French seams tutorial

or how to make simple cosplay into hard ones.

So, as I'm working my way into masquerades and green rooms I'm realizing that some of the stuff I've learnt early on(but decided not to bother with at first) are clearly not common knowledge on the cosplay scene. This is a simple finishing technique that you can do with very minimal tools that will significantly upgrade the finishes on your costume.

This technique is called french seams.

Why do people not bother? Because it takes long to do and is rarely even beneficial. So why should you do it? Because like in high-end couture, the inside of your costume matters as much as what people see, especially when you get judged for workmanship.

When should you use this technique? In theory this is made for delicate fabrics that tend to fray, or for whoever doesn't have access to a zigzag stitch or a Serger. But if none of those requirements are for you, you can also just do it for style o̶r̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶'̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶c̶o̶s̶p̶l̶a̶y̶ ̶m̶a̶s̶o̶c̶h̶i̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶f̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶r̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶s̶e̶l̶f̶ . The choice is yours.

Basically, the technique allows to make a clean seam inside and out, as the inside seam in encompassed inside the seam itself. Yes, it's hard to understand unless you try it yourself.

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Extra tips:

When using this technique you need to add some extra seam allowance unless your pattern already has pretty big ones.

This can be used to encase corset boning without having an unsightly bias ruining the look. You need to make the seam allowance just big enough to get your boning through and stitch the seam to one side or the other so it stays nice and put in place. Takes a bit of practice, but if I can do it, so can you. If you can't.. just secure everything in a contrasting color by hand first.