Karen writes:
Can you settle an argument? I looked at your posts on designing a t-shirt sewing cell (pt.2) but it wasn’t obvious. I have always understood that the neckline of a tee shirt is a band. The seam I’m referring to is serged with the allowances and thread showing on the wrong side . The person I disagree with says this is a binding. To my way of thinking, a binding is finished with all edges turned under and no raw edges showing. How would you describe this seam?
I would also describe a rib knit finish to a tee shirt neckline as a (neck) band. Binding typically describes encasing raw edges. However, no matter how it is sewn, it is usually called a band even if the seam is bound. The problem lies in if you call it binding and intend to leave allowances showing on the underside because binding implies the seam is bound.
To be sure though, I looked it up in ASTM D5646 (lists home sewing seams) and ASTM D-6193 (industry standard). Both show binding (bound seams) enclosing raw edges leaving a clean finish. The D6193 is more descriptive than the D5646 in that bound seams are a separate seam class with a BS prefix (BSa-BSs). [A non-gated resource is this pdf from American & Effird]. It is somewhat ironic that you ask because the D6193 was derived from the Fed Std 751a (DOD) which was established to eliminate disagreements like this. Establishing uniform terminology helps ensure that items produced under military contract can be constructed to precise specifications across myriad contractors.