by Sarah Veblen

One of the final steps when completing a garment is putting in the hem.  Hems nicely finish the lower edge of skirts, dresses, pants or blouses, and can be used to finish the bottom of sleeves if there is no cuff. From looking at ready-to-wear clothing, you can see that hems are made in a variety of ways, some more decorative than others. But a hand-sewn hem is classic and unobtrusive. In fact, it’s because a hand-sewn hem does not call attention to itself that it’s such a beautiful hem finish to use.

Hem Depths

Patterns are developed with a designated hem allowance, but your personal preference (of how long or short you like your garments) will frequently call for altering the hem depth. There is no hard-and-fast rule saying that hand-sewn hems must be a specific depth, but they look best if they’re at least 1” deep and not more than 2” deep. Typically, hand-sewn hems are 1-1/4” to 1-1/2” deep.

An exception is little girls’ dresses, which often have a deep hem (4” or even more) so that the hem can be let down to accommodate the child’s growth. Deep hems work best when there is no A-line shaping in the garment and can look especially pretty on a semi-sheer fabric such as organdy.

When a garment gets wider near the hemline, a shallower hem depth is easier to control. This is because there will be a smaller difference between the circumference of the raw edge and the circumference of the garment where the raw edge lays when the hem is folded up. For this type of situation, try a 1” hem, and if there is too much ease in the hem to control nicely, reduce the hem to 3/4” or even 1/2”.

Marking a Hem

Due to the variation in posture and body shapes, it’s ideal to mark hems while wearing the garment. For this fitting, you’ll get the best results if you wear the undergarments and shoes you intend to later wear with the garment.

For skirts and dresses, measure and mark the hem from the floor. There are two types of hem markers available where sewing products are sold.  With the pin type, you need someone else to move around you andmark the hem with pins. With the chalk type, you can mark your own hem by squeezing a rubber bulb that’s attached to a tube, and a thin line of chalk is softly blown onto the garment as you turn. Hems can also be accurately markedwithout a hem marker: one person wears the garment, and the other puts the end of a yardstick on the floor and places pins at the chosen level while moving around the garment. Regardless of the marking method, the concept is the same: the hemline is parallel to the floor.

For pants, turn up the fabric and pin in place so that the hemline rests against the shoe as desired. Some people like pants to have a break (a fold of fabric that forms just above the hemline). Also, pants are frequently hemmed longer at the back of the foot to partially cover the heel of the shoe. These options depend on the style of pants and personal preference. In the fitting, both pants legs should be turned and pinned since one leg can be slightly longer; use your eye to judge that the two legs look the same.

For sleeves without cuffs, turn up the fabric and pin in place so that the hemline looks flattering on the arm, wrist, or hand. As with pants, sleeve lengths vary a great deal according to personal preference. Be sure to turn up and pin both sleeves, since one arm can be slightly longer than the other.

Preparing the Hem

Trimming Off the Excess. Hems look best when they are a consistent depth. Once the hemline has been marked, lay the garment on a flat surface and using a ruler, measure and mark a consistent hem depth.

There are many products available for this kind of marking – chalk, fabric pencils, and fabric pens.		Following this line you’ve just drawn, cut off the excess fabric.

Finishing the Raw Edge. The raw edge of the hem can be finished in one of several ways to prevent raveling. Serge finishing the raw edge is widely used in both ready-to-wear and by home sewers: typically a 3-thread configuration is used, with the needle in the left position if the fabric ravels easily and in the right position if the fabric is stable. Hem lace and hem tape can be topstitched to the hem allowance so that the raw edge of the fabric sits 1/8” to 1/4” to the inside of the tape. Unless the fabric is very lightweight or sheer, don’t turn under the raw edge as a finishing technique, because this adds undesirable bulk to the hem.

Turning and Pressing the Hem. Working at the ironing board and with a ruler, carefully measure the designated hem depth, turn up the hem, pin in place, and press very lightly. The pressing will help ease in any excess fabric that occurs on an A-line garment. To further control any ease, it can be helpful to begin with the garment’s vertical seam lines first; then continue the process in between these points.

Hand Sewing the Hem

The best hand stitch to use for hems is the catch stitch. It keeps the hem and the garment in balance, and it allows a very slight amount of movement so that the hem is not rigid. With just a bit of practice, you’ll find that the catch stitch is fun and fast to sew. It’s also easy to adjust the size and spacing of the stitches depending on the type and weight of the fabric being hemmed.

For right-handers, the hem is worked left to right, but the needle pierces the cloth from right to left. For left-handers, the hem is worked from right to left, with the needle piercing the cloth from left to right. It may sound confusing, but take a look at the diagram of how to make the catch stitch, and you’ll see that it’s not at all difficult – and the finished results are well worth learning this wonderful hand stitch.