I worked on Cabo a bit last night, up until Project Runway came on TV, at which time I sat down on the couch and promptly fell asleep. Oops! Thank goodness for the DVR.

As I was sewing Cabo, I realized the instructions called for finishing the seams with a zig-zag stitch - after I had sewn the seams, of course. Personally, I dislike how this looks as a seam finish. It makes the garment look homemade. Of course, no one will generally see the inside of your garment but you, so it really doesn’t matter. But, you know me… I’m a bit on the obsessive compulsive side when it comes to my crafts. I decided to rip the seam and use french seams instead. For those new to french seams, I’ve posted a tutorial below.

How to sew a French Seam

1. Pin fabric with WRONG sides together. This is not intuitive at first, but trust me.

2. Sew a narrow seam. For a 5/8″ seam allowance, I like to use a 1/4″ seam. For a 1/2″ seam allowance, I do slightly less than 1/4″ (approx. 1/8″) seam.

The completed narrow seam. Note that at this point, you may optionally choose to trim the seam allowance to 1/8″ to ensure that it does not show on the right side the completed seam.

3. Press the narrow seam to one side.

4. Fold fabric with right sides together and press at seam.

5. Sew a second narrow seam with wrong sides together. For a 5/8″ seam allowance, sew a 3/8″ seam (3/8 + 1/4 = 5/8″). For a 1/2″ seam allowance, sew a 3/8″ seam (3/8 + 1/8 = 1/2″).

6. Press the completed French seam to one side.

7. A completed French seam, from the wrong side…

And from the right side…