I absolutely love a blind hem, but the first several attempts I made were disastrous. Trying to comprehend the instructions booklet that came with my sewing machine had me ripping more stitches than I could count. I simply could not wrap my brain around the vague pictures. Then I had my AHA moment and thought I needed to share it with the world. I really wanted to title this tutorial -- "How to Wrap Your Brain Around a Blind Hem" ... lol but thought it didn't quite match the gorgeous fabric I used in my step-by-step tutorial. Before I talk about the fabric, here's a basic definition of a blind hem.
blind hem /blīnd hem/ noun
A method of hemming fabric so that the stitch thread is invisible, or nearly invisible on the front of the garment.
Okay, let's discuss the stunning floral fabric, shall we?! This print is just one of 18 in the Berkshire Garden line, available now by Lila Tueller for Riley Blake Designs. These vibrant prints showcase a mixture of floral, damask, flourishes and pears. Simply stunning!
These fabrics have me dreaming of Spring! In fact, this dress will be my daughter's Easter Dress. I chose the Aqua Berkshire Main and paired it with Pink Berkshire Flourish. I chose one of my favorite patterns to sew, the Amsterdam Dress by Little Lizard King.
I definitely squealed when I opened the package. They are even prettier in person! I thought this fabric was the perfect canvas for a blind hem. As neat as my normal hemming is, I couldn't bear to sew through those roses.
{Tutorial} How to Sew a Blind Hem
Materials Needed:
- Sewing Machine
- Blind Hem Foot
- Iron
- Hot Hemmer Tool (recommended)
- Added length on pattern piece
- Starch (optional)
To begin, add 1.5" in additional length to the item you will be blind hemming. In my case, I added this length to both the front and back skirt pieces of the Amsterdam Dress by Little Lizard King.
Sew the skirt as directed in the pattern, but do not attach to the bodice. I prefer to hem first while the skirt fabric is not gathered so you don't have to have the additional weight of the bodice in your hands during hemming.
Step 1: With the wrong side facing up, turn the bottom edge up 1/2". Press.
Step 2: Turn the bottom edge up an additional 1 1/2". Press.
Step 3: With the hem ironed in place, carefully turn the skirt right side out so the right side of the fabric is facing up. Fold the bottom edge to the right side of the fabric 1 3/8". Press.
This is what it will look like on the back side:
You should see 1/8" of the original 1/2" hem that you ironed in Step 1.
Step 4: Head to the sewing machine and switch to your blind hem foot.
Next, choose your blind hem stitch (as pictured on the left of my sewing machine screen). It is a straight stitch alternating with a < on the left side.
Step 5: Place garment, wrong side up under the blind hem foot with the white guide foot against the inner fold (where the wrong side of the fabric begins). Adjust your stitch length and width to your preference and then adjust the hem guide on the foot so that your needle is just to the left of it. Begin stitching. Verify the straight stitches are sewn on the 1/8" overhang and that just the very point of the left side of the stitch ( the < portion of the stitch) is sewn on the folded edge of the wrong side of the fabric. Adjust if needed. Hem the garment.
Your stitches should resemble this:
Step 6: Unfold hem and iron on both sides. Use starch if desired.
The backside will look like this:
And the front will look like this! Can you find the stitches?
TA-DA!!!! You did it!! Quick, do a happy dance!!
I hope you enjoyed the tutorial -- once it clicks, you will want to blind hem ALL.THE.THINGS!
Special thanks to Lila Tueller and Riley Blake Designs for providing me with these beautiful prints from Berkshire Garden!
P.S. Use your blind hem foot for super straight topstitching! Check out my post on Instagram to see it in action.
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