Faggoting Stitch in Sewing :To make a decorative seam

What is Faggoting ?

Faggoting refers to ladder like stitches made with threads across an open area between fabrics.

It is a way of joining two fabric pieces with embroidery stitches. You can call it a type of seam because after all, you are joining fabric pieces with stitches. The decorative stitches used in this method are called fagoting stitches.

You can hand sew these stitches or use your sewing machine for them. As a seam stitch it is not the strongest of all – you should use it only on areas where there would not be much strain. I would use it on a neckline and sleeve hem.

Hand sewing the fagoted seam

You can use herringbone stitch, or any other decorative hand embroidery stitches with projections for doing this seam.

First, finish the edges of the fabric pieces with a serger or zig-zag stitches. Now fold the edges of your fabric pieces to the inside and press them in place.

Choose a fabric piece to use as a backing in the middle. You can totally skip this backing fabric if you do not want any. In that case use paper underneath.

Finish the edges of the fabric.

Keep the backing material (paper or fabric) under the folded edges. If you have doubts about maintaining an even distance, draw lines 1/4 inch apart before keeping the folded edges on top.

Baste the backing in place so that you have 1/4 inch between the fabric folds. Ensure that the distance is maintained the same throughout. Self-adhesive stabilizer strips can be used instead of basting.

Now you can start making the decorative stitches.

You may want to mark the distance between the stitches to ensure that all the stitches are spaced the same distance from each other.

You can read about other stitches that you can use for this method in this post on Insertion Stitches.

Machine sewing the fagoted seam

You can use a stitch like this on your sewing machine to do a similar fagoting.It doesnot give the same effect, because the space between the fabric folds will be lesser,here.

You can use an edge joining presser foot to make sure that you do not deviate from the space between the fabric edges. It has a projection which will go through the space and make sure that you have even stitches on either side.

If you find it difficut to get a uniform difference between the two fabric pieces, you can buy a supplementary ‘fagoting guide’ available at sewing machine shops – it will keep the fabric edges separated at an equal distance.

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