Hemming Tips

To measure skirts from the waist for hemming: Pin a tape measure to the ironing board. It makes the work much easier.

Do not sew a seam straight past the hemline fold. A seam should be tapered out at the hemline, especially if the skirt or pant is narrower (pegged) at the bottom, so that the edge lies smoothly.

When pressing hems, always press the inside (the side toward the body) first, for a few reasons: This eases excess fabric, thus preventing creasing when pressing from the right side and allowing you to test the garment fabric for shining or melting, allowing you to lower the temperature before you press the right side. This also sets the crease at the bottom for a crisper edge.

Definition: Wigan is stiff fabric, such as poplin, cut on the bias, and used to interface hems in jackets and coats.

Always remove glass beads from a hemline or seam allowance before serging. There is no better way to destroy a sewing machine needle than to hit a crystal with it.

Do you have trouble getting the vertical seams to line up when hemming? Sew the seam end to itself at the appropriate hem length before hemming.

You can hem sweater sleeves by turning the ribbed edge inward. The hem stitch should be worked by hand (since the knit is bulky). Make a tailor's hem (with little x's) or use a backstitched hem so that the stitching will stretch.

After pressing a hem and before moving the garment, blow on the hem to cool it off. This will set the hem.

When hemming lined or multi-layered gowns, hem the outside layer first. Hang the gown from the ceiling (if possible) and mark the under layers one at a time. Then hem the under layers accordingly. This will save a lot of time later correcting uneven hems.

When using a long ruler for marking hems, place a sticky note on the ruler and mark an arrow on the note to indicate the correct position.

To make a scalloped edge on T-shirt hems and necklines: Set your sewing machine to a blind hem stitch. Set it on the widest stitch. Topstitch the fabric about 3/16 inch (1/2 cm) from the edge, taking care to let the zig stay in the fabric and the zag off the edge of the fabric. You may have to tighten the upper thread tension to develop the scalloped edge. Sometimes the scallops become more pronounced after laundering.

When hemming sleeves on a lined jacket, add a hem allowance (1 1/4 inches or 3 cm) to the new hem fold line and cut through all layers, including the lining. Then, pull out the lining and cut one inch (2 1/2 cm) shorter. The lining will fall perfectly when the hem is completed.

To measure skirts from the waist for hemming, pin a tape measure to the ironing board. It makes the work much easier.

The drape of Slinky fabric requires that its hems be topstitched.

When topstitching, place a sticky note on your sewing machine to gauge where the edge of the fabric should lie. This is especially helpful when topstitching wide hems.

Do not sew a seam straight past the hemline fold. A seam should be tapered out at the hemline, especially if the skirt or pant is narrower (pegged) at the bottom, so that the edge lays smoothly.

Hemming Leather

Do not pin leather. It is difficult and the holes made by the pins will show and never heal.

One way to 'pin' leather is with binder clips found in an office supply store.

Never use a short stitch length on leather. This will perforate the cloth and make it easy to tear.

To sew leather on a sewing machine, use a rolling, walking, or non-stick presser foot. Otherwise the leather will stick to the presser foot and twist the stitching.

It is 'taboo' to press leather with an iron. I do it anyway. I test the garment at an inside hem where it is not conspicuous to see if the appearance of the leather is changed. Remember that heat and steam makes leather brittle, so be very cautious. Corinthian leather presses much more readily without damage than most other types.

To crease leather, use a wooden clap board to hit the fold. This separates the fibers, weakening the bond and causing a crease.

To hem leather, glue the cut edge of the hem about ½ inches from the crease. Press the hem up with your hand. Place wax paper between the layers of the garment so that the glue does not glue the layers together. Place the garment hem under weights, like heavy books, to set the hem until it dries.