Sewing a Folded Hem
“One of the most important fashion aspects of any garment is its hemline,” state the editors of "The Vogue Sewing Book." How true. A bad hemline screams “homemade,” whether in a pair of pants, a skirt, a sleeve, or a dress. In fact, it's often when you don't notice the hemline that you know it's a well-executed hem. Carefully prepared and sewn hems are unobtrusive and provide an understated finishing touch. Instructions for many patterns call for folded hems, which are straight forward in and of themselves. The challenge is to reduce bulk at the hem and choose a type of stitch that’s appropriate for the fabric and the garment.
Things You'll Need
- Sewing pins
- Measuring stick
- Sewing shears
- Sewing machine, thread, and needle or hand sewing needle and thread
- Iron and ironing board
Instructions
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1
Determine where you want the hemline to be. Ideally, have the person who will be wearing the garment try it on with the shoes she will be most likely to wear. Mark the position of the finished hem on the fabric with one or two pins.
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2
Using a measuring stick, and with the garment still on the wearer, measure from the floor to the pins (for dresses, pants, or skirts). Add 5/8 inch for most hems. Still using the measuring stick, measure this amount all around the garment, fold up the hem toward the inside, and pin it in place.
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3
Remove the garment from the wearer and cut off any fabric that is more than about 2 inches longer than the finished hem will be. Have the wearer put the garment back on.
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4
Adjust the hem as needed to make it appear even when it’s on the wearer. Every body is different, so don’t skip this step or you may end up with a hem that looks distractingly crooked.
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Remove the garment and press the hem in place with an iron.
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Trim the hem so it is about 5/8 of an inch deep all the way around. Turn under the cut edge of the hem ¼ inch and press.
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Sew the hem in place using a hand or machine blindstitch. If the hem has extra fullness at the top, you should ease the fullness into the hem before you sew the garment. To ease the hem, stitch ¼ inch from the top edge of the hem using a running stitch. Adjust the fullness of the hem so that it lies as flat as possible against the garment. Steam the fullness to help shrink it into place.
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Tips & Warnings
Many ready-made and homemade garments, especially those of a casual nature, feature a narrow hem. To create a narrow hem, trim the fabric so it’s just ¼ inch deep. Press. Turn the raw edge of the hem under 1/8 inch and press. Topstitch the hem in place.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/BananaStock/Getty Images
