The Raw Edge

The seam allowance is the excess fabric between the stitched line and the raw edge on the wrong side of a project. Unless finished the raw edge will fray during washing. Two quick and easy ways to finish the raw edge on woven fabrics like quilting  cotton are listed below.

Pinked- Using your pinking shears cut along the raw edge of the seam allowance. The hills and valleys stop the fabric from fraying.
If you don't own a pair of pinking shears another method is to use the zigzag stitch.
Zig-Zag- Set your machine to the following stitch zigzag, length 3 and width 4. Stitch close to the raw edge.

In my example I used my overcasting foot. I like using this presser foot because I can line up my fabric with the black tab on the right. This allows me to keep my stitching straight. The zigzag stitch falls right on the raw edge picking up the bottom thread to from an overlock stitch, kind of like wrapping the raw edge with thread.