I have a question. On Sew Much More with Susan Khalje she told of how to sew a very narrow hem on silk and flimsy material. Does anyone now how to do this I know she sewed a hem line to start but then I forget and just had one gown to do and wish I could have remembered how she did it because it looked so easy. I made it through the process of the hem but for the future I would like to know how to do it the right way.Thanks to you all
Jan
Replies
I remember that show! I too thought it looked so easy so I copied it in my little sewing book of tips and ideas.
1. Stitch loosely along the line you want to be the finished edge.
2. Fold over and iron
3. Stitch close to the edge then cut off the excess fabric close to the stitching.
4. Fold over again and do a final stitching close to the edge.
<!----><!----> I am attempting to attach a picture of my granddaughter's skirt I made using this technique, but have never done this and it seems a bit complicated so it may not work.<!---->
Thank you so much/. That was it. The skirt came through and it was beautiful. I would be less then eager to try it but now that I have this info I just might try it for my granddaughter Lexi.Thanks again
Jan
I see the picture did come through, but not like all the others people post! Oh well. Do try this, it is a lot easier than you would think. That fabric was from my stash and I think it was polyester crepe. I thought that stitching 3 times was going to put an awful lot of thread in one spot, but maybe that's what makes the edge curl under nicely. For a silk or more sheer fabric I might switch to lingerie thread. When Lizzie came to visit I told her we could sew something for her and we looked in the pattern catalogs at JoAnn's and my idea of a nice little T-shirt dress turned into the frilly skirt. When they look at you with adoring eyes and say "Grandma, you can do anything!" how do you say no?
P.S. The new Threads has an article on silky fabric and they said to do the hem by folding over the hem line then stitching - eliminating that first round of stitching Susan K. recommends. Maybe you are supposed to pull that first round of stitching out after you press it and then you would only have 2 rounds of thread instead of three when you finish. Makes more sense to me and next time that is what I will do.
Edited 5/7/2008 6:44 pm by sewelegant
I went directly to my machine and tried your way and it worked fine. I would think that pulling our one row of stitching would make it harder especially when I had a very full prom dress. I like the way you said first and when you said you looked in your notes I also went to my journal and found the notes on S.K. show and they were just like what you said. I was surprised that I had it. I write down things but never look back at them. I will from now on. Who said you can't teach and ole dog new tricks. My grandaughter is looking over my shoulder and so I am going to show her your skirt that you made your grandaughter.
Thanks again
Jan
Very cute skirt. Love the color and style and baby girl is so cute too.
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