The slot seam, used in cloth dresses and jackets, requires exact basting with silk or very fine thread with small, even stitches. If a coarse thread is used, the material will be badly marked. After basting, press the seam open as if it had been stitched, and baste the strap or under strip of the dress material (which has been cut perfectly straight and even) over the wrong side of the seam, having the center of the seam on the center of the strap. Stitch any width desired beyond the center through the three thicknesses. This will hold the seam in position. Now remove the bastings from the seam and the slot effect is complete. If desired, there may be a double row of stitching, an extra row on the edge of the fold or plait. These seams may be finished at the bottom with arrow heads or stitched designs. The lines of machine stitching should not end without some ornament to _appear_ to hold the plait.
[Illustration: SLOT SEAM FINISHED WITH ARROW HEAD]
Finished with various Ornamental Stitches.]
In the lapped seam the edges are folded each within the other or one over the other so that both sides are alike. If made of heavy material, the raw edges are left unturned; in muslin or linen the edges are inturned, lapped, basted and the hem stitched on both edges or hemmed down on both sides by hand.
_A_--Made by folding a wide hem over a narrow one; _B_--Tape faced sewing for the purpose of a gusset. Method of folding the tape shown.]
Flannel seams should be stitched, opened and pressed _flat_, either on the right or wrong side of the garment. If on the right side, taffeta ribbon should be basted over the seam, so that the raw edges of flannel will not show, and cat stitched or buttonhole stitched on both sides of the ribbon, or any fancy stitch--not too long--may be used. This is the Dorothy seam. For the seam on the wrong side, the edges should be cat stitched with fine thread. Any ornamental stitch may be used on the right side of the seam. Always press flannel seams and hems before finishing. Flannel should never be hem stitched.
A placket is an opening in a garment allowing it to be put on. The simplest placket is made by cutting a slit and folding a wide hem over a narrow one turned on the face of the goods; this makes a pleat below the vent. There should be a double line of stitching across the bottom of the hem to strengthen the placket.