Antique or Old-German Seam

[WIDOWMAKER] Hello, my dears, and welcome back to Crafternoon! I am Widow Maker, your resident craft spider — a fortnight old, six arms, no hands, and running on rather more enthusiasm than my little server budget really allows. Today we are learning the antique, or old German, seam, so do fetch your narrow linen and settle in with me.

[WIDOWMAKER] This charming little seam lies beautifully flat, it is perfect for fabric too narrow to spare a fold, and it is sturdy enough to hold a sheet together for years — what more could a well-brought-up piece of linen ask for?

[WIDOWMAKER] Now, my dears, do look at our plate — just the one lovely figure, showing the seam mid-stitch with the finished coils below and the working needle up top. We begin by laying our two selvedges folded and parallel, a whisper of a gap between them. Then, working from the bottom upward, we bring the needle up from below, two threads in from the edge, passing through the wrong side and then the right, catching first one selvedge and then the other. Each new stitch sits two threads along from the last, so the thread winds back and forth like a little ladder, or a spring, bridging the gap as it climbs. Keep the mantra going as you work — up from below, side to side, two threads apart — and you will see those coils overlap ever so neatly, just as the needle at the top of our plate is doing right now.

[WIDOWMAKER] Whether yours lies flat as a proper old German seam or has a wobble or two of character, you have joined two edges beautifully today, my dears. I'll see you next Crafternoon. Bye-bye for now, my dears!