Seams:

A seam is a method of joining two or more pieces of materials together by a row of stitching.
The purpose of most of these seams is purely functional and can be called as constructional
seams. Seams should be as flat as possible and unseen except those that are used
for decorative purposes for garment design and line.

Seams can be classified into flat seams and ridge seams. Plain seam and flat fell seam are
examples of flat seams. Ridge seams include the French seam. Seams may also be divided
into conspicuous and inconspicuous seams. Inconspicuous seams when finished will not
have stitches seen on the right side of the garment, example are plain, corded and French.
Conspicuous seams are those that have stitches seen on the right side of the garment like run
and fell seam, lapped seam etc.

Types of Seam:
A. Plain Seam
B. Lapped Seam
C. French Swam
D. Flat and fell Seam
E. Bound Seam

A.PlainSeam:
This is the most widely used seam which is pliable and inconspicuous. It is used on all types
of fabrics except on very transparent kinds and is suitable for firm fabrics that do not ravel
and will not be subjected to hard and frequent laundering. This is used for side seams, under
arm seams ad armhole seams. Place the two pieces of fabrics to be joined together right sides
facing. Work a line of tacking stitches on the seam line and machine (Fig.A).

Fig.A
B.LappedSeam:
This seam is commonly used for joining a gathered or unaltered section to a straight edge as
in a yoke. Take the part of the which is to be laid on top and turn its seam allowance to the
wrong side. Place thispiece on the top of the second piece, right sides facing and matching
the fold to the seam line. Tack in position and machine close to the folded edge (Fig.B).
 Fig.B
C.FrenchSeam:
This is a ridge seam and is used on transparent and light weight fabrics, especially on baby
clothes and delicate blouses. It is a neat and durable finish as the raw edges are completely
enclosed (Fig.C). It is a neat and durable finish as the raw edges are completely enclosed. The
two pieces of materials to be joined are placed together with wrong sides facing. Work a row
of stitching 1/8 inch. Press the seam and turn the work so that the right sides are
together. Crease the first row of stitching so that it is directly on the edge. Tack and stitch
along the seam line about 1/8 inch from the fold.

Fig.C
D.Flat&fellSeam:
This is a flat durable seam used on men’s sports shirts, work clothes and children’s clothes
and pyjamas. Places the pieces to be joined wrong sides facing and stitch on the seam line.
Press both seam allowances together in the same direction and trim the under seam to 1/8
inch and the upper one to 3/8 inch. Turn under the raw edge of the wide seam allowance so as
to make a smooth fold ¼ inch wide. Machine stitch close to the folded edge on the right of
the garment. The right side of the seam will show two rows of stitching and wrong side will
show only one row of stitching (Fig.D).

Fig.D
E.BoundSeam:
This seam is formed by folding a separate binding strip over one or more plies of material
and seaming the strip with one or more rows of stitches. They are frequently used as an edge
finish at necklines, hems and sleeve plackets (Fig.E).
 Fig.E
Stitch:
Stitch is very important during manufacturing a garment. Stitch can be defined as, one
unit of conformation resulting from one or more strands or loops of thread by intra-
looping, inter-looping and interlacing. Stitch quality is measured with stitch size, stitch
length, width, depth, tension, sequence, elongation, elasticity, resilience, fabric
distortion, yarn severance and abrasive strength. There are six types of stitch, which are
deeply discussed in this article.

Types of Stitch Used in Garments:

There are different types of stitch used in garments; those are mentioned in the
following:

1. Class-100 (Chain Stitch),

2. Class-200 (Hand Stitch),
3. Class-300 (Lock Stitch),
4. Class-400 (Multi Thread Stitch),
5. Class-500 (Over Edge Stitch),
6. Class-600 (Covering Chain Stitch).

1. Class-100 (Chain Stitch):

Class-100 named as chain stitch, which is produced by one or more needle threads and
are characterized by interloping. In chain stitch, one needle thread is passed through the
fabric, form needle loop and is secured by the next loop formed by the same thread. It
should be noted that, chain stitch is elastic and thicker than lock stitch and can easily be
raveled, where particular care is required to prevent run back from the last stitch.
Class-100 (Chain Stitch)

Class-100 (Chain Stitch) has three types- 101, 103 and 104. These types of stitch are
used in hemming, belt loops, padding operations and felling.

2. Class-200 (Hand Stitch):

Class-200 named as hand stitch which is produced from a single thread. This single
thread is passed through the fabric from one side to another and the stitch is secured by
the single line of thread passing in and out of the garment.
Class-200 (Hand Stitch)

Class-200 (Hand Stitch) has four types- running basting, back stitch, diagonal basting
and buttonhole stitch. These types of stitch are used for stitching costly dresses, jackets
and sample dresses.

3. Class-300 (Lock Stitch):

Class-300 named as lock stitch which is produced with two or more groups of threads
and two threads are joined by interlacing. Here, loops of one group are passed through
the fabric and are secured by the thread of second group, where one group is referred
as needle thread and other as bobbin thread. Class-300 (Lock Stitch) has enough
strength and same appearance on both sides.
Class-300 (Lock Stitch)

Class-300 (Lock Stitch) has four types- 301, 304, 308 and 309. These types of stitch are
used for stitching underwear, most types and apparels and decorative purposes.

4. Class-400 (Multi Thread Stitch):

Class-400 named as multi thread stitch which is formed with two or more groups of
threads. Here, loops of one group of thread are passed through the fabric and are
secured by interlacing and interloping with loops of another group. Among two groups,
one group is called needle thread and another group is called looper thread.
Class-400 (Multi Thread Stitch)

Class-400 (Multi Thread Stitch) has an appearance of lock stitch on the top but has a
double chain effect formed by a looper thread on the under-side.

Class-400 (Multi Thread Stitch) has three types- 401, 404 and 406. These types of stitch
is used for setting elastic in waist bands and decorative stitching on belts.

5.Class-500 (Over Edge Stitch):

Class-500 named as over edge stitch which is formed with one or more groups of
threads. In Class-500 (Over Edge Stitch), one group of thread passes around the edge
of fabric so that no thread from the fabric can come out. The most used stitch of this type
have one or two needle threads and one or two looper threads and thus forms a narrow
band of stitching along the edge of the fabric.
Class-500 (Over Edge Stitch)

Class-500 (Over Edge Stitch) has three types- 503, 504 and 512. This type of stitch is
used for edge neatening of knitted fabrics, where extensibility of stitches is important,
also used for sportswear and dance wear garments.

6. Class-600 (Covering Chain Stitch):

Class-600 named as covering chain stitch which is produced with three groups of
threads. Here, threads of two groups can be seen from either side. In class-600
(Covering Chain Stitch), the first group of thread is called needle thread, second group is
called top cover thread and the third group is called bottom cover thread.

Covering Chain Stitch

Class-600 (Covering Chain Stitch) is very complex and up to 9 threads can be used in
producing this types of stitch.
Class-600 (Covering Chain Stitch) has three types- 602, 605 and 607. These types of
stitch is used for knits, lingerie, binding elastics, decoration, etc.