Ragged Edges:

Everthing you did (or didn't) want to know about seam finishing in the 19th century...

The nineteenth century was a time of innovation in terms of clothing construction. At the beginning of the century there was the innovation of the dart, making fitted clothing much easier to construct. A wider range of fabrics was available than ever before: linen, wool, cotton, silk and several types of blends no longer readily available to the modern consumer, such as bombazine and linsey woolsey. In the middle of the century, the most important innovation was the invention of the sewing machine, providing for mass production of items such as men's shirts and drastically cutting down the time it took to produce a new garment.

Although the sewing machine of the Civil War era was able to sew only straight lines, a greater variety of attachments was available than today, such as the one used to help in piping. There was no zig zag stitch or serging available, so other methods were used, if the seam was finished at all.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, in the Regency era, it was common to leave seems unfinished. Many of the weaves used at the time were sturdy enough that the unfinished seam would not fray. As the clothing of this period was made completely by hand, leaving the seams unfinished meant less work for the seamstress. When a seam required finishing, the most common technique was the French seam.

THE FRENCH SEAM:

The French seam is one of the easiest methods of seam finishing and is one I highly recommend to those modern sewers who do not posess a serger. The finished product is very neat and the time added very small. It basically involves sewing the seam twice.

First, place the two pieces wrong sides together, right sides facing out. Sew the seam. Trim the seam as close to the garment as you can without cutting the seam. Turn garmet inside out, with wrong sides facing out. Press seam. Sew seam again, enclosing first trimmed seam in a little packet.

Later, in the Civil War era, other techniques became common.

THE FAUX FRENCH SEAM: This one is a little tricky. I would suggest just doing the French seam first. However, this is a good one to keep in mind if you meant to do a French seam and forgot and just can't be bothered to do the seam over.

First, sew the garment seam with the pieces facing right sides together. Turn the seam edges to the inside so that the two seam edges are touching the line of the seam. (You may need to use pins to get them to stay.) Press. Run another seam parallel to the first, closing the seam edges in a packet.

THE DOUBLE SEAM:

The double seam is simply a way to reinforce the seam. First, sew the the garment seam, right sides together. Then run the seam again, so that the seams form two parallel lines. This will create a strong seam and, if you trim the edge closely without cutting the seam, it will not fray.

THE WHIP-STITCHED SEAM:

This was often used by hand sewers of the period. It is similar to the faux-French seam. The garmet seam is stitched, right sides together. Turn the seam edges to the inside so that the two seam edges are touching the line of the seam. (You may need to use pins to get them to stay.) Press. Now take a needle and thread and by hand whip stitch the folds together using neat and even stitches (easier said than done when you are used to sewing by machine).

THE FLAT-FELLED SEAM:

I don't use this one very often, though it is very correct for the Civil War era. For some reason it gets on my nerves. It was commonly used on underpinnings, but could also be found on outwear. It creates a very strong seam, so is a good choice for clothes that will see a lot of wear and tear.

First, sew the garment, wrong sides together like with the French seam. Press the seam to one side. Trim the seam edge on the bottom close to the seam line without crossing the seam. Turn under the edge of the seam edge on top and press over the smaller seam edge on the bottom. Stitch a seam close to the folded edge. This will show through on right side, as in a pair of jeans. For a really bulky seam, it may be necessary to slip stitch this second seam instead.