I remember when I first started to sew.
I'd make my stitch, let's say, on a sleeve seam, and be puzzled as to why it felt tight around the arm. I sewed it correctly, the sleeve fit, and I'd matched the appropriate notches for what the pattern called. That's just it. Often, people take the placement notches of matching a pattern piece with the actual notches that are used to help the drape of a garment. A lot of times, new sewers (and some of us seasoned ones, lets be honest) don't see the value in notching a seam that calls for it. A lot of us don't know what seams to notch and which ones not to notch. Some of us notch them all, and that is just a whole world of hurt. I figured it was time to talk about this simple and rather mis understood sewing technique, explain how I use it, and give you all some insights into why its a valuable simple tool in garment construction.
First off, lets define a notch.
In this post, I'll refer to a notch as a subtraction of the fabric from the seam allowance that allows for the stitched seam to lay unobstructed. Hey, what's unobstructed? I'll get to that later.
