​When To Use A Decorative Trim Armhole Edge Finish

If you love mixing functionality with design, using a decorative trim to clean finish armhole edges may be the perfect dressmaking technique for you. This is method is not only simple to apply, it also become a big part of the garment's visual design. ​

However, using decorative trim to clean garment edges, does not work with all fabrics and all garment styles. Fabric in particular is an important element to consider. Instead of encase the armhole's raw edge as most convention finishes do, a decorative trim is used to simply hide the armhole's raw edge from the garment's right side. Fro that reason, this techniques works best for low fraying or no fray fabrics that can maintain their structure and strength when cut. Examples of such fabrics includes suede, leather, and heavier knits like ponte and scuba. 
If a fabric is prone to stretching and heavily unraveling when cut, a decorative trim will not be enough to ensure the armhole's long term structure and strength. The garment's armhole areas incur a lot of heavy movement during wear, thus this edge should be properly stabilized. 

If the fabric does not fray at all when cut, you can simply align and stitch the trim to the armhole edge as needed. However, it is highly recommended that you staystitch the armhole's raw edges prior to aligning the trim as this will stabilize and strengthen the edge both during the construction process and in the finished garment. This stitch should be applied such that when the trim is finished, the stitched is fully hidden underneath and not visible from garment's right side. 

If working with fabric's that are very low-fraying or require additional stabilization, additional to a straight stay stitch, encase the armhole's raw edges with a serging or zig zag stitch. This overedge stitching will add another layer of durability to the garment's finished armholes.