Wednesday, January 13, 2016

The magical hand-rolled hem


Someone somewhere far back in the mists of time figured this out. I never would have. But fortunately there's YouTube and this excellent video. You simply loosely sew a few inches as shown in the first photo, then draw the thread fairly taut and voilĂ ! the fabric rolls inward forming a neat tiny hem. The only thing I would add is that I found it really helpful to accurately find the straight of grain by pulling out a couple of threads down the entire length of the fabric, and then to cut along this line as you go along, just a few inches ahead of where you're sewing, to minimize raveling.

I had enough fabric to cut three scarves. This is my second one. I should be an old hand (bad pun in more ways than one) at it by the time I finish the third one. I'll probably try to sell the extras in my Etsy shop. It's quite enjoyable to sit and stitch away while listening to a good audio book.

Incredibly, Mr. C, who is not at all observant of my wardrobe, found this fabric for me while patiently waiting for me to do some shopping. After all these years he has taken note of my color preferences, and this paisley with its olive green and lavender on a dusty pink ground perfectly complements several of my tops.