Tidying messy seams

[emseeitch]

Hello there, relatively new to sewing machine useage so please forgive my lack of proper terms.

I am making a range of pouches and the way I join materials is with the zigzag stitch. However this leaves an unsightly seam with 4 layers of fabric just sort of sticking out/fraying. Does anyone have any advice on how to tidy these seams or sew a different way in the future? Please see the image as it is kind of hard to describe!



Thanks so much in advance

[Mishatu]

When I make things that hold stuff (like pillows or whatever), normally I stitch the right sides together, then flip everything inside-out. It keeps the messy seams inside and leaves the stitching invisible from the outside.

I'm terribly sorry if I'm not making much sense. I'm not sure how to describe it, or if you've tried something like this before.

[Knittenkitten]

You might also want to try a different stitch when you sew your seams together. I usually use a straight stitch when I sew with a small seam allowance (about 1/4" at the most) with right sides together. Then I turn everything right side out like Mishatu said.

[emseeitch]

When I make things that hold stuff (like pillows or whatever), normally I stitch the right sides together, then flip everything inside-out. It keeps the messy seams inside and leaves the stitching invisible from the outside.

I'm terribly sorry if I'm not making much sense. I'm not sure how to describe it, or if you've tried something like this before.

I probably should have said I normally do sew the right sides together then turn out, so this seam is actually on the inside of the pouch, but still visible if you look inside. (I must've seemed like a bit of a fool there! ) The only thing that seems to prevent fraying is if i do a zig zag stitch with the needle going as far to the right as possible, sometimes off the fabric itself. Still not the neatest option or the most professional...I will experiment with other stitches.

I used to do a straight stitch until i found that I kept missing bits when the bottom fabric shape was not exactly in line with the upper fabric. The zigzag stitch allows for this and makes it seem a wee bitty stronger.

[RMDC]

I'm interested in the answer to this as well - ugly, insecure seams were one of the reasons I gave up on sewing.

[Knittenkitten]

Another thing that you could do if you wanted to hide your seams from everyone is to make a liner for the bags. I would use a thinner fabric such as cotton to limit the amount of bulk you would have to deal with. It's mad the same way as your bag but you sew the tops of each together and basically stuff the liner inside the bag. Not sure if that made any sense tho, its been a while since I had to make a bag.

[SofaraStarfyre]

I think what you said makes sense Knittenkitten. It would hide the unsightly seams but also, if the straight stitch on your machine isn't picking up each layer, then I am guessing the fabrics aren't all the same size, otherwise this shouldn't be a problem. How many layers are you sewing together? From the picture, it looks like 4, which could also cause issues with everything not staying put with straight stitches since many layers can shift.

[Eliste]

If you can't afford a serger, learn to do a French Seam.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvb2TaHUu-U

Theyre really rather easy.

[starrley]

Make sure you clip off as much of the excess as possible, especially the corners. If you measure really well ahead of time and make sure all the pieces are the same size, you shouldn't need a zigzag stitch to make sure you don't miss a layer. I agree with the idea of making a liner out of really thin fabric too.

[emseeitch]

thanks for all your suggestions, everyone! I'll give them a shot