How to Do a Danish Hemstitch by Hand

Danish hemstitches give a piece a finished, beaded look around the hem.

Hemstitching is a method used in hand-sewing to clean up ragged edges and give the piece a nice, neat look. Danish hemstitching is one method used to give a hem a decorative line of small holes around the finished edge. Danish hemstitching draws on the technique of drawing threads together to form the hem. This ensures that the hem is straight around the finished edge.

Instructions

Fold and Pin

1. Fold the fabric along a single thread, where you want the hem to be located. Pin the fabric in place. Press the fold down with your fingers until the fold is visible in the fabric. You can use your needle to gather one horizontal thread and remove it from the fabric. This scoring will leave you a guideline to sew your hem along.

2. Prepare your corners for sewing. Some seamstresses will clip a small portion of the corners of square works to prevent the corners from bunching beneath the hem. Others will fold the corners down and put a small stay-stitch in place. When clipping, cut a small square or rectangle area approximately as wide as your hem will be. When folding, fold the corner piece up first; then fold each side.

3. Anchor the thread. Place your thread inside the hem and put a small stitch in through the top layer (the inner layer on the unfinished side). This will hold the thread in place. Danish hemstitching involves gathered thread work, meaning that the threads are pulled together by your hem. This will give the hem a line of holes. Gather two or four threads together with your needle. Place a stitch.

4. Gather threads around the entire hem. This should be done in even numbers to ensure the corners are neat and equal. If the number of threads to the end is an odd number, correct the number in earlier stitches by gathering three or five threads.

5. Overcast at the corners. This is done to ensure that neat corners are present. Finish out the gather work until you get to the end of the first corner. Then place tiny stitches over just the top layer of the hem (this will be the rough, unfinished flap of fabric you're making your hem from) until you are back in line with the scored thread that is serving as your guide.

6. Finish-stitch your hem. This involves anchoring your thread once the hem is completed. Do this by topstitching several stitches close together on the hem flap. Insert the thread beneath one of your topstitches and pull it through to form a knot. Repeat this until you feel the hem is secure. If the item hemmed is clothing, rather than decorative, ensure the thread is anchored strongly to last against wear and tear.

References

• Needlework: Tips & Techniques: Learn How to Hemstitch
• Archaeological Sewing; Archaeological Sewing; Heather Rose Jones