Tangled Thread

how-to of the day: invisible hem stitching

by Chloe on April 25th, 2008

Seeing as my major project these days is hand sewing velvet, I thought I’d share with you a stitch that makes my life so much easier! I don’t want to be able to see the stitching at all on the memorial runners, so I’m using an invisible stitch - here’s how:

To begin with, I’ve got my hem basted, measured and pinned and we’re working on the wrong side. I prefer to pin hems one at a time when I’m hand sewing - I seem to end up with scratches from pins otherwise…

I’m using four strands of standard polyester thread and a basic sharp needle. I’ve knotted my thread at the very edge of the fabric and inserted my needle between the layers of fabric in the hem. The needle is brought up through the hem.

Sorry for the slightly blurred photo on this step :-) Take the needle and insert in into the lining, but not into the front of the fabric. Slide the needle between the two layers of fabric and bring it back to the working side (or back) of the fabric. I’m using a stitch length of approximately 3/8″ for this project.

Now repeat the same process in the hem. Slide the needle through the layers of fabric, making sure to always keep the needle and thread between layers.

When this stitch is done correctly, you can’t tell that it’s been sewn at all - just the way I like it :-)

all images: C Findlay-Harder

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POSTED IN: How To, sewing, techniques, tutorials