How to Sew Narrow French Seams (with Video!)

French seams are a rather fancy way of creating a lovely, neat finish on the inside of your handmade garments. What they do is enclose the unsightly raw edges of the fabric within a neatly stitched secret cavity, never to be seen again… or that’s how I like to think of them!



You can sew French seams on blouses, dresses, underwear, sleepwear… you name it! Try them out on our Fifi boudoir set, Mathilde blouse and more.

They work really nicely on light- to medium-weight fabric, but not so great on heavier fabrics where they'd create bulky seams. They’re particularly useful on sheer fabrics as they look less conspicuous than overlocked seams. The strength of the seam also makes them practical for clothing that’s going to go through the laundry a lot.

Just before lockdown kicked in, Jenny and I made you a video demonstrating how to sew French seams. The pattern I'm sewing is coming soon...

Tilly's Nautical Chic Alexa Jumpsuit

Serving up naval officer realness with my latest make - the Alexa jumpsuit sewing pattern.

Inspired by the simplicity of the black version we made for our gorgeous real gal model Selena (as seen on the shop page - linked above), I was originally going to make exactly the same jumpsuit, but at last minute I pivoted and settled on navy instead.

The fabric is a linen viscose blend that I bought from Lamazi Fabrics. I found the gold buttons in my stash - they are flat-topped with little shanks, and were perfect for the look I had in mind.

Fitting the Alexa Jumpsuit or Playsuit

Making the Alexa jumpsuit or playsuit and want some extra tips on how to get a good fit? Well, look no further. This blog post is going to cover some of the most common fitting adjustments you might want to make to this sewing pattern.

Please don't feel like you need to do many of these adjustments, or even any at all! Our bodies are wonderfully unique and you'll probably find that only a few (or none) of the following adjustments will apply to you. We've covered the most common adjustments so they're there to help you if you need it.

In this post we're going to cover:

• Making a (wearable) toile - or not! 
• Choosing your size
• Lengthening or shortening pattern pieces
• How to combine pattern sizes
• Bust adjustments
• Trouser fitting adjustments

Common Trouser Fitting Adjustments

Do you like the idea of making trousers or pants, but feel a little nervous about the prospect of fitting them? Well, fear not, as help is here! This blog post will cover the most common fitting adjustments you may need to do when sewing trousers.

We've covered a few different fitting adjustments here, but don't feel like you have to try them all! You may not need to make any alterations to your pattern, or perhaps you feel you need to do just one or two tweaks.

If you're not sure whether you'll need to make some alterations, or even what adjustments you might need, it's a good idea to make a "toile" - a mock-up garment in a similar weight fabric you don't mind using to test the fit - so you can see how a particular pattern works on you. It's more important if you're making something with a close-fitting crotch and bum area, like the Jessa trousers and shorts, but not as vital if you're making a looser fitting garment, such as the Alexa jumpsuit or playsuit, Marigold jumpsuit or Safiya trousers. Looser fitting trousers have more ease and often lower crotches, making them more forgiving when it comes to fitting - yay! For these types of trousers, you might want to make a "wearable toile", perhaps in an inexpensive but pretty fabric that you won't mind wearing if it all works out beautifully.

Ready to dive in and learn how to do some common trouser fitting adjustments? Sure you are! Let's go...

Lengthening the front crotch