What Is a Princess Seam Line?
When it comes to making clothing, garment makers have a variety of seams to choose from to achieve a desired look. Straight seams, curved seams, open and closed seams and corner seams are among the most common. When designing a garment that hugs the body, the infamous princess seam is often the stitching technique of choice.
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Fitted Tops
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A princess seam line is a common sight on fitted tops. One princess seam line runs from the front waist, up and over one side of the bodice and one or more runs parallel to the first, up and over the other side of the bodice and along the center. Princess seam lines either run from the waist to armhole, waist to shoulder blade or in some cases, waist to neckline. Further enhancement of the bodice is sometimes achieved by adding two or more princess seam lines on the back, running parallel from waist to shoulder blades.
Fitted Bottoms
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Although it is more common to find princess seam lines in garments worn over the bust area, skirts and pants may also contain princess seam lines. In pants and skirts, two princess seam lines start in the front waist, running parallel to each other and down through the fullest part of the abdominal area. The theme usually continues on the back of pants and skirts, with two princess seam lines running from the waist and through the fullest part of the buttocks area.
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Technique
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A princess seam line connects an inward fold and an outward fold creating fullness in the sewn location. Staystitching placed one-half inch from the seam edge prevents stretching in the location of the princess seam. Pinning of the folds is necessary after staystitching to ensure that the princess seam line is straight and accurately placed during sewing. After stitching a princess seam, notching along the inward seam provides room for the seam allowance to spread. Pressing the princess seam line with a warm iron after sewing creates a smooth line.
Misconceptions
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Princess seam lines are sometimes confused with darts when in all actuality the two sewing techniques are quite different. Darts are two straight-stitched lines that create form-fitting folds in the bust or waist area of a garment. In some cases, a garment may contain both bust and waist darts, with a seam allowance in between. The princess line takes this idea one step further by incorporating both the bust dart lines and the waist dart lines into a single, smoothly curved seam that hugs the body.
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References
Resources
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