ATTENTION INTERNET

[yagathai]

Who can teach me to sew a rolled hem in the next 40 hours or so? My sewing experience is limited to panicking when I lose a button and taking things to the tailor when they rip.

If I can't figure this out then I'll have to wear a pocket square with a flat fold instead of a point or stair fold. Not that there's anything wrong with the flat fold (see most of the pocket squares in Mad Men) but it doesn't work as well with my outfit as a stair fold or point fold, or even a wing puff and normally I regard the wing puff fold very dubiously indeed.

Comments

[xraytheenforcer.livejournal.com]

damn. I can't help you here. :(

[lawbabeak.livejournal.com]

Surely there must be a tutorial on youtube somewhere. I have a notion of how to do it, but would probably check various internet sources before attempting to explain it to you.

[lawbabeak.livejournal.com]

I am annoyed by the number of "how to hand sew a rolled hem" start with doing something with a sewing machine.

http://sewing.lovetoknow.com/how-sew-rolled-hem

This is one of the few sets of instructions that do not require a machine.

Instructions from incandescens are not what I think of when I think "rolled hem," but rather a regular hem on a small scale.

Do you have a piece of fabric you want to use as a pocket square? Either hemming technique will work, they'll just produce a slightly different edge and body to that edge.

[incandescens]

Ah. It sounds as if I may have misunderstood what was meant by a "rolled hem", as I assumed it was a hem type of hem. Still, for hand-stitching, my method should at least produce a hem... :)

[incandescens]

Trust me, this can be done. What you need is an iron. And a needle. And thread in a colour which matches the fabric.

a) Take fabric which requires hem. Place on ironing board. Fold edge over (probably about 5mm to a quarter-inch) and iron it flat. Fold edge over _again_ and repeat process. This leaves you without an edge showing.

b) Take needle and thread. Whip stitch (or slip stitch) the hem, which will stay in position and give you a straight line to work along because you've ironed it in place. Here's a picture of how to do whipstitch - http://www.ia470.com/wardrobe/whip.png - though googling on "whip stitch hem" or "slip stitch hem" will give you plenty more examples. The idea is to do it while showing a minimum amount of thread, which is why you need to make sure you have thread in the same colour as the fabric.

Best of luck!

[yagathai.livejournal.com]

Much appreciated! I suppose it would help if I had a working iron and was able to fold or cut a straight line.

[incandescens]

Best of luck. :) In the absence of an iron, you could try pulling the fold between your thumb nail and fingernail in order to try to set it in place, the way you would do to sharpen a fold in paper.

[thelastmehina.livejournal.com]

If you have the time, check out a craft store and look for a seam ruler. It's a little metal ruler, usually about 6" long, with a plastic tab that you can slide up and down the ruler. When you slide it to 1/4", it helps you measure the fold on the fabric, and helps you hold it down while you iron.

The lack of a working iron I can't help with... >.<

Here's an article on how to use a sewing machine with a special foot attachment: http://www.craftstylish.com/item/7880/how-to-create-a-rolled-hem.

Depending on the fabric you're working with, you might be able to get away with lightly wetting the edge and finger pressing instead of ironing. Or pinning.

[yagathai.livejournal.com]

If I can figure this out, maybe I'll try something more ornamental. A herringbone stitch, maybe.

[incandescens]

There are many useful pictures and youtube videos out there, so good luck!