Cheating the Seam
We have all had that moment when we go to sew two pieces of fabric together and one of those fabrics is just slightly shorter than the other. I encounter this more often than I care to admit. We could go back and re-cut that piece, but if you are anything like me, that fabric is either gone, lost in the scrap pile, or already folded back up nicely on the shelf. You are “in the groove” and do not care to stop the flow.
I have discovered a trick that can help hide this slight inconvenience!
These steps will ensure that no one will even know you “cheated the seam”! There is only one caveat, however. The greater the size difference is, over 1/8th of an inch, the harder this will be to cover up. If they are closer to a 1/4 inch difference, sadly this won’t help you and you will need to cut the fabric again.
Match up the corners and pin!
Match up both corners of the edge of the fabrics you are sewing together. You want to pin at least the corner closest to you. Don’t rely on just holding it in place with your fingers.
One fabric will bend outward in the middle. This is the longer piece. Make sure this is on the bottom when you pass it under the needle. The sewing machine’s feed dogs will magically work this difference out on its own! When you look at it, you may see that the edges of the fabric aren’t exactly aligned, but your seam will be correct from the front and no one will ever know!
Be careful at this point! You definitely want to look at both sides of the seam. If one didn’t “catch” under the needle, you will need to pick out your stitches and try again. This may also be a sign that your fabric sizes were just too different for this method to work for your pieces.
If the project you’re making is for you, and/or you honestly aren’t look for precise perfection, you can always let the fabric pleat. It will run under your presser foot and the machine will cause a very small pleat where the longer fabric “gives in”. If you don’t mind this, by all means, pleat away!
Stop and Press!
Using your iron, set your seam! This will not only settle the thread into the fabric, but it will also reduce the wrinkle that occurs to almost nothing. If you can’t get it completely flat, that’s fine. Flip it over, right-side up, and press but:
Do not press down too hard.
Do not swish your iron!
DO NOT USE STEAM!
Your fabric may have a slight “wave” to it in the spot where the longer fabric “puckered”. The bigger the difference between the two fabrics, the bigger this wave can be. Pressing it couple of times might limit this “wave”.
If you have any advice on how to “cheat the seam”, please let us know, below! Have an awesome day!
