French seams are not as scary as they're talked up to be. I promise! The most tricky part about a French seam is making sure you account for the right width in the seam allowances of your project!

French seams are amazingly strong, so they're great for purses, totes, clothing and all sorts of home decor items! They're especially nice for clothes - no rough edges against the skin.

This is the easiest and quickest way I've found to do them - sewing 1/8 and then 1/4 inch seam allowances keeps you from having to spend time cutting extra fabric off, and also keeps you from having to account for a really large seam allowance.

Step 1: What You'll Need:

This is pretty simple. You'll need two strips of fabric, a sewing machine and an iron. :D

Step 2: First Line of Sewing

Take your two pieces of fabric and set them one of top of the other, wrong sides facing.

Sew an 1/8 inch from the right edge.

Step 3: Finger Press It Open

Unfold the fabric, and lay it flat in the table. Finger press the seam flat on the wrong side.

Step 4: Fold and Sew Again

After finger pressing, fold the fabric over so the right sides are facing. Make sure the seam we just sewed is right at the edge of the fabric.

Now sew down this seam again, using a 1/4 seam allowance.

Step 5: Press and You're Done!

Now you'll want to press the fabric with an iron. Do it wrong side up at first, and press the seam allowance to one side. Then turn it right side up and press that flat. :D

If you're making something that needs to be nice and flat, you can sew the seam allowance down after pressing, but I normally skip that part.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below!