finishing seams - wut?

v1236 marked a milestone in my sewing adventures. there were a lot of firsts: first dress; first times using chambray; and first time finishing seams.

i borrowed my friend's dressmaker's technique bible and thumbed through their seam section. while the descriptions were detailed enough, and often accompanied by pictures, i still wasn't sure what was the best way to finish side seams. i attempted to use bias tape but thought it was too thick. i fumbled around with french seams, and ended up with more fraying. i looked around in my notions box, and had an idea with lace trimmings. i'm sure this is nothing new, but the it was definitely a light bulb moment for me. i decided to enclose the seams with lace.

here's how i did, in pictures:

1.after sewing down the sides, trim seams to 1/2 width of lace trimming. align one side of the lace to the seams and pin.

2. use a zig zag stitch to secure lace to fabric. set foot guide at edge of the lace.

3. trim any frays and fold lace over. pin the other side.

4. zig zag close to the lace edge and seam line and voila!

the other side

yay my first finished seams! if anyone could tell me what the actual technical term for this kind of seam finishing, that would be fantastic! i think i might have to try other kinds of finishing on my next dress, for sure!