The English Stitch – Hand Sewing With Efficiency
Newer doesn’t always mean better! Learn the English stitch, the 18th century hand sewing trick to finish two seams and four raw edges all at once!
There are a lot of great things about our modern world: indoor plumbing, instant access to information, world travel. But sometimes, older things can be just as good or even better than something new.
Take sewing machines. They have made it so much easier and faster to sew garments. But what you get in speed, you can lose in efficiency.
Before the invention of sewing machines, garments were, of course, all made by hand. Different techniques were developed by necessity to help construction go as efficiently as possible.
Enter the English stitch. That is what we refer to it now, but in the 18th century, this technique didn’t have a name, even though it was extremely popular.
With a little prep work, this sewing technique allows you to join fashion and lining layers, and finish all four raw edges all at once! It is efficiency at its best!
How To Sew The English Stitch
Getting the Fabric Ready
The key to the English stitch is to prepare your fabric. You’ll need an outer fashion layer and a lining layer for each piece.
Pair up each matching piece of fashion and lining layer with the wrong sides of the fabric together. Then, turn under your seam allowance all around each piece of fabric, so they are tucked between the fashion and lining layers.
Once all of your pieces are prepped, you can line up your seams with the two layers of fashion fabric sandwiched between the two lining layers.
Hold your fabric sandwich by the edge so you can see all four layers, and you are ready to sew!
Sew It Up
With your fabric lined up, and your raw edges tucked away, you are ready to sew!
Secure your thread however you like best. Then, going across the very edge of the fabric layers, skip the first layer, then go through the next three with your needle to come out on the other side.
Skip the first layer again, then go through the next three.
Keep going back and forth across the very edge of the fabric layers, skipping the first layer each time. When you’ve finished sewing the seam, there will be a small ridge on the inside, and the stitches will be nearly invisible from the outside.
This may feel like a slow way to sew a seam, especially compared to a sewing machine. But when you get to the end of the seam, it’s done! No lining to add, no raw edges, it’s ready to go!
When 16th Century Problems Require 18th Century Solutions
The English stitch recently came to the rescue while I was getting my family ready for the Renaissance Faire.
Several years ago, I made my husband and myself Ren Faire garb. For my husband, I made a linen shirt and blue jerkin to wear over it.
If you are interested in sewing your own Renaissance Faire clothes, I highly recommend getting a copy of The Tudor Tailor by Ninya Mikhaila and Jane Malcom-Davies. I made all of my husband’s Ren Faire outfits based on its patterns.
While the shirt still fits just fine, the jerkin was way too tight. He couldn’t even lift his arms without busting a seam. There was no way he would be able to wear this outfit all day.
Fortunately, I had him try the jerkin on a couple of months before the first Faire, so I had some time to fix it. Looking at how it fit, I found a couple of seams I could add some fabric to, and it would be good to go.
Why didn’t you just remake it? You may be asking your screen.
I chose to adjust what I had already made instead of starting over for several reasons:
- Making this jerkin was a lot of work! It would take at least a month’s worth of sewing to make a new one.
- Piecing is period, so this fixing the fit adds to the authenticity.
- I know how to sew the English stitch!
Taking it Apart
To add some extra pieces to this jerkin, first I had to get to the seams where they would go. This jerkin was constructed with a fashion layer and interlining flat lined together, and a lining sewn separately and whip stitched down all around the edge.
I tried to preserve as much of the original construction as possible. This meant I didn’t take apart any places with buttons or buttonholes, so I didn’t have to add them again later.
The first part to come off was the skirt, which was fairly simple to remove. Then I had to take off the arms at the shoulder, then open up the inner arm seams, and the body side seams. This is where the new pieces would go.
New Pieces
I ended up adding four new pieces to the jerkin, each with a fashion and lining layer. Luckily, I have quite a bit of the blue fabric I originally used left over.
For each arm, I made a long triangle to widen the bicep area without making the wrist too large.
For the sides of the jerkin, I made a trapezoid shape to add room to the body so it will actually button all the way.
The English Stitch To The Rescue
With the jerkin’s seams opened up, and the new pieces cut out, it was simple to iron down the seam allowance and join in each piece with the English stitch.
If I didn’t know this technique, I would have needed to completely separate the lining, and remake the inner and outer layers separately before joining them back together again. This would have ruined all the buttonholes, and would have taken weeks to finish.
Instead, I was able to only take apart the jerkin in a few places, quickly add the pieces, and put it back together. It saved so much time and work!
Now, the jerkin fits great, and my husband can actually move his arms while wearing it!
I think the extra pieces give this jerkin a unique look. I’m so glad I was able to work with what I had instead of starting over.
Try It Out!
I hope you give the English Stitch a try! It is so satisfying to get so much accomplished so quickly. And I love the look of the neat little row of stitches at the end.
If you want to see more sewing adventures, click here.
What is your favorite hand sewing stitch? Let me know in the comments below!
Nice work! Your model is pretty dashing!