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Why does this stitch make a strange hem... (Moderated by EleanorSews)
Posted on: 10/5/08 12:30 PM ET
When I use my machine blind hem stitch....the hem looks wrong. It hems it like it is supposed to....but the finished hem looks like a long rectangle in a circle added to the dress. I have a newer Kenmore machine. There is a ditch between the hem and the dress when you look at it. Anyone I have any ideas? I have made a nice shatung dress and would love to blind hem but know it will come out looking like I attached the hem....Help veteran sewing people? I am prepared to hand sew the hem....but I wish I had a faster way.
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I sew....I rip....I create.
Kenmore 19110, Brother 1034D, Innovis 900D, Juki Excite HZL G210
Kenmore 19110, Brother 1034D, Innovis 900D, Juki Excite HZL G210
Posted on: 10/5/08 12:37 PM ET
In reply to mandeedee
HTH
How to sew a blindhem
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How to sew a blindhem
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Posted on: 10/5/08 5:13 PM ET
This is just the perfectionist in me, but I always prefer my handsewn blind hem to any machine-made ones. Especially with a lovely silk dress, my opinion is that it's worth the small bit of extra time to not have to worry about ripping and redoing, ripping and redoing...
.....or worse yet, completing, pressing, and wearing the dress but not reeeally liking the way that hem looks.
Eve
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.....or worse yet, completing, pressing, and wearing the dress but not reeeally liking the way that hem looks.
Eve
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People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it - Chinese proverb
Posted on: 10/5/08 5:43 PM ET
I have to admit that I haven't mastered the machine blind hem on my machine, but I think that machine hems should be reserved for utility clothes rather than special pieces like a silk dress.
A well-sewn hand hem is completely invisible because you can use a tiny quilting needle to pick up only a single thread with each stitch. Even the best of machine hem makes a noticeable row of "dots" where the machine takes a cruder stitch than you would by hand.
I do my hemming while watching TV so there's no loss of time involved, just something to keep my hands busy while my mind is following the race, the game, or the Mythbusters' latest exploits. :D
-- Edited on 10/5/08 5:43 PM --
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A well-sewn hand hem is completely invisible because you can use a tiny quilting needle to pick up only a single thread with each stitch. Even the best of machine hem makes a noticeable row of "dots" where the machine takes a cruder stitch than you would by hand.
I do my hemming while watching TV so there's no loss of time involved, just something to keep my hands busy while my mind is following the race, the game, or the Mythbusters' latest exploits. :D
-- Edited on 10/5/08 5:43 PM --
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3KB
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Posted on: 10/5/08 7:06 PM ET
In reply to mandeedee
I get this too... a crease forms when you fold the fabric back to stitch the hem. For me, this happens if I pick up too much fabric where the stitch enters the garment, then the stitch seals in the crease. It takes an awful lot of concentration, but what you have to do is be sure that the needle only goes through a minimal amount of the garment, like 1-2 threads. Honestly, unless I'm doing a very full skirt, I do think that it is easier to do it by hand, rather than stare intently at every single stitch that my needle takes, and I agree that it is better for nicer garments/fabric. I also do samples to make sure that I have the right stitch width, length, and tension. Every fabric is different, so samples are important for each garment.
Hope this helps!
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Hope this helps!
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Posted on: 10/5/08 8:23 PM ET
In reply to EveS
I finished the dress with a hand hem. It turned out lovely. I think that I am doing the machine blind hem correctly. I would want this hem on nothing. No matter what I do this machine hem on.....it is not blind
It is obvious. I just was wondering what do people use this hem on other than curtains? The machine version would be terrific if I could find something that it hemmed well.
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It is obvious. I just was wondering what do people use this hem on other than curtains? The machine version would be terrific if I could find something that it hemmed well.------
I sew....I rip....I create.
Kenmore 19110, Brother 1034D, Innovis 900D, Juki Excite HZL G210
Kenmore 19110, Brother 1034D, Innovis 900D, Juki Excite HZL G210
Posted on: 10/6/08 8:24 AM ET
In reply to mandeedee
I use the hem on pants and skirts, providing the fabric will work with me. I also use it to bind quilts. If I use something as light as a polyester challis, it's a little tricky as I have to adjust the presser foot so it won't make a crease or fold while I'm hemming. If it does, when I turn the fabric to the outside, I'll see a tuck all along the hemline. This is not good.
So I adjust the presser foot to stitch lighter.
It took me a while to get the hang of this ingenious stitch, and the foot, but once I did, I can't really go back to hand hemming, other than for silks or very light sheers.
My very first sewing project many, (and I mean ''many'') years ago, taught me this stitch. But when newer machines arrived on the market with a blind hem stitch, I knew I had to learn it on the machine.
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So I adjust the presser foot to stitch lighter. It took me a while to get the hang of this ingenious stitch, and the foot, but once I did, I can't really go back to hand hemming, other than for silks or very light sheers.
My very first sewing project many, (and I mean ''many'') years ago, taught me this stitch. But when newer machines arrived on the market with a blind hem stitch, I knew I had to learn it on the machine.

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Posted on: 10/6/08 8:42 AM ET
I discovered the secret to a good machine blind hem when I was working on an old machine that didn't have the foot anymore. I turned the blind hem stitch width way down and followed the edge very closely. It came out perfect and was barely visible. Then I discovered that the stitch width on the blind hem on my home machine WAS adjustable so I dialed it down from its automatic setting and if I took it slower than I had been doing (I do tend to be a speed demon) my machine blind hem looked really good, no crease. I still will hand hem if the fabric is fragile or satin but I machine hem a lot.
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Svetlana
Posted on: 10/6/08 9:42 AM ET
In reply to mandeedee
It might depend on which machine you use to do the hem. When I use the computerized Bernina, it does a very good job right from the start. The standard setting that comes up when you choose the blind stitch number only catches the last edge of the fabric in the folded over part of the hem. You have to keep the fold pressed against the edge of the center tab on the Bernina foot, #5, or it will miss catching that last thread on the fold. On my mechanical Bernina it will do the same thing but you will have to play with the settings of the stitch width to achieve the same effect. I agree that if you are doing something in silk or other fine, light fabric, you would probably be better served doing it by hand, although you might be able to play with settings on some scrap pieces of the fabric and see if you can make it work for you on the machine. Ironing the fabric flat will make the target for the needle to catch a bit more distinct, and therefore easier to just catch those elusive last threads on the fold.
John
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John
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Posted on: 10/8/08 11:56 AM ET
I find the blindhem on a Bernina usually works nicely if I add one additonal step. The fold left from the presser foot pressing down on the fabric while being sewn seems to accentuate the blind stitches. So, after blindhemming, I fold the hem the reverse of how I folded it to blindhem and then finger press it firmly all the way around. This seems to loosen the threads in the blindhem enough to let them ease into the fabric. Then I press the blindhem stitches flat with an iron. This process works quite well to make the stitches more "blind", and saves me lots of time hand-hemming.
However, if I were doing a fine or sheer hem, I would try this process first on a sample of fabric. Otherwise, I would probably hem it by hand - as others have suggested.
Another technique that works very well with some lighter fabrics is to apply a strip of lightweight fusible interfacing (cut the width of the hem) from the hemline up (rather than onto the hem allowance). This allows the blindhem stitches to catch the interfacing rather than the fabric, and also gives a slight bit of weight to the hem.
However, if I were doing a fine or sheer hem, I would try this process first on a sample of fabric. Otherwise, I would probably hem it by hand - as others have suggested.
Another technique that works very well with some lighter fabrics is to apply a strip of lightweight fusible interfacing (cut the width of the hem) from the hemline up (rather than onto the hem allowance). This allows the blindhem stitches to catch the interfacing rather than the fabric, and also gives a slight bit of weight to the hem.
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