July Quick Tip
Time for another Brother Sews Quick Tip!
Small double turned hems are common in many different sewing projects. This quick tip will help you sew a small, even hem using a few different tricks to make your hem more accurate. Here’s how:
- Decide on finished width of the hem. I used a double turned 3/8-inch hem in this example. To make sewing easy, I decided to use the edge of the presser foot to sew the hem. For this technique, you’ll want to begin by sewing a line of stitching to use as a guide for turning and pressing. After sewing the first line, you’ll find it easy to turn and press using this line for the final hem.
- If you have the Sew Straight Laser Guide on your Brother machine,
you can use it to help set the position for your first stitching line. First, I placed a sliding seam gauge set for 3/8-inch along the edge and then moved the laser, so it was a scant distance from the 3/8 mark. See Figure #1. - Why a “scant” 3/8-inch you ask? This first line of stitching should be slightly narrower than the finished hem, so you can turn and press on the line and then have the hem finish at a full 3/8-inch when you do the final topstitching.
Figure #1[/caption]
- Next, I changed the width key so that the needle position matched the laser position. The needle position shows up on the screen of the machine as a blue line, and the laser is red. When the two of these are matched up you will just see the blue line, telling you that the needle and the laser are at exactly the same spot. See Figure #2.
Figure #2[/caption]
- Stitch the “turn and press” line a scant 3/8- inch from the raw edge. See Figure #3.
Figure #3[/caption]
- Press the first part of the hem, pressing just beyond the stitching line, so stitches are hidden when you turn the hem under the second time. Now turn hem for the second time to make the double fold. You may want to use an iron for pressing but depending on your fabric it’s possible to finger press. See Figure #4.
Note: I used contrast thread so you could see the stitches. In most cases, you’ll want to match your fabric for a neat and clean look.
[caption id="attachment_16334" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Figure #4[/caption]
That’s all there is to it! You have a nice, neat hem you can be proud of! Try this same technique with a variety of hem widths. It’s particularly helpful when you need a narrow hem. See finished hem below:
Related Projects
Stay Connected
* Required fields
Follow Us
- Product Support
- Product Support Assistant
- Terms of Sale
- Product-Registration
- Search Supplies/Accessories
- Ordering & Shipping Information
- Ordering & Account FAQs
- View Order Status
- Warranty & Extended Warranty Information
- Recall Information
- Return Policy
- Security Support Information(Opens in a new tab)
- Contact Brother
