While I am almost finished with the dress, I thought I would take a moment to show you how to finish a knit hem, without a coverstitch machine (the ideal) or a twin needle.
Coverstitch machines absolutely make me drool. They provide the finishes you find on the bottom of your T-shirts. They are also VERY expensive. Some people prefer to use a twin needle instead, but I have never had any luck with the strength of the stitch. So, we are going to go through the process without either.
First thing, you will NEED is a zig-zag stitch on your machine. Pretty basic stuff. Test on a scrap piece of your fabric, maybe a leftover armhole cut-out. You want to use the shortest and narrowest ZIG-ZAG stitch you can find.
As you can see , the stitch will hide itself in the knit, almost so much so that it takes on the look of a straight stitch, but with added stretch flexibility. Fold over the hem at desired length. This picture is shown finished. It slipped my mind to get a picture of how it should be folded to be hemmed, but you can see that the right side of the sleeve is on the inside.
Place the sleeve/ cuff/ pant leg under the presser foot. You will sew from the right side, as in topstitching, but the right side will be the inside. (Clear as mud??) A walking foot is HIGHLY recommended for KNITS. No, wait, it is a MUST!! Also, start near to the what will be the inside seam, but not quite on the seam itself. Any bulk from the stitches will be hidden when worn, that way. Starting directly on the seam will make your machine do very funny things that will make you spend hours with your LEAST favorite tool, the seam ripper. ---Insert menacing horror music here--- |
| Speed is not your friend here! You MUST keep an even distance all the way around the hem, as it will be your reference for the next row of stitches. |
Proceed slowly, making sure you maintain an even distance. I prefer to start on what will be the lowest row, far away from raw edge. Those raw edges like to get eaten by my machine, if I don't. When that row is finished, move up to the next row in the hem. Take three deep breaths...it's almost over! Place your presser foot down, with the seam you just completed to the right of your needle, and near the raw edge of the fabric. Like before, the right side (of the sleeve shown) is on the inside, but we will still sew as in topstitching, and go SSSLLLLOOOOWWWW.
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| Maintain equal distance from the first seam!!! |
When it is finished, it will look like this!
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| Sleeve right side out |
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| Sleeve view of inside and outside |
P.S. Do not forget to press your seams!!! If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below, and please subscribe if you like what you have learned. Thanks!
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