Sewing Side Seams Using A Mantua-Maker’s Hem

In this section watch the video below to sew your two side seams. The side seams will be stitched with a “Mantua-maker’s Hem.” It is a technique that encases the raw edges while sewing the side seam. You hem the seam, hence it is called a “Mantua-maker’s Hem” in the Workwoman’s Guide from 1838. It is used on lightweight fabric in the later 18th-century through the early 19th-century.

Sewing Side Seams:

Right handed:

Left handed: