All edges of your clothing, be it a shirt, skirt, pants need to be hemmed, unless you are going for the selvedge look or the frayed hem look.
I like sewing hems by hand but sewing hems by machine is very convenient and FAST.
Checkout the post on 16 different ways in which you can hand sew a hem
How to sew hem on clothes
Finish all your other sewing
Sew the hem after all other stitching is done. (Unless you have pleats in which case you had better hem and then pleat.)Â All the experts’ advise not to complete the hem on the same day you have created the dress. Let it hang overnight or for a day for the stretch of the fabric to do its job. Then hem. Otherwise, your fabric may hang uneven.
If you are altering an existing hem, unpick the old stitches , remove all the old thread from the fabric (this is important for a clean, professional look) . Iron open the folds.
What should be the width of the hem?
You can either have a wide hem or a narrow hem.
For a wide hem, you can go as much as 3 “- 8” for skirts and dresses. To sew a wide hem on curved edge you will have to go in for a faced hem or easing the edges with a gathering/basting stitch. Narrow hem is best suited for thin and delicate fabrics, especially the rolled hem with a rolling foot.
Mark the hem
What tools can be used to mark hems?
There is a tool that has a sliding marker that adjusts to your desired measurement. it is handy to mark hems. It is called a HEM GUAGE.
If you do not want to buy this, a ready made or DIY template made of a cardboard is great to mark hems. Cut out a template which is two inches wide and mark at 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch widths and even 1 inch and 2 inch.This makes a great template to press up hems.
Decide where you want the hem to be. Mark it by using a basting stitch or pin inserted horizontally every few inches , pin should be inserted just above where you want the hem to be. Press.
How to mark the hem of pants?
If you are hemming pants you have to decide (fold there) the hemline at four points – center front, center back, inseam and side seam. Just above these points place the pins. Press. Trim the hem allowance. A good length for pants is said to be 2 cm from the floor when wearing shoes.
Mark accurately. As they say mark twice and cut once. If you cut a little extra it is simply impossible to recover. If you have a bit of extra hem you can again take it out. But what would you do if you do not have enough. So be careful.
It is ideal, if you wear the dress and see where you want the hemline. Most perfect if you have an assistant to exactly mark the hemline. I would advise you to take it off from your body and then continue marking the rest of the hemline by measuring from the top. Otherwise there is a chance of it looking wonky. That is what I feel. May be you have success marking the whole thing when worn.
Cut the material accurately
If you are using lining, cut it atleast 1 inch shorter than the main fabric. A ready made template made of a cardboard is great to mark hems. Cut out a template which is two inches wide and mark at 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch widths and even 1 inch and 2 inch.This makes a great template to press up hems
Finish the cut edge of the fabric
Finish the edge of the fabric by any of the edge finishes – Pinking , overlock, zigzag, piping, lace trim or tape. Check out this post on finishing the edge of fabrics
Interface if needed
Interface the hems of thin or drapey fabrics – for a good looking hem. Cut a 1″ hem allowance. Use a 3/4 inch interfacing strip. Place it 1/4 inch from the edge of the fabric. Fuse it there. (You may have to clip the interfacing in places if it is a curved hem) Fold up the interfaced hem. If you stitch in the ditch of the seams it will anchor the interfacing more.
Ease the extra
When the fabric edge is more than the hem line , for eg. like in an A line silhouette or a circle skirt, you will need to ease the fullness of the fabric edge to match the hemline width. Sew a line of basting stitch along the fabric edge. Pull the basting thread till the edge matches the hem fold line. You can alternatively sew a narrow rolled hem to avoid going to this extra steps.
Sew the hem
I always use these machine stitched hems when sewing: Usually it is a faced hem, a rolled hem, a baby hem, a blind hem or a fabric trim hem.
Which is the best stitch for hemming with sewing machine?
Blind stitch is the best as you can see from the almost invisible stitching in the picture of the hem below.
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Faced hem/ False hem
This is basically a facing sewn to the edge of the hemline. In this hem, you sew a similarly shaped piece of fabric to the edge of the hem.
Facing is usually sewn onconvex hems, like that of a skirt. Convex is a pattern which turns outside. For hems having a convex shape, a faced hem is the best bet.
You will have to trim the seam allowance to 1/4″ and clip every one inch small notches.Other wise when you turn the facing inside you will not get a smooth turning. Ensure that you are not clipping through the seam line.Â
A 2 1/2 inch wide strip cut on the bias is used to create the facing for the hem. 1/4 inch seam allowance is used to stitch this to the fabric edge. This facing piece is kept on the fabric right sides together.
This hem technique is especially useful when sewing curved hem edges of dresses and skirts or sewing hem of thick fabrics – reduces the thickness at the hem. By using this hem you can have a wide hem on curved edges. You may need to steam press to ease the facing a little. Â
Imagine a situation where you find that you have cut the hemline a little too short. Faced hem is the solution here. You can use another piece of the same fabric to compensate for the hem turning.
This is also called a false hem as it uses a different fabric to turn under and make the hem.
A Shaped hem is cut on the same grain and pattern as the garment. With this hem, you can make features like a Scalloped hem or even a zig zag hem.
Blind hem
A blind hem is very aptly named – you will not be able to see it from the right side of the fabric. This is a very apt hem finish for pants. A little difficult to learn but once you learn it, you will be using this one over and over.
Checkout this detailed tutorial to a blind hem stitch by machine and by hand; Using a blind hem foot
Here is a video showing you how to do the blind hem easily.
A frilled hem can be created by adding fabric ruffles/ or different types of pleating to your hem line.Â
Baby HemÂ
This is the most suitable hem for lightweight clothes and sheer fabrics. And also for sewing curved hems – because it makes a very narrow hem, the curves look nice.
To sew this hem, you may want to make three rows of stitching lines. First make a stitching line to mark your hem – this will establish your seam line. Next stitching is made after folding the edge by 1/4 inch first. Trim away fabric very close below the stitching line. Turn this edge to the inside again, folding on stitching line and top-stitch on right side, 1/8″ from fold. This will give you a very narrow folded hem.
You can use an edge joining foot to sew this hem. Simply place the guide of the foot along the folded edge and sew. You will get a stitching line 1/8 inch from the fold.
Serged hem
This is the easiest hem, if you have a serger. The fabric edges are serged and left it at that. But not a very finished hem.Â
Fabric trim hem
Lace, ric rac and other fabric trims are attached to the hem on the raw edge.. Checkout this post on different kinds of fabric trims and also how to sew trims on hems.
To attach the fabric trims, keep the trim on top of the garment right sides together, stitch along the raw edge. Flip it down and top stitch in place.
Rolled edge hem
The rolled edge foot is used along with a zig-zag finish to make this hem. This is a good hem to use for circle skirts
Lettuce edged hem
This creates a frilly edge to the hem of a knit fabric . An overcast stitch used on a stretched edge of a knit fabric will make this attractive wavy edge to the hem. Checkout the tutorial for a lettuce edge hem can be found here.
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