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Hand Rolled Hem Sewing Tutorial

This tutorial teaches how to create a hand rolled hem in 3 steps: [1] Machine stitch 1/4 inch from the edge and press flat, [2] Use a weight to keep the fabric taut as you hand sew a slip stitch along the stitching to roll the hem inward, [3] Continue all around the edge to complete the rolled hem. The tutorial provides tips to keep the edge under tension for a neat roll and advises not pressing the rolled hem flat.

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mamie_r
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230 views3 pages

Hand Rolled Hem Sewing Tutorial

This tutorial teaches how to create a hand rolled hem in 3 steps: [1] Machine stitch 1/4 inch from the edge and press flat, [2] Use a weight to keep the fabric taut as you hand sew a slip stitch along the stitching to roll the hem inward, [3] Continue all around the edge to complete the rolled hem. The tutorial provides tips to keep the edge under tension for a neat roll and advises not pressing the rolled hem flat.

Uploaded by

mamie_r
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Tutorial: How to

create a hand rolled


hem

November 9th, 2008 –


by Sarai

Hand rolled hems are so


lovely, and with a little
practice and a few
tricks, quite easy to do
(if a bit time
consuming).

Begin by machine
stitching 1/4″ from
the edge along the
entire edge.

Press the stitching


flat.

Thread a hand
sewing needle with
matching thread. For a
delicate fabric such
as this silk charmeuse, use a small needle with a narrow eye to minimize the visibility of holes in your
fabric.
Now find something
you can use as a weight.
This is so you can pull
the fabric taut as you
sew. I’ve read one
recommendation to use
a fabric-covered brick,
but this craft supply
caddy worked just as
well. Books would also
be fine.

Trim close to the


stitching as you go,
trimming about six
inches at a time.
Trimming only a bit at a
time will minimize
raveling.

Try to get very close to


the stitches.

Anchor your thread at


the edge of the fabric by
creating a few
backstitches there.

Pulling the fabric taut, hold the fabric edge between your thumb and forefinger, and roll toward you.
Roll it until the machine stitching is hidden within the roll.

Use a slipstitch to stitch the hem. To do this, bring the needle out through the folded hem. Now create a
tiny stitch between the folded edge and the garment fabric, catching only a few threads of the garment.
Slip the needle through the fold for 1/4″ and back out, as shown in the above photo. Alternate the tiny
stitch with the 1/4″.
Continue until edges are completely hemmed.

Do not press this seam flat when you’re done. You want it to have a nice soft roll to it.

Sarai says:

Re the rolled hem, I have much better results keeping the edge being hemmed under tension — it creates
a nice, straight rolled hem. I put an edge under my sewing machine needle & lower the presser foot.
(Together they act as a third hand.) Then, pull the edge taut and sew, by hand, while the edge is taut,
sewing away from the needle. As the sewn edge gets longer, re-position the needle/presser foot to keep
about a 12″-18″ area being hemmed. I hope this isn’t too confusing! In your photo above, for a right-
handed person, I’d have the right-hand edge secured under the needle & presser foot, then hold the edge
taut with my left hand as I sewed with my right hand.

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