In sewing, a seam is the join where two or more layers of

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

, or other materials are held together with stitches. Prior to the invention of the

sewing machine Diagram of a modern sewing machine Animation of a modern sewing machine as it stitches A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolutio ...

, all sewing was done by hand. Seams in modern mass-produced household textiles, sporting goods, and

ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à-porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a partic ...

clothing are sewn by

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

ized machines, while home

shoemaking Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

dressmaking A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notable dr ...

quilting Quilting is the process of joining a minimum of three layers of textile, fabric together either through stitching manually using a Sewing needle, needle and yarn, thread, or mechanically with a sewing machine or specialised longarm quilting ...

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

haute couture (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design. The term ''haute couture'' generally refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the ...

and

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

ing may use a combination of hand and machine sewing.Schaeffer (2001), p. 35 In

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

construction, seams are classified by their ''type'' (plain, lapped, abutted, or French seams) and ''position'' in the finished garment (center back seam, inseam, side seam). Seams are ''finished'' with a variety of techniques to prevent raveling of raw fabric edges and to neaten the inside of garments. The most common standard for seams is

ASTM International ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is a standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical international standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems and s ...

ASTM D6193-16(2020) This standard also covers various types of stitches

Types

All basics seams used in clothing construction are variants on four basic types of seams: * Plain seams * French seams * Flat or abutted seams * Flat Felled or Faux Flat Felled A plain seam is the most common type of machine-sewn seam. It joins two pieces of fabric together face-to-face by sewing through both pieces, leaving a

seam allowance Seam allowance (sometimes called inlays) is the area between the fabric edge and the stitching line on two (or more) pieces of material being sewn Sewing is the craft of fastening pieces of textiles together using a sewing needle and thre ...

with raw edges inside the work. The seam allowance usually requires some sort of seam finish, usually an overlock in ready to wear or bias tape in couture sewing, to prevent raveling.Picken (1957), p. 288 Either

piping Within industry, piping is a system of pipes used to convey fluids (liquids and gases) from one location to another. The engineering discipline of piping design studies the efficient transport of fluid. Industrial process piping (and accomp ...

or cording may be inserted into a plain seam. In a French seam, the raw edges of the fabric are fully enclosed for a neat finish. The seam is first sewn with wrong sides together at seam allowance, then the seam allowances are trimmed to and pressed. The project is then flipped over, and a second seam is sewn with -inch seam allowance with right sides together, enclosing the raw edges of the original seam.Picken (1957), p. 287 In a flat or abutted seam, two pieces of fabric are joined edge-to edge with no overlap and sewn with hand or machine stitching that encloses the raw edges. Antique or old German seam is the 19th century name for a hand-sewn flat seam that joins two pieces of fabric at their

selvage A selvage (US English) or selvedge (British English) is a "self-finished" edge of a piece of fabric which keeps it from unraveling and fraying. The term "self-finished" means that the edge does not require additional finishing work, such as hem ...

s. This type of construction is found in traditional linen garments such as

shirt A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist). Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. ...

s and

chemise A chemise or shift is a classic smock type of women's undergarment or dress. Historically, a chemise was a simple garment worn next to the skin to protect clothing from sweat and body oils, the precursor to the modern shirts commonly worn in W ...

s, and in hand-made sheets pieced from narrow

loom A loom is a device used to weaving, weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the Warp (weaving), warp threads under tension (mechanics), tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of ...

widths of linen.Dillmont (1884), Chapter 1 In a faux flat felled seam, two pieces of fabric are sewn with wrong sides together, usually at . One side of the seam allowance is trimmed to , followed by folding the -inch side in half and pressing down, then edge stitching. These seams have historically been used in shirts for men. A true flat felled seam is produced on a double needle flat felled machine, and they are most often used for the inseam, yoke, and crotch seam of jeans. File:Parts of a plain seam.png, Plain seam File:French seam.png, French seam File:Ancient or german seam.png, Ancient or Old German flat seam File:Sewn seam (PSF).png, Lapped seam

Finishes

A seam finish is a treatment that secures and neatens the raw edges of a plain seam to prevent raveling,''Reader's Digest ''(1976), p. 148 by sewing over the raw edges or enclosing them in some sort of binding. On mass-produced clothing, the seam allowances of plain seams are usually finished with an

overlock stitch An overlock is a kind of Stitch (textile arts), stitch that sewing, sews over the edge of one or two pieces of cloth for edging, hemming, or Seam (sewing), seaming. Usually an overlock sewing machine will cut the edges of the cloth as they are ...

using a

serger An overlock is a kind of stitch that sews over the edge of one or two pieces of cloth for edging, hemming, or seaming. Usually an overlock sewing machine will cut the edges of the cloth as they are fed through (such machines being called ser ...

, which trims the seam allowance as it stitches. Plain seams may also be pressed open, with each seam allowance separately secured with an overlock stitch. Traditional home sewing techniques for finishing plain seams include trimming with

pinking shears Pinking shears are scissors with saw-toothed blades instead of straight blades. They produce a zigzag pattern instead of a straight edge. Before pinking scissors were invented, a pinking punch or pinking iron was used to punch out a decorative ...

, oversewing with a

zig-zag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...

stitch, and hand or machine overcasting. A bound seam has each of the raw edges of its seam allowances enclosed in a strip of fabric, lace or net 'binding' that has been folded in half lengthwise. An example of binding is double-fold

bias tape image:lavender 0.25 inch double-fold bias tape.jpg, left, An example of double-fold bias tape Bias tape or bias binding is a narrow strip of fabric, typically plain weave, cut on the bias (textile), bias. As the weaving, weave of fabric is at ...

. The binding's fold is wrapped around the raw edge of the seam allowance and is stitched, through all layers, catching underside of the binding in stitching. Bound seams are often used on lightweight fabrics including

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

and chiffon and on unlined garments to produce a neat finish. A Hong Kong seam or Hong Kong finish is a home sewing term for a type of bound seam in which each raw edge of the seam allowance is separately encased in a fabric binding. In

couture Couture may refer to: People * Couture (surname) Places Belgium * Couture-Saint-Germain, a village in the municipality of Lasne, Belgium Canada * Couture crater and Lac Couture, an impact crater and the lake that covers it in Quebec, Canada ...

sewing or

ing, the binding is usually a

bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is inaccurate, closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individ ...

-cut strip of lightweight

lining Lining may refer to: * Lining (sewing), the process of inserting an inner layer of fabric, fur, or other material * Lining of paintings, the process of restoration paintings by attaching a new canvas to the back of the existing one * Brake lin ...

fabric; in home sewing, commercial

is often used. In a Hong Kong finish, a bias strip of fabric is cut to the width of the seam allowance plus . The bias strip is placed on top of the seam allowance, right sides together, and stitched from raw edges. The bias strip is then folded over the raw edge and around to the underside and stitched in place. File:Bound seam1.png, Bound seam – The binding is wrapped around each raw edge and sewn in place with one line of stitching. File:Hong Kong finish.png, Hong Kong finish

Position

In clothing construction, seams are identified by their position in the finished garment. A center front seam runs vertically down the front of a garment. A center back seam or back seam runs vertically down the center-back of a garment. It can be used to create anatomical shaping to the back portion of a garment particularly through the waist area and hips. It can also be used for styling and functional purposes involving

pleat A pleat (plait in older English) is a type of fold formed by doubling textile, fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. It is commonly used in clothing and upholstery to gather a wide piece of fabric to a narrower circumference. Pleat ...

s, vents, flare toward the hem or for back closures such as buttoned

placket A placket (also spelled placquet) is a finished opening in the upper part of trousers or skirts, or at the neck, front, or sleeve of a garment. The finish frequently consists of a fold of fabric that is attached to the opening in order for the f ...

s or

zipper A zipper (N. America), zip, zip fastener (UK), formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of textile, fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and oth ...

s. A side seam runs vertically down the side of a garment. A side-back seam runs from the

armscye In sewing, the armscye is the armhole, the fabric edge to which the sleeve is sewn. The length of the armscye is the total length of this edge; the width is the distance across the hole at the widest point. Etymology Multiple theories for the ...

to the waist, and fits the garment to the curve below the shoulder blades. Side-back seams may be used instead of, or in combination with, side and center back seams. A shoulder seam runs from the neckline to the armscye, usually at the highest point of the shoulder. A shoulder seam which extends beyond the shoulder point is called a drop shoulder.

Princess seams Princess seams are long curved seams sewn into women's blouses or shirts to add shaping or a tailored fit to closely follow a woman's shape. They are a dart variation that is sewn into the front or back of a shirt that extends from the waist up t ...

in the front or back run from the shoulder or armscye to the hem at the side-back or side-front. Princess seams shape the garment to the body's curves and eliminate the need for darting at the bust, waist, and shoulder. An inseam is the seam from the bottom crotch to the lower ankle that binds the length of the inner

trouser Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants ( American, Canadian and Australian English) are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending ...

leg. The inseam length determines the length of the inner pant leg. In the UK this is usually known as the inside-leg measurement (for trousers fit).

Notching or clipping a curved seam

When making an outward-curved seam, the material will have reduced bulk and lie flat if notches are cut into the seam allowance. Alternatively, when making an inward-curved seam, clips are cut into the seam allowance to help the seam lie flat with reduced bulk in the fabric. Once seam allowances are pinned or basted, they are often pressed flat with an iron before sewing the final seam. Pressing the seam allowances makes it easier to sew a consistent finished seam. File:Inward curving seams clipped.jpg, Clipping done along the seam allowance of an inward-curving seam File:Notches outward curved seam.jpg, Notches cut into the seam allowance of an outward-curved seam File:Pressing seams flat.jpg, Pressing seam allowances flat with an iron before making final seams – Seams may be basted, tacked or pinned in place before final stitching is done.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * Ward, Wendy (2014). ''The Beginners Guide to Dressmaking: Sewing techniques and patterns to make your own clothes.'' David & Charles.

External links

{{Authority control Seams Sewing Needlework de:Nähen#Nahtarten