What is a Hong Kong Seam?

A Hong Kong seam is a type of seam finish which uses bias tape to enclose the raw edge of the fabric on the wrong side of a garment. Scroll down for our quick and easy Hong Kong Seam tutorial.

A Hong Kong Finish is a way of binding seams with bias tape, fact fans. #SewingBee pic.twitter.com/JvmnDpNn5X

— Sewing Bee (@sewingbee) March 19, 2019

Why use a Hong Kong Seam finish?

As well as stopping your fabric from fraying, a Hong Kong seam creates a long-lasting and professional finish. Plus, using bias tape adds an extra pop of colour to the inside of your garment. Check out this lovely post by @megmadesewing below.

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A post shared by Meg Fleshman || M E G M A D E (@megmadesewing)

How to add a Hong Kong finish

To create this type of seam finish you’ll need regular bias tape. This is is wrapped around the raw edge of the fabric before being secured using the “stitch in the ditch” method. Using seam binding or lightweight bias binding align the raw edges of one side and sew the seam allowance and binding together at the fold.

Press over the binding, encasing the raw edge and position the second folded edge over the first line of stitching. Stitch through all the layers to secure.

Example of the Hong Kong Seam Finish

Press your seam open again by running the tip of your iron down the centre of the crease so not to press an imprint onto the right side of the fabric. Et voilà!

So we were wondering why it’s called a Hong Kong Finish? Mayra Cecilia of Sew Sew Easy had the answer for us. Apparently, it all stems from the rise of mass-produced clothing, linings were no longer used and products were manufactured in factory lines rather than by skilled tailors making an entire garment. The seams added comfort for the wearer and looked smart without the need for a lining which would add to the expense.

Thanks for reading!

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