How to Hem

Written by on in Sewing

Hemming is a sewing technique that lets you finish the edge of a piece of fabric cleanly by folding and sewing it. Hemming by hand involves a stitch called the hemming stitch, which is almost invisible on the right side of the fabric.

How to Hem Using the Hemming Stitch

To create a hem:

  1. Fold the bottom edge of the fabric to the desired length, securing it with pins at intervals of 1–2″. Iron the fold flat. If you’ve folded up more than 3″ of fabric, trim it down to 1″.
  2. Fold about 1/2″ of the raw edge under again, so that it’s folded in­side the first fold. Iron it flat.
  3. Bring a threaded needle up through the folded hem of the fabric at point A, hiding the knot inside the hem. Take a very small horizontal stitch in the flat, unfolded fabric just above the hem (points B and C). Bring the needle up again through the folded hem at point D, about 1/2″ from the stitch you’ve just made.
  4. Repeat this pattern, working along the length of the hem, keeping the stitches in the flat fabric as small as possible. Don’t pull the stitches too tight, or you will pucker the fabric.

You can also create hems using the blind-hemming stitch setting on a sewing machine. Just be aware that not all sewing machines have this stitch setting, and even those that do require a special blind-hemming foot presser (for more on stitch settings and foot pressers, see Sewing Machine Basics). To learn whether your sewing machine can make the blind hemming stitch and how to use it, see the owner’s manual for your machine.

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