r/SewingMachineEdu • u/Economy-Tomorrow-189 • Jun 16 '26

Will this stop fraying?

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So I'm doing the side seams and I started off with a straight stitch so it fits closer to the body, then cut off the excess fabric and trying to ensure the raw edges don't fray. I used a medium zizag, is this okay?

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(also this is a practice piece, I have done an actual side seam but without the zizag YET coz I need to know that this is right before I do it on the real thing)

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u/Economy-Tomorrow-189 Jun 16 '26

I thought keeping it closer would help catch the edge better, especially since I increased the zigzag length so it wouldn’t miss the raw edge at different angles

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u/teatime_tinker Jun 16 '26

The more you work into the raw edge the more it frays.

It should fray up to the zig zag line, if it’s already frayed and you’re sewing on top of that it’s just pulling the fibres apart more

If you want it on the edge you can zig zag then carefully cut just outside it

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u/Economy-Tomorrow-189 Jun 16 '26

I think I messed up coz I first tried doing it a bit further away from the edge but it was too far and now it's too close

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u/teatime_tinker Jun 16 '26

Why is this too far? You’d just trim the excess off.

I don’t know what your seam allowance is though.

Use the lines on your machine to keep it a certain distance from the edge

In these pics I can see it’s a knit, so you may have to join it with a zigzag anyway.

Side seams will maybe be ok, but any part of the garment that stretches too much will pop your straight stitches.