A Study In French Seams

French Pressed Seams

QUILTING

Current Work

Inspiration

In a recent quilt, I experimented with a log cabin design where I purposely left the seams unfinished on the surface. I loved how this technique created a rich, dense texture that really caught the eye; particularly with the hand quilting peeking through from below.

Inspired by the depth of this technique, I was eager to explore a method where texture remained the focal point, but with a cleaner, more refined construction.

Samples & Experimentation

To get my creative gears spinning, I made a quick list of questions to give myself a starting point. The first major decision was to decide what technique I should use to polish off my seams so that no raw edges were exposed. My first thought was french seams, a technique commonly used in garment sewing on delicate chiffons or sheer fabrics to conceal the raw edge of the fabric and prevent fraying.

IDEAS

Pin tucks or true french seams?
Hand tack seams open to create a wave look?
Machine stitch perpendicular to create waves in a line?
Insert color pop into french seam?
Color - try soft neutrals, bolder contrast, color pop?

SKETCHES

After experimenting with the French seam technique on some samples, I started sketching quilt layouts. In the sketches, the filled-in portions symbolize the pieced blocks, while the twisted lines represent the French seams. If you squint at a sketch, the delicate twists disappear, and graphic lines take center stage. I intentionally drafted the quilts this way so that the French seam technique would be most visible through the shadows it cast rather than the color placement. There’s a subtlety to the effect that I found appealing.

I sketched off and on for a week or two, allowing my ideas space to breathe. It took about 6-7 sketches before I finally landed on the final design.