and the mock french seam is the bottom line of stitching. Now this can be pressed to one side and you proceed with the garment's construction as usual.

It's a nice method and looks a bit neater than a serged seam if anyone catches a glimpse of the inside (though I still definitely use my serger a lot).