Hemming Tapered Pants

Many people are frustrated when they try to hem tapered pants. They get a lot of puckers along the stitching line, no matter how careful they try to be. That is because hems for tapered pants are cut in a certain way. Once you cut off the factory-cut hem allowance, you've lost the added hem width required to smoothly stitch the hem.

Imagine this is a tapered pant leg. I drew in the hem stitching with pencil.Now, if I open up the hem and lay it flat, it looks like this.Can you see how the shape of the hem flares out at the bottom? That's because it must match the width of the leg not at the opening, but 1 1/2" or so up, where it will be sewn.

Now, in the course of shortening the pants, I cut the original hem off:And fold it up again (I have outlined the edges of the hem allowance in pencil b/c I couldn't get a good photo):There is not enough hem width to span the width of the larger pant leg anymore.

The solution?That's it. Just open and spread the inseam enough to accommodate the width of where the hem is to be sewn. That's how tailors do it and that's how dressmakers do it. Nothing magical at all!

In extremely tapered pants, you may need to open the outseam as well. But my best advice is...don't wear extremely tapered pants!

Narrow Hemming Foot

If I could keep only one specialty presser foot it would be my narrow hemming foot. I have many actually...they are quite easy to find amongst the paraphernalia you find with vintage sewing machines and we have well over a dozen of those.

Traditionally, to make a narrow hem, you would:

1. Fold up 1/4" of the raw edge
2. Stitch very close to the fold
3. Trim off the raw edge, very close to the stitching (a duck-billed appliqué scissors is superb for this)
4. Fold up again and stitch this time close to the inner fold, right over the previous stitching.
   

There is nothing wrong with this method and sometimes it is preferable. It can produce a hem narrower than you can get with a 1/8" hemming foot, and it is also sometimes easier to do with difficult fabrics such as bias, springy, stretchy, or textured fabrics.

However, for most applications, the narrow hemming foot is like a little miracle of efficiency...once you get the hang of it. In other words...it does take a bit of practice and patience at first. Rip strips of muslin or calico and go for it.

The two I use most of course fit my modern Pfaff. One makes an 1/8th inch hem and the other 1/4 inch. I've been trying for weeks to take some photos while using them but it seems everything I hem lately is black. So today, given a slight break in the action, and since we are "sewing with our feet" at our ASG meeting this week, I thought I'd hem some muslin strips to photograph. However, I found that plenty of good tutorials already exist online so I am instead going to point you to those then offer my own tips for success and suggest some fun variations.

Here are some good tutorials:
Threads Magazine
Jan Andrea at home
Sew News

Basically, I became good friends with my hemmer foot when I used to make dog bandannas by the dozen. When you are getting paid $2 for a thing, and you have 60 of those things to make, you learn to do it efficiently. The bandannas were triangular so I got practice using the hemmer on both cross grain, lengthwise grain, and bias. And, because I was in "production mode," I also taught myself how to start the edges without pins. (I'm not even sure I can do that anymore!)

Here are some of my tips:

• When you must hem past a seam, it is always easier to hem with the seam laying in the direction of the hemming. In other words, so the seam is folded towards you. It feeds into the hemmer much more easily this way. I almost always fold the seams this way at the hem, even if they are pressed in the other direction above.
• Trim diagonal corners off seams before sending them through the hemmer. Less bulk makes it easier to pass through
• Use an awl to help "push" the bulk of a seam through the hemmer. It also helps to give it a bit of a pull from behind the foot. (Note I'm putting the point of the awl right into the top groove of the foot's curl.)

(Let's ignore the imbalanced serger stitch for now, shall we?)

• When hemming bias edges the edges will likely curl. Some of this can be steam pressed out. But if you want to avoid it as much as possible try stabilizing the edge with starch (press two or three light mists of starch at a time into the fabric) or other stabilizer.
  
• You can also somewhat stabilize an edge by first running a straight stitch around.

For fun and interesting ways to use a hemmer try these:

• Use a decorative stitch instead of a straight stitch over the hem.
• Purposefully stretch a bias edge to get a floaty, curly edge.
• Use a narrow hem to seam two lightweight fabrics together in lieu of a French seam
• Insert lace or other trim into the roll of a narrow hem for a one-pass application and finish.

Hemming Cuffed Pants

First things first....Happy New Year!! I hope you've all enjoyed a restful holiday and had extra time to enjoy you favorite passions. I spent a lot of time knitting and spinning (something new for me.) Don't most of us enjoy more than one fiber hobby? I made 3 fair isle tammies for gifts, including some of my first homespun in one, and also gifted two skeins of homespun to a dear friend. For another dear friend, and my son's sweet girlfriend, I made beaded knitting stitch markers. So, I have had busy hands, though not sewing.

Today I have to ease myself into working again so I'm doing only one thing...hemming a pair of cuffed pants. There are several ways to think through the process, including one particularly easy to manage method described in Mary Roehr's Altering Women's Ready to Wear. I used this book almost daily when I started alterations and still refer to it periodically when I need to reassure myself about some complex alteration.

The method I'll describe for you here is different than Ms. Roehr's but is how I handle the process lately. Here goes:

1. Record these things:

• Amount you need to shorten each leg
• Depth of hem (bottom of pants to raw or finished edge of hem allowance inside pant leg)
  
• Depth of cuff (bottom of pants to top fold of cuff outside pant leg)
  

2. Release any tacking that has been done to keep cuff upright.

3. Rip old hem stitching. Fortunately, machine blind-stitched hems can be "unzipped" easily. Press hems flat.

4. Cut off the amount by which you must shorten each leg. (I like to do this with each leg laying flat, inseam and outseam lined up on top of eachother, and using a quilting ruler and rotary cutter.)

5. Re-finish the raw hem edges by serging, taping, pinking, or zigzagging.

6. Press up, to the inside, the hem depth PLUS the cuff depth. If the hem depth is 1 1/2" and the cuff depth is 2" than you will be pressing 3 1/2" to the inside. Pin baste.

7. Stitch the hem as desired.

8. Fold and press cuff depth to the outside of the leg.

9. Tack cuff up by hand or machine. I usually place a few machine stitches "in the ditch" of the cuff/pant leg, through all layers, at inseams and outseams.

Essentially what you are doing with this method is recording how the hem was made, deconstructing it, cutting off the amount to be shortened, and then re-constructing the hem just as it was made.

Lately, with much deeper cuffs being popular, I have several times encountered cuffs that are actually separate bands of fabric sewn to the bottom of the pants and folded to mimic cuffs but with much less bulk than traditional cuffs would produce. When I hem these, I record the same measurements as above. Then, I take apart one cuff and record the depth of the seam allowance where the band is sewn on. I cut off the required amount from the actual pant leg, than simply re-attach the cuff band in the same way it was. By taking apart only one leg at a time I can always use the other as a guide during re-construction.

The Fishline Hem

The fishline hem is without a doubt my favorite sewing "special effect." I insisted on this finish for my bridal veil before I knew what it was called, or even knew the first thing about sewing or fabrics.

A fishline hem is sort of "bouffant." It has graceful, bouncy, scalloped curves supported by monofilament nylon (fishing line) sewn into the hem. The easiest way to make a fishline hem is with a serger though I'm sure you could use a conventional machine with a zigzag stitch.

Any threads can be used in the serger, including decorative threads such as metallics. If you use a decorative thread in the upper looper, you may want to de-emphasize the needle and lower looper threads by making them the same color as the fabric, or using invisible threads. (You can also do a fishline hem with a 2-thread serger rolled hem for the most delicate effect.)

The fabric should be lightweight enough to work well with a tiny serger rolled hem. The lighter and stretchier the fabric, the more it will curl. Bias cut chiffon or organza work great. Tulle makes beautiful curls. Knits also work nicely.

I have used 20 or 25 pound fishing line. The former is a bit more delicate, the latter will give more pronounced curves.

Here are the steps:

• Cut your fabric on bias or, for a knit or tulle, on the cross grain.
• Set up your serger for 3-thread rolled hem and test it out to make sure it's making a nice, neat edge.
• Place the spool of fishline in your lap, unraveling a couple yards.
  
• If you have a serger foot intended to guide cording, place the fishling line through the hole. Otherswise, you can easily guide it over the "toe" of the foot, then under the needle/loopers as you serge.
  
• Pull at least 10" of fishline to the back of the foot.
• Start serging, making sure the fishline is getting caught in the "roll" of thread.

• Serge about 6" over just the fishline before introducing the fabric. You now have quite a bit of fishline and serged fishline behind the foot.
• Introduce the fabric. You may have to adjust setting to produce the nicest finish. (i.e., if you are getting wiry fabric ends poking through the roll you could increase cutting width to roll more fabric into the hem and/or decrease stitch length to provide more coverage.)
• Serge slowly, making sure to gently guide the fishline. It is easiest if you hold the fabric "tautly" as it goes through the foot. For more immediate curling, stretch the fabric as it feeds. Note in the photo below, I am holding the fabric taut as I also control the feed of the fishline.
• At the end of the fabric, continue serging for about 10" over just fishing line.
  

• Your work may already curling. (My bias muslin sample is not very curly yet, above. It's a fairly heavy fabric for the 20 lb. fishing line. But to make the curls even bouncier:

• Starting in the middle of the hem edge, grasp the hem b/w left thumb and forefinger and use your right hand to slide the stitching over the cord outward towards the ends of the seam.
• Keep working the rolled hem outward. You will see that as the accumulated bunchiness of the threads gets to the edge and then passes off the edge, the excess fishing line that you left there gets "taken up" into the hem. (****Therefore, the longer your fishline ruffle will be, the more of the fishing line you will need extra at each end of the seam before you start!)
  
• The more you stretch and spread out the edge, the curlier it gets! Here is my muslin sample again:

Now you can experiment with decorative threads. Metallic is my favorite. Here is a fishline hem on tulle with variegated metallic in the upper looper:
or gold metallic on peach tulle:
I have also used woolly nylon with metallic sparkles in it. That is available in many colors. Rayon threads are also nice over fishline hems. I like the stitching to be fairly open (longer stitch length)....then the curl seems to "float" around the body of the garment, especially if you've used invisible thread in the needle and lower looper. All that shows is the decorative thread in the shape of the curl, floating around the edge of the fabric.

Fishing line is also available in some crazy fluorescent colors. I bet one could create some interesting effects with those!

Don't forget, you can also use fishline in a 2-thread serger rolled hem for the most delicate look of all.

Turning a Corner on a Serger Hem

I had a job this week hemming cotton napkins. My client has kindly allowed me to use pictures taken during the process. (I do not, of course, charge for time I spend photographing anything!) I want to illustrate how to turn a corner neatly when serger roll hemming.

In this case I am using a 3-thread rolled hem with metallic in the upper looper and thin monofilament nylon (invisible thread) in the needle and the lower looper. You will probably not see the nylon thread in the pictures. It is thinner than a baby's hair.

Note: Monofilament nylon thread is extremely elastic. That means that corresponding tensions must be lowered quite a bit. Metallic also calls for a lower tension than usual, but the adjustment is not as pronounced as with the nylon.

The napkins are square. In order to prepare to turn corners, one must pre-trim the corners on at least 3 of the corners. This is because when you turn the corner and start serging on the next side, you will be placing the top of the new side right under the needle...it must be able to get past the knife. So however much you plan to trim with the serger knife, must be trimmed from the 2nd side of each subsequent corner. Trim them in a wheel formation, turning the square in the same direction each time, so each corner is trimmed in the same orientation, just like this:I just trimmed all four corners so that I could start the hemming with fabric under the foot, but it is not really necessary to trim the first corner, b/c you can feed it from in front of the knife and let the knife trim for you.

Start hemming the first edge at the first corner. As you approach the end of the first side, the 2nd corner, slow down as you approach the end - (note the pre-trimmed corner)
You may need to hand walk the last couple stitches. The goal is to stop stitching right at the edge of the first side, or maybe 1 stitch past.
Once you've come to a stop right at the edge of the end of the first side, raise the needle to its highest position and raise the presser foot -
Here's the tricky part.... Gently remove the work from the stitch finger by pulling it slowly straight towards the back of the machine. You should feel when the "roll" becomes free from the stitch finger. The threads will be "free." The goal is to pull the work only as far back as you need to in order to release the threads so that you can rotate the work to turn the corner.

Rotate the work counterclockwise and snug it up into position so that the very next stitch will go just into the beginning of the 2nd side, right into the end of the previous side's roll. Better still if the needle's first dive goes just before the roll. You will find where on your machine is the best place. On mine, I position the previous side's roll right under the tips of the presser foot's "toes." The right edge of the 2nd side is snugged right up to the knife. (Hence the pre-trimming)
In order to help the serger feed evenly over the roll of the previous side, I place my left index finger next to the presser foot and exert a bit of backward and inward pressure for the first few stitches.In this one you can see the roll forming.
You can also see where the knife will begin cutting when it catches up with your pre-trimmed flap.

Repeat this process for the next 2 corners. With a little practice you will get nice little corners that look like this:
Howevver, sometimes you get a wonky thing sticking out like this:
When that happens you can just cut off the offending bit of fabric and hit it with some Fray Check©.

Ah, but alas, there is always a catch. When you get back to that first corner, where you started stitching, you still will have to just serge off the side and then finish the tail off in whatever manner you usually do. Nothing in life is perfect, right?
Isn't this a gorgeous Robert Kaufman print? It's a treat for me to work with such bright colors...and metallic gold...what else could a girl ask for?

Working with Knits

Knits are hot again this season and it's easy to understand why women love them. They drape gracefully, are comfortable, and can often be balled up in a drawer and come out like new. Some brief tips on working with knits:

• Use a ball point needle for jersey or coarse knits. A stretch needle may work better for some knits blended with lycra/spandex.
• Polyester thread has more stretch than cotton so is usually best for stretchy seams.
• Knits stretch, so the seams must stretch as well. Otherwise, wearing will cause the fabric to stretch everywhere except the seams and seams will appear puckered and feel uncomfortable.
  
• Horizontal seams (hems) will "pop" as the garment is pulled over the head or worn, if stretch is not built into the stitches .
  
• To build stretch into a seam or hem ~

1. Stretch fabric as you stitch - If you stretch the piece as you stitch, you embed enough thread into the seam to allow it to stretch to the same point when you wear it.
   
2. Use a stretch stitch, narrow zigzag, or serger stitch.
3. An over-stretched stitched seam will appear wavy. In some cases you can steam press it back into shape. If not, stretch less as you sew. It is helpful to run a couple test samples to see just how much you can stretch the fabric as you sew without creating permanent waviness.
   

• There are some seams that you do not want to stretch as the garment is worn...shoulders and V-necklines for example. Those can be stabilized with narrow elastic. Clear elastic is very flat and works great.
• Some drapey knits will "spring back" when hems are cut. In other words, when the weight of the excess hem allowance removed, they will spring up too much, and be too short. See this post on my experience with this on a slinky knit prom dress. For this reason, it is wise to cut small amounts of hem off at a time, allowing the knit to relax before cutting more, repeating until you have achieved the proper hem allowance.
• Some knits run, just like a run in pantyhose (which are knits themselves of course.) Usually they will run more readily in one direction than the other. To check, stretch each crosswise cut of your yardage. If one end runs, use that end for the hem end of the garment, and be sure to serge or zigzag finish the raw edge.

Knits can be difficult to find locally but there are some great online sources. Here are some of my favorites:

Emma One Sock - great selection of buttermilk, rayon jerseys. Beautiful, hard to find, sweater knits, designer knits.

Gorgeous Things - great selection of printed polyester jerseys, rayon jerseys

Lucy's Fabrics - printed rayon knits, spandex knits, slinky, large selection of double knits

Fashionista Fabrics - Fantastic prices on printed knits, double knits, a few sweater knits

Hemming Tip 3

When performing alterations on RTW a major concern is that once something is de-constructed, I'll be able to remember how to reconstruct it correctly!

Often, when working on sleeves or pant legs, I can take one apart and put it back together using the other, original side, as a guide.

But sometimes I just want to take both sides apart at the same time. Or perhaps it is a unique feature of the garment that needs changing and there is no other side for comparison, maybe a collar or a single pocket.

In those cases I will use my digital camera to document the various stages of construction as I take it apart. For example this series of a dress vent:That way if I "lose" my place when I'm putting it back together, I have the pictures for reference.

Circular Ruffles

A.K.A. the "flounce."

Still on sewing geometry in general and circles in particular, we come to my favorite thing about circles...the way they ruffle. Nothing is more feminine, more graceful, than a circular ruffle.

Circular ruffles, or flounces, are made of circular rings, just like circular skirts. However, in most cases, you will want more than one complete circle to make up your ruffle. The reason is that a single circle, applied in a one-to-one ratio to a circular opening, say a neckline, will just lie flat, like a facing. In order for a circular ruffle to ruffle it's attachment edge must be somewhat straightened out.

You can experiment with this easily enough. Cut a rough muslin circle, with a circular hole in the middle large enough to go around a neckline (about 19 or 20"). This one is 19" around the interior and 2.5" deep.
It just lays around Suzie's neck like a collar or facing. Not very exciting.

Here is the same circle, cut in one place and laid so the interior circle is straight:

Pretty, right? Of course, it can't be straightened out and go around her neck at the same time. But if we use several smaller circles, like this one -
- it will have to open out to be sewn to the neckline:
The magic happens again. However, this circular will only make it around about 1/3 of the way so we'd need three of these smaller circles to surround the entire neckline.

**The more circles you use for your flounce, the rufflier it'll be.** (There is probably some kind of mathematical explanation for this. I have a brother-in-law who wrote a whole book on the number zero and I will have to ask him when he's back from sabbatical.)

To determine how many circles you want to use, experiment with muslin, just as I did here.

**In some cases one circle may be sufficient for a very gentle ruffle. Sewn to the straight hemline of a skirt, for example, a circle must be opened out and will ruffle when hanging down. But in many other cases you will want more fullness. 2, 3, or more circles.

How do you calculate the exact size of the rings?

Remember:

Circumference = 2 X pi X radius
C = 6.3 X radius

Say you are making a triple circle ruffle around a neckline that is 20" around its seamline.

20"is the finished circumference of the neckline ruffle, the seamline, not the cutting line.

But there are 3 circles, so each is 20"/3 = 6.7" in circumference.

But, wait...you will need seam allowances to attach the circles to each other.

6.7" + 2 seam allowances =
6.7" + 5/8" + 5/8" = 7.95"

The inner circle you will draw will have a circumference of 7.95" (Go ahead and call it 8"...take a walk on the wild side!)

In order to draw a circle with a circumference of 8, what is the radius?

C= 2 pi r
C=6.3r
8=6.3r
r = 1.27"
Yeah, make it 1 1/4"

If you want a 2" ruffle, draw another circle around the first, 2" away (or from the same center with a radius of 3 1/4")

Now you have a donut with enough dough for 2 seam allowances when you slash it through the line:You must also provide for seam allowances at the neck and hem. Draw those in:Note, I've only drawn them partially, b/c it's hard to do in Paint. (By the way, circles and other geometric shapes are very easy to draft in a CAD program such as comes with Wild Ginger's pattern drafting software Pattern Master Boutique. - I just can't figure out how to get the drawings from there to here...)

Now you are ready to cut three circles, assemble them and attach to the neckline.

You can hem circular ruffles just as you'd hem a straight ruffle. By narrow hemming, serger rolling, or lining with more circles.

Had enough math yet? I have!

Hemming Tip 2

As I was getting dressed this morning, I noticed just how much difference, on this cotton paisley skirt, there is between the front and back length. (I can't seem to do anything anymore without relating it to my blog!)

See it here, hanging with the front and back waists even at the top: (don't look, Mom, it's not pressed!)
I marked the hem of this skirt easily with a free-standing chalk hem marker.

• First pin up the front of the skirt to where you want the hem to fall.
• Adjust the level of the chalk dispenser on the hem marker to the hem level in the front
• Remove the pins and let the excess fabric fall straight down
• Squeeze the chalk bulb, marking the hem every few inches, all around the skirt as you slowly turn 360*
• Be sure to stand up straight at each step above, and be wearing appropriate shoes.

You are likely to find that your natural hem is longer in the back or front or sides. It may be longer on the right than left as well. But as long as you mark it in this fashion, it will look even from any direction.

Easy Jeans Hem

There are a couple ways to preserve the original hem on a pair of jeans. In recent years, with the popularity of distressed and decorative hems, I've been asked to do this quite a few times.

The first method, that I'll show you today, is to simply create a tuck on the wrong side of the pants that in effect moves the original hem upward.

The second method involves removing the original hem, taking it apart, and re-applying it like a binding after cutting down the pant legs. I used this method once when I accidentally cut a client's jeans on the hem line, rather than the cutting line. The result is marginally better than the easy method, and likely no one would notice the difference but you. With a microscope.

To do the first, easy method of moving an original hem up, you do not need to have jeans topstitching thread. You also do not need to cut the jeans before making the alteration. This way you can actually try them on and verify the length before cutting. Here are the steps to making this hem:

1. Pre-wash and dry jeans, at least once.
2. Try on jeans with appropriate shoes and fold up the hem to the ideal length.
3. Remove jeans and measure the amount of length to be taken up. For example, if you've folded up 2" to achieve your ideal length, you will be moving the original hem upwards 2" or removing 2" from the length of the pant leg.
4. Make a tuck, right sides together, around the pant leg just above the original hem - the depth of this tuck will equal half the amount you need to remove from the pant length. In our example, the tuck is 1" deep. (A 1" fold = 1" on each side of the tuck = 2" total removed.)
5. Place vertical pins (perpendicular to stitching line) at the inseam, outseam, center front and center back. You may wish to place horizontal pins (parallel to the stitching line) as well in between those.
6. Sew around the base of the tuck, as close as possible to the bulk of the original hem. You can move your needle all the way to the left or even use a zipper foot to get in close if necessary, but I usually have no problem. Use regular sewing thread in a color to match your denim. (Yup, that's a stretch needle I've got on the machine....ooops....you will, of course, use a universal, sharp, or denim needle, right?)
7. At this point you may wish to try on the jeans and verify proper length
8. Now you can sew again around the tuck, this time with a wide zigzag, close to the first row of stitching.
9. Trim away the excess tuck fabric beyond the zigzagging. (I am not trimming these as they are my jeans and don't need shortening.)
   
10. Press tuck up or down (it will end up down after wash and wear.)

The result of this procedure is a seam running around the leg immediately above the original hem. You will notice the seam at first...no one else will. You have quickly, easily hemmed your jeans with no special thread and no risk. And you have just deprived me of $15.

Hemming Tip

Just a little tip today.

It is very difficult to make a hand-stitched invisible hem on some fabrics. Gabardine and silk faille or 4-ply silk are among the toughest to deal with.

In general:

• Use a very fine, milliner's needle
• Pick up, vertically, only two threads from the skirt fabric
• Never pull the sewing thread taut....leave the stitches a bit loopy. You'd think they wouldn't hold the hem up, but they do.
• Use a 3rd hand clamp to hold fabric taut as you stitch
• Using a thread conditioner such as Thread Heaven or beeswax to prevent tangling. (Beeswax works better, but it must be pressed into the thread with an iron. So, usually I use Thread Heaven for quick jobs. When I have a couple hours' worth of hand-sewing ahead of me, then I'll take the time to use beeswax.)

And here's the tip:

• When hemming a serged edge, try picking up only a looper thread of the hem rather than stitching through the hem allowance fabric. The serger threads are loose and they give so your hem is more pliable, less noticeable. This photo shows the actual stitches a little more clearly -

I've been doing dressy hems this way for about 4 months and haven't had any come back yet...it must be working!

Beware of Jumping Slinky

A stunning young woman and her mom brought me her prom dress to alter last spring. It was a Grecian Goddess style made of acetate slinky - drapey, form-skimming slinky. Absolutely gorgeous on her dark-haired, delicate frame.

Petite, she is probably just over 5' without her heels. The dress was incredibly long, probably about 9" had to come off. So, I carefully pinned it up all around (with my best not-going-to-snag pins), gave her a pick up date, replaced the pins with thread tracing, draped it over the hanger, covered it in its plastic, and set it aside.

When it was time to do the dress, I took it out, assessed the evenness of my thread marking, and cut the hem. There was no hem allowance. No hem at all...the edge of this dress had been cut only and left raw as part of the design. So, I rotary cut it right on the hemline. (Rotary cutting gives a much neater cut than scissors.)

I put it on the form to make sure I'd cut it evenly and I could tell right away that something was wrong...it was much, much too short! What happened?

Well, of course, hindsight is 20/20. The weight of all that hem pinned up had weighed the lightweight but very stretchy slinky down significantly. When I cut it, it sprung up! Never having worked with slinky before, I'd had no idea this could happen.

This is when that unpleasant heat spreads through your whole body and you have a moment of pure panic.

I had to fess up and find a way to make amends. I photographed the dress and posted an SOS on our PACC discussion list.

My guilt was somewhat allayed by the fact that this had happened to other professionals on the list. And, of course, there were many suggestions as to how to fix this dress, as well as how to mark such hems in the future.

My first thought, after a consultation with the client, was to mimic the shirring in the bodice of the dress, at the hem at the sides:

But I didn't like the way it was coming together.

So, I decided to make a plain, straight band around instead:





The back of the dress was longer so I made a mitered point there:







In the end, it worked out OK. I didn't charge the clients for the hem (obviously!) and they were happy with the result. Mom even liked the band better than the original raw edge.

I learned a valuable lesson about hemming fabrics with significant lengthwise stretch. You must mark them a distance from the floor, say 12", with a skirt hem marker and chalk or pins. Then record the distance from your mark to where you want the final hem to be (you can do this by pinning the hem up in the usual way.) This is the same method I use to mark something that is too voluminous to pin all the way around or something that is hemmed right to the floor. But the difference is in the next step, the cutting.

Say I want the hem to fall 10" from the chalk marks. I would cut off some of the excess hem allowance and measure to see how much more I have to cut. Then I would cut a little more and measure again, and so on until I get to a point where the hem allowance is the proper distance from the chalk marks so that the hem itself will be 10" below the markings. You can do this right while the dress is hanging on the form.

This is probably a good way to hem very fluid bias fabrics as well, though I've never encountered any that spring up the way slinky does. I did use this method a couple times this season when hemming that very stretchy and currently very popular polyester interlock.

Serger Rolled Hem

A serger rolled hem can be done with 2 or 3 threads, depending on the capabilities of your machine. The 3-thread is generally easier to control. The 2 thread gives a more delicate finish sometimes nicer for fine sheer fabrics.

Follow the manual to set up your serger for rolled hemming. On newer machines it often just involves sliding a lever. On others it might require changing the needle plate. Additionally, if you intend to use only 2 threads, there must be a mechanism by which the upper looper is bypassed. (On my previous serger there was a small metal piece that fit into the upper looper allowing the lower looper thread to ignore it.)

Always experiment on scraps before starting on your actual piece.

Many people want to keep a record of exactly what settings work for a particular stitch. It's common for people to keep a sort of serging journal - when they find a stitch they like, they staple a piece of the serged fabric to a paper on which they've recorded all the tension, stitch length, differential feed, and cutting width settings. That's fine and actually a good idea in the beginning.

However, chances are that next time you go to make the same stitch, the settings will be a little different. So it's important to realize that when you pull out your stitch reference your settings will be relatively similar, not identical.

For example, for a 3-thread rolled hem, the lower looper tension will be higher than the needle or upper looper tension, and the stitch length will be somewhat lower than usual. The lower looper tension will not always be, say, 7. There are just too many variables to anticipate - fabric content and weave (i.e., georgette or chiffon?), cut of the fabric (true bias, partial bias, cross-grain, lengthwise?), thread content, type, and tension on the spool, needle type and size, even weather. (Yup, I truly believe the weather matters!)

Variables

Use your scraps to fine tune the settings:

• Sometimes you might want more thread coverage for a prominent roll, other times you might want the stitches to be very open and inconspicuous.
  
• You may want the smallest roll possible, in which case you can try tightening both looper tensions even further, decreasing cutting width, and/or changing thread types (mono-filament nylon, for example, is quite elastic and might squeeze the roll tighter.) A 2-thread hem will also be more delicate than a 3-thread. ~
  

• You may want an obvious, prominent roll, as for table linens or accessories. Try increasing cutting width, using a smaller stitch length, and perhaps a fatter thread, perhaps a beefy decorative thread such as perle cotton or ribbon. (More on serging with specialty threads in a future post.) You might even run some cording into the roll to give it some heft and stiffness. Remember, you're the boss. This rolled hem was done with a thick gold metallic decorative thread ~

• You can run wire through the roll (very carefully so it doesn't hit the knives) and make your own wired ribbon.
  
• You can run fishing line through the roll for a graceful, scalloped edge. (more in a future post.) ~

• You can attach lace or other trim with a rolled hem. This is an especially elegant application ~

• Run over a fold without cutting, the rolled hem makes nice pin tucking.
• Note: You can use rolled hem settings without actually rolling the fabric. The idea here is to increase lower looper tension relative to upper looper tension. The upper looper thread will then wrap completely around to the back of the fabric, giving the nice coverage of a rolled hem without the rolling. Especially useful for finishing the edges of thick decorator fabrics. You can do this over the regular stitch finger while cutting for an even edge.
  

Problem Solving

Whiskers - This is how I describe when fabric thread ends stick out from the rolled hem like, well, whiskers. It can be especially problematic on bias cuts. There are several ways to deal with whiskers (besides bleach or wax.)

• Try increasing cutting width. Having more fabric in the roll helps those fiber ends become secured inside the roll.
• Try decreasing stitch length. More thread coverage may secure the whiskers.
• Woolly nylon thread spreads over the surface of the roll providing coverage than regular thread.
• Press a fold into the edge of the fabric, then do the serged hem over the folded edge, without cutting.
  
• Run a length of straight grain fabric along the hem as you serge. Understand that this will make the roll beefier and eliminate any stretch.
  

Waving - This is when the hem edge stretches as you serge, forming waves or undulations. Sometimes you want that waviness as it's quite feminine and lacy looking. But if you want a straight edge here's what to do:

• If possible do all hemming on straight or cross grain. (i.e. for napkins or scarves.) Note: cross grain will sometimes wave when straight doesn't. Remember, cross grain is stretchier than lengthwise. If that happens, you may have to turn up differential feed on the cross grain edges only.
• Turn up the differential feed slightly. Anytime you have trouble with a fabric stretching under the serger foot, this is the thing to do.
• Use your fingers to push fabric towards the presser foot as it feeds. Just as you would on a conventional SM if you were stay-stitching.
• Try starching the edges first.

Roll comes off edge of fabric - Don't you hate when rolls get away from you??? Seriously, this is when the rolled hem just detaches from the body of the fabric. It's quite disturbing when it happens. But you can fix it:

• Increase cutting width. This in effect places the stitches further into the body of the fabric, giving them more "grip."
• Decrease stitch length. The denser the stitches, the more perforated the fabric is and the more likely it is to come apart.
• Use a smaller needle for smaller holes.
• In extreme cases, you may have to pre-fold the fabric edge and serge over the fold, as above.

A serger is worth having just for the rolled hemming. It's fast and fun and gives a very professional finish.

A (very) Quick Lesson on Bias

If you are partial to A-line or circle skirts you've probably noticed that, over time, the sides of the skirt get longer. Why?

Fabric has dramatically different properties based on the way it's hanging. Imagine one piece of fabric, 20 yards long, on a loom. (Looms aren't 20 yards long of course, but this is just a visual.)

The threads that make up the fabric go in two directions. Some are 20 yards long and go the entire length of the fabric. Those are warp threads.

The others are woven in at right angles to the warp. They are only 20 - 60 inches wide or so depending on how wide the loom is. These are the weft threads.

Warp threads are stronger and more stable (less elastic) than weft threads. When garments are made, they are generally made so that the warp threads run vertically up and down the body and weft threads, which have more give, run around the body horizontally. (This helps accommodate for that last, wholly unwarranted, trip to the buffet.)

Now, sometimes a garment is cut "on the bias." When you are watching an awards show and the stars parade up the red carpet in those drapey, flowing, form-skimming silk gowns - those are likely bias gowns. Often times they are the dresses that look like "a very simple dress." Not so - bias gowns are the most challenging to make.Why? Because when garment pieces are cut "on the bias," they have little or no stability. Bias cut fabric sections have warp and weft threads that run diagonally on the fabric. There are, then, no threads that run directly from shoulder to hem, or side to side, and stability is lost. There's no anchoring.Bias fabric stretches and slips and slides and really "morphs" every time you touch it. I tell students that sewing bias silk is like sewing water.

So...what does any of this have to do with your skewed rayon skirt? Well, the skirt is cut with those stable warp threads running down the center front. But just due to the shape of the skirt pieces being triangular, the fabric on the sides has bias qualities. Only the middle section has threads that run from waist to hem. The flared edges do not.

So, over time, it stretches out on the sides, where there are no threads anchored to the waist. What's worse, if there is no stretch in the seam itself, then the fabric near the seam stretches and the seam doesn't, leaving a ratty looking puckery line along the seamline stitching. (I can't draw this..but you'll know it when you see it.)

Note how, in the gored skirt, left, the lengthwise fabric threads can be re-distributed over the smaller gore sections. Because the skirt is cut in more sections, you can place more threads that go vertically from the waist to the hem. You achieve the same fullness, but with less bias instability. And the small amount of bias instability that is present, is distributed evenly among 6 seams (in a 6-gore skirt) rather than two, as in the skirt drawing above.

When you are making a non-gored skirt yourself, you can compensate for future stretching by letting the garment panels hang and stretch before you sew them together. It would also be wise to sew any bias seam with some stretch built it...a narrow zigzag stitch or a serged seam to avoid that ugly puckering at the stitching line if stretching occurs.

For those with RTW that has stretched, it can be re-hemmed.