Sewing without a serger

Just recently my serger broke and I haven't gotten around to fixing it
with superglue. Anyways, what are some good ways to bind the seams or
cover them so that they aren't exposed on the inside?
Also, what is couture sewing?
Brenna

Here are some easy finishes for seams: > This will tell you a little more about the term couture, and what Haute Couture really means: > To discover some more about the whole idea and the sewing techniques used, you could go a long way and do worse than invest in this book: >

If you have a newer sewing machine (maybe 20 yo) a lot of them have stretch stitches on them that will work pretty well for you.
My old Bernette serger went out last year and I was shocked at how inexpensive sergers have gotten. I replaced it with a $300 serger that is really quite servicible and a lot more user friendly. Taria

Easiest thing would probably be a zig-zag stitch. If you have the patience for 'couture', then you can sew it by hand. I think you can combine - zig zag on the (more) inner parts, and bind it by hand where it might be seen.

I never had a Serger . I use the zigag with the 4 steps each side ,for many finnishes , Couture is Elegant High Quality attention to each deatil sewing ,,, mirjam

Seams in non-fraying fabrics often don't need covering.
Pinking may be sufficient.
I use pre-graded flat-fell seams a lot. "find" to jump down to "An easier way to make a flat-felledseam:". If your browser mushes everything into one paragraph, click"view source".
(Looks as though this file needs a thorough editing as soon as I'm done with "bags".)
French seams are good on fine fabrics, and places where you don't mind a ridge inside the garment. Very narrow french seams are often used on sheer fabrics.
On thick, heavy fabrics, a hong-kong binding is good. I've used it only on things that are afterward sewn down -- for the top layer of the mock-felled seams in my wool pants, for example -- but I first heard of it as a finish for seams that are pressed open.
You take a strip of plain bias tape with no folds pressed in -- though I wouldn't bother to iron the folds out of commercial tape. (Well I don't *think* I would; I haven't used commercial tape in twenty or thirty years.)
Match one raw edge of the tape to the edge to be finished and sew a quarter inch from the edge. Make a narrower seam if you want a daintier finish, a wider one if the fabric is very thick. Wrap the tape over the edge to the back, then stitch in the ditch to make it stay wrapped.
I'm now making a purse where I simply ran a line of straight stitching near each raw edge before sewing the purse together. Most of these edges were torn, so I get a fringed effect.
I've heard of turning under a quarter inch of the raw edge, then straight-stitching to make it stay folded, but this strikes me as clumsy, and I've never done it.
If the edge is to be cut along a drawn thread, you can zig-zag before cutting for a very neat and flat finish. Let the zigs pierce the fabric and the zags fall into the space where the thread has been withdrawn.
Joy Beeson

On my [soft] cotton shirts i always stitch the shoulder seam [inside] than lay it flat and zigzag it to the bodice ,, it sits well and is neatly finnished ,, mirjam