Supplies and Tools:

• Project that needs a hem. Shirt, dress, pants, etc.
• Color thread for hem stitching
• Brother sewing machine with built-in decorative stitches {Utility or Decorative}
• Hem tape for stabilizing
• I used double gauze fabric and this free swing dress pattern HERE.(Opens in a new tab)

Directions:

Begin by sewing up your project until it’s time for the hems. I’ll show how I did it for my project, but it should be easy to translate this for the project you are working on. When I got to the sleeve hems, I finished the bottom of the sleeve before sewing the side seam. {if using a set-in sleeve, you can hem before sewing it into a circle}

I also pressed over a 1” hem at this point as well.

Open up the pressed hem and then add the hem tape to the finished edge of the fabric. This double gauze fabric is slightly stretchy due to the crinkly nature of the fabric. This hem tape keeps the fabric from stretching out while adding the decorative hem. The hem tape also will help to protect the fabric, like embroidery stabilizer. Most decorative hems have the needle going through the fabric many more times than a straight stitch hem, so the stabilizer will help to keep everything just where it should be.

I like doing all this before the sleeve is sewn into a circle, but you could do all this in the round as well. The next step in the process is to sew the sleeve or bottom hem into a circle. To do this, I removed the paper backing of the hem tape.

Once the paper is removed, place the right sides together on the sleeve and sew up the side seam.

Fold the 1” hem back over and pin or clip in place.

On my machine {the Essence VM5200}, I have utility stitches and decorative stitches. Both can be used for hemming. Under the decorative stitch tab there are many beautiful stitches for hems.

Here are just a few of the beautiful stitches under this tab.

There are also some great hemming stitches under the utility tab as well.

I used 3-07 for the hems in this tutorial. You can adjust the width and length a bit of the stitch before sewing.

Place the sleeve under the machine foot. If it’s a small sleeve, it will take a bit of wiggling to sew in the circle.

Stitch all the way around and make sure not to stretch out the fabric. The hem tape should help keep things in place, but depending on the fabric, you just need to be aware of this. When you get back around to the beginning of the stitches, use a locking stitch to finish the hem.

When you take the sleeve off the machine, you will see your beautiful decorative hem for the first time. This turned out even more beautiful than I was thinking. The hem tape worked well to keep my fabric from stretching out.

I’m really pleased with how the back of the hem looks as well. I tried to stitch right on my serger seam edge finish, so it all blends in really well. Isn’t the gauze just so dreamy looking?

The process is the same for sewing a skirt, a dress hem, or a pants hem, I think this would look lovely on linen fabric or, really, any woven fabric.

I’m so pleased with how this turned out and my daughter loves her new dress. Double gauze is super cozy and a perfect fall fabric. I also love how it doesn’t need to be ironed when it comes out of the wash. If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I only iron when I have to, and this type of fabric is perfect for my non-ironing self. What are you working on that could use beautiful decorative hems?